Metal Church is an American heavy metal band. They originally formed in San Francisco, California in 1980 and then relocated to Aberdeen, Washington the following year and briefly using the name Shrapnel. Led by guitarist and songwriter Kurdt Vanderhoof, the band has released twelve studio albums, and is often credited as a formative influence on the thrash metal subgenre, melding the aesthetics of the new wave of British heavy metal and American hard rock with "incredibly tight musicianship" and "piercingly screeched" vocals. They are also considered to be an integral part of the Seattle heavy metal music scene of the 1980s, and achieved considerable popularity that decade, with two of their first three albums entering the Top 100 on the Billboard 200 chart. The band's early lyrical topics such as conflict and paranoia later expanded into philosophical and social commentary.
Leatherwolf is an American heavy metal band that formed in Huntington Beach, California in 1981. They split up in 1992, but reunited in 1999. The group is also nicknamed the "Triple Axe Attack" for pioneering the use of a 3-guitar line-up in heavy metal.
Vicious Rumors are an American power metal band, originally formed in 1979 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was conceived by founder and guitarist/vocalist Geoff Thorpe, and has been actively recording and touring worldwide since their full-length recording debut in 1985. The band is signed to the Germany-based label SPV/Steamhammer.
Kurdt Vanderhoof is an American guitarist, best known as the rhythm guitarist and founding member of the American heavy metal band Metal Church.
Metal Church is the debut album by American heavy metal band Metal Church. The album was originally released by the independent record label Ground Zero in 1984. Based on the success of the album, the band was signed to a recording contract by Elektra Records, who reissued it in 1985. The cover art depicts a cruciform Gibson Explorer hidden in shadows and smoke.
The Dark is the second full-length album released by American heavy metal band Metal Church, released on October 6, 1986. This was the last album featuring the group's "classic" lineup of David Wayne, Kurdt Vanderhoof, Kirk Arrington, Duke Erickson, and Craig Wells, until Masterpeace (1999), which reunited the four-fifths of that lineup, with John Marshall replacing Wells.
A Light in the Dark is the eighth studio album by American heavy metal band Metal Church, released on June 16, 2006 in Germany, June 19 in the rest of Europe, and June 27 in the US. This was the third Metal Church album to feature the cruciform Gibson Explorer on a cover, as well as the last to feature Jay Reynolds on guitar. It was also the first to feature Jeff Plate on drums.
Presto Ballet is a progressive rock band founded by Metal Church guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof. Their sound is highly reminiscent of 1970s prog rock, as the band was founded chiefly as a tribute to classic progressive bands such as Yes and Kansas.
Blessing in Disguise is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Metal Church, released on February 7, 1989.
The Weight of the World is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Metal Church. It was released in 2004 through the Steamhammer/SPV label.
Masterpeace is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Metal Church released on July 22, 1999 via Nuclear Blast. It features the return of vocalist David Wayne, absent since The Dark (1986), being the band's final studio album to feature him before his death in May 2005. All original members recorded on Masterpeace except guitarist Craig Wells and drummer Kirk Arrington. Jeff Wade filled in for Arrington on the album and on tour. This was the second Metal Church album to feature the cruciform Gibson Explorer on a cover, the first being the band's 1984 debut.
In This Moment is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed by singer Maria Brink and guitarist Chris Howorth in 2005. They found drummer Jeff Fabb and started the band as Dying Star. Unhappy with their musical direction, they changed their name to In This Moment and gained two band members, guitarist Blake Bunzel and bassist Josh Newell. In 2005, bassist Newell left the band and was replaced by Jesse Landry.
Ronny Munroe is an American singer, most noted as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Metal Church from 2003 until the band broke up in 2009. His second tenure with the band lasted from 2012 when the group reunited until 2014, where he left to "pursue other interests". He also had a brief stint as the vocalist for Lillian Axe. He was also the lead singer of progressive rock band Presto Ballet. In October 2011 Munroe joined the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, as a vocalist. In 2022, Munroe became the lead vocalist of Vicious Rumors. and Munroe's Thunder Project in 2016
Katagory V was an American heavy metal band from Salt Lake City, Utah that formed in 1999. Signed to Nightmare Records, Katagory V has released five studio albums. Their first album Present Day was released in 2001, and the band's most recent work Resurrect the Insurgence was released in May 2015.
An Overdose of Death... is the third full-length album released by American thrash metal band Toxic Holocaust on September 2, 2008. Music videos have been made for "Wild Dogs", "Nuke the Cross", and "The Lord of the Wasteland". Critical reviews also mark these as the best songs of a good but mixed album.
Mike Howe was an American heavy metal singer who performed with Metal Church, Heretic, and Snair.
Generation Nothing is the tenth studio album by American heavy metal band Metal Church. It is their first after their late 2012 reunion, and their fourth and last to feature vocalist Ronny Munroe.
Todd Michael Hall is an American musician best known as the lead singer for New York-based band Riot V.
XI is the eleventh studio album by American heavy metal band Metal Church. It was released on March 25, 2016, and is the band's first album in 23 years to feature vocalist Mike Howe. XI was considered a comeback for both Metal Church and Howe since the latter's hiatus from the music industry following the band's first breakup in 1996; the album received generally positive reviews, and was their first studio album since 1989's Blessing in Disguise to enter the Billboard 200 chart, where it peaked at number 57, the band's highest chart position in their career. This is also Metal Church's final album with drummer Jeff Plate, who left the band almost exactly a year after its release.
Damned If You Do is the twelfth studio album by American heavy metal band Metal Church, released on December 7, 2018, through Rat Pak Records. It is their first release with former W.A.S.P. drummer Stet Howland, who replaced longtime member Jeff Plate in 2017, and their final album to feature vocalist Mike Howe before his suicide in 2021. Music videos were made for the songs "Damned If You Do" and "By the Numbers".
