METAL CHURCH – Congregation Of Annihilation

Metal Church has managed to keep their house of worship open by adding new disciples. While I respect this following, I don’t necessarily agree with the shitty way Lopes, Unger and Howland were ultimately dismissed.

If you’re a fan of heavy metal you’ve probably heard that Metal Church’s Kurdt Vanderhoof recently cleaned house. New to the band are David Ellefson (Megadeth, Soulfly) on bass, Ken Mary (Flotsam and Jetsam, Alice Cooper) on drums, and Brian Allen (Vicious Rumors) on vocals.

These artists replaced previous members Steve Unger (bass), Stet Howland (drums), and Marc Lopes (vocals). Of all these dismissals the one most curious to me is Marc Lopes. The album, Congregation Of Annihilation,  came out in 2023 and received good reviews. How bad could the vocals have been? Curious, I decided to review this album for myself.

My job typically requires a lot of travel, normally I fly, but on occasion I drive. I like listen to music to pass the time on the road and for this trip I brought along Metal Church‘s Congregation of Annihilation.

Frankly, I was surprised to hear about this release after the unexpected tragedy, the death of Mike Howe. His loss sent tremors throughout the metal community and I wouldn’t have blamed Metal Church at all for hanging it up.

Loss is something we all must face but this moniker appeared excommunicated from the very temple they had founded. Things went silent for awhile and a lot of us, me included, moved on from the congregation feeling we had seen the final chapter…

Then we started hearing rumblings, the church’s foundation may have been weakened but it was far from collapse. Metal Church had found themselves a new singer Marc Lopes and he sounded like vocal legends Mike Howe and David Wayne combined!

The thought was simply unfathomable and the table was ingeniously set. Fans like me were more than curious, could it really be true? Then Metal Church released a track and new music video for a song named “Pick A God And Prey”. The metal world stopped and took notice.

It appeared Metal Church knew what they had in Lopes and used him to intentionally conjure the days of old. Those of us who are longtime fans of the band might recognize a lyric screamed like David Wayne or a phrase uttered reminiscent of Mike Howe, that’s a good thing. It bolstered our faith that this legendary act could continue. It also stirred our appetite, could this new rendition of the band really pull off classic tracks like “God’s of Wrath” or even “Bandlands” live?

My only concern with Congregation of Annihilation are the songs where the emphasis isn’t on the past. Are these tracks just filler or the ones that exclusively featured the true vocal style of Marc Lopes? That’s not to say they’re bad, just not necessarily identifiable as Metal Church. Perhaps that was the point, to find a new sound and direction and get away from traditional expectations.  Highlight Tracks for me are: “Another Judgement Day,” “Pick a God and Prey,” “Making Monsters,” “Me the Nothing,” and “All That We Destroy”.

Heavy metal has been losing icon bands faster than a mosh pit eruption. Metal Church has managed to keep their house of worship open by adding new disciples. While I respect this following, I don’t necessarily agree with the shitty way Lopes, Unger and Howland were ultimately dismissed.

What Metal Church does from here is anyone’s guess. The band released a new music video about a month ago entitled “F.A.F.O”, and while the vocals seemingly emphasize the old, I kind of liked the direction Lopes had us going. \m/

Metal Church (2023)

• Marc Lopes – Vocals
• Rick Van Zandt – Guitars
• Kurdt Vanderhoof – Guitars
• Steve Unger – Bass
• Stet Howland – Drums