Review Summary: Great Album with loads of talent coming from every member, with that warm analog sound.
Metal Church has always been one of my favorite bands to emerge from the 80's thrash metal scene. The combination of crazy guitars and high pitched vocals blend very nicely. This album features the original members including: Kurdt Vanderhoof-guitars, Kirk Arrington: Drums, Craig Wells-guitars, Duke Erickson:bass, David Wayne:vocals.
A Quick Tear Apart of the songs:
BEYOND THE BLACK (6:21): Opens Up with creepy vocals and clean guitar(the clean guitar shows up later too) and breaks into a really cool solo/bass groove thing once the talking stops. at about 1:08 it breaks into a marching sounding groove. The song is great throughout with amazing drums and guitar being the highlights. one of my favorites on the album. 4/5
Metal Church (5:00): Opens with wind ambient noise and building drums, Then breaks into an awesome bass and drum groove. At about 1:00 it Breaks into a really great Riff. This song is another great gem on the album. with great guitar work and drums. David Waynes vocals really shine on this song as well. Check out the solo in this song. Very impressive. 4.5/5
Merciless Onslaught (2:55): An instrumental track that opens up with drums. Not too many drummers were using double bass like this then. The drums might be annoying to some people (i love them though) unfortunately this song is a tad bit repetitive and causes song switching towards the end. Great solo towards the end though. 3.5/5
Gods OF Wrath (6:42): WOW. I love this song and it is probably the best song on the album. Also the longest song on the album, it doesn’t seem long enough. Opens with a memorable clean guitar groove. The bass is to be looked at during the verses. Very impressive. The part leading to the chorus with the second yell (singing) sounds a little crappy to say the least but the rest of the vocals are amazing. The solo is very memorable as are the riffs and the vocals. Check this one out! 5/5
Hitman (4:31): Opens with a cool mini drum solo, and leads into a really catchy riff. Unfortunately the chorus sounds really bad due to the vocals. The guitar work is really impressive as are the bass and drums. At around 2:05 it breaks into a really heavy riff leading to the main solo which is extremely well done. Towards the end there is another good solo. Very good song. 5/5
In the Blood (3:30): This song has great riffs, but the highlight of the song would have to be the drums and the prevalent use of double bass. Very impressive. The vocals are great as well. This song gets a little boring until the solo which, of course, is well done but gets boring again. an okay song. 3/5
(My Favorite) Nightmare (3:10): An awesome drum roll on the rims of Kirk Arrington’s snare is real cool. There is even cowbell at one point adding a funky feel to the beat. There are loads of catchy riffs and solos throughout. The vocals really impress towards the end of the song. 4/5
Battalions (4:54): Bring forth our might we kill tonight! An amazing song with a impressive drum intro. Listen to the good use of double bass once again. The guitar work is fast and brutal with heavy riffs powering the song forward. This is probably the most aggressive song on the album. With screams and deep singing. Around 2:25 it breaks into a Judas Priest type riff leading to a very fast solo with a very cool ending that almost sounds like a duet. Wow. 5/5
Highway Star (4:37) I hate to say it but I like the original of this song better although this is a lot heavier. The vocals are very annoying. Even though the high pitched screams are impressive, they don’t fit in very well. The Guitars are really great though and the drums are good. unfortunately I cant get past the vocals. 2.5/5
OVERALL RATING: 4.5/5
Well there you go. An overall great album, with very few flaws and annoying things. A must have for any guitarist or drummer. The cover of highway star was the only song I didn’t care for.
