Metal Church--The Weight Of The World
SPV 2004
Being able to survive as a band for twenty years is no easy feat. Add a substantial amount of lineup tunrover during that period and the accomplishment is even more impressive, as most bands tend to fold under such adversity. Metal Church certainly have reason to celebrate hitting this milestone, not only for the persistence and perseverance it took to get there, but for their superb new album The Weight Of The World. With this effort, the band have crafted one of the best discs of their career.
Once again, there has been a shake-up in the in Metal Church ranks. Still, if you were expecting these guys to take some ill advized stylistic turn on The Weight Of The World because of it, you're out of luck. This platter is right up there with past glories such as Blessing In Disguise. Metal Church have always been one of the best at doing straight-up Judas Priest influenced metal. That certainly hasn't changed here, for the most part. However, The Weight Of The World sees the band implementing a nicely balanced infusion of prog elements into their base sound, in a lot of ways recalling Iron Maiden's most recent works of brilliance. A good portion of the credit for this fact can be attributed to the addition of former Malice axeman Jay Reynolds. His input seems to have pulled out the melodic elements of Metal Church's sound a hair more, serving as the perfect foil to Kurdt Vanderhoof's penchant for classic palm muted gallop. Longtime fans of the group are sure to embrace new vocalist Ronny Munroe, as Metal Church haven't had a belter capable of letting loose with banshee scream like this since the days of David Wayne. This is the strongest Metal Church have been in ages.
Not only are the roster and their vision unbelieveably solid on The Weight Of The World, this is possibly the most consistently killer batch of songs Metal Church have ever offered up. If you're looking for additive-free pure metal bliss, "Bomb To Drop" is for you. The same could be said of "Wings Of Tomorrow," featuring the most brutal riff of this bunch, though the band's prog leanings appear via the clean chorused guitars that start the track. "Time Will Tell" seems the most balanced cut of the pack, synth fade-in giving way to acoustic guitar, then glorious metal, all culminating into a very Dokken-esque vibe somewhere between ballad and total crusher. Top to bottom, there isn't a flaw in sight.
If you loved early Metal Church but lost track of the band somewhere along the way, The Weight Of The World is your perfect excuse to get reacquainted with them. There aren't many metal bands left as well versed and rooted in tradition as these guys. That's a shame, because the difference in quality between the real deal and someone half-assing it is striking. If this lineup holds together, you're looking at the first step in a grand rebirth for Metal Church.
Score this CD directly from SPV
|
