Formed in Aberdeen, Washington, USA, in 1982, Metal Church initially comprised David Wayne (1 January 1958, USA, d. 10 May 2005; vocals), Kurdt Vanderhoof (guitar), Craig Wells (guitar), Duke Erickson (bass) and Kirk Arrington (drums). Their 1984 debut was a phenomenal album, brimming with energy and promise. The style was the then-evolving thrash metal sound, and Metal Church executed their own brand with precision on stand-out tracks such as ‘Beyond The Black’ and ‘Metal Church’. The Dark was a strong follow-up, but failed to surpass the debut, and Wayne left at this point to start his own band Reverend. He was replaced by Mike Howe and shortly afterwards Vanderhoof stepped down from recording and touring commitments, but stayed on as the band’s songwriter for their next album. He was replaced by John Marshall, previously a guitar technician for Metallica, for the recording of 1989’s Blessing In Disguise. Metal Church failed to rise to the level of success suggested by their first few albums and short tenures with their record companies undoubtedly contributed to their underachievement. By the mid-90s the writing was on the wall as their albums had become depressingly predictable, and Metal Church disbanded in 1993.
The original line-up, minus Craig Wells, reunited in the late 90s to record a new studio album, Masterpeace. Wayne and Vanderhoof then chose to work on solo projects before the latter revived the Metal Church name in 2004 with a completely new line-up. He recorded the same year’s The Weight Of The World with Arrington, Ronny Munroe (vocals), Jay Reynolds (guitar) and Steve Unger (bass). Former vocalist David Wayne died in May 2005 of injuries sustained in an automobile accident. A Light In The Dark was a much more melodic metal album than their previous efforts since Blessing In Disguise and was welcomed by their fans as a return to form.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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Formed in Aberdeen, Washington, USA, in 1982, Metal Church initially comprised David Wayne (1 January 1958, USA, d. 10 May 2005; vocals), Kurdt Vanderhoof (guitar), Craig Wells (guitar), Duke Erickson (bass) and Kirk Arrington (drums). Their 1984 debut was a phenomenal album, brimming with energy and promise. The style was the then-evolving thrash metal sound, and Metal Church executed their own brand with precision on stand-out tracks such as ‘Beyond The Black’ and ‘Metal Church’. The Dark was a strong follow-up, but failed to surpass the debut, and Wayne left at this point to start his own band Reverend. He was replaced by Mike Howe and shortly afterwards Vanderhoof stepped down from recording and touring commitments, but stayed on as the band’s songwriter for their next album. He was replaced by John Marshall, previously a guitar technician for Metallica, for the recording of 1989’s Blessing In Disguise. Metal Church failed to rise to the level of success suggested by their first few albums and short tenures with their record companies undoubtedly contributed to their underachievement. By the mid-90s the writing was on the wall as their albums had become depressingly predictable, and Metal Church disbanded in 1993.