Metal Church

Twenty long and chaotic years after their debut, Metal Church have finally delivered another album that gives that metal punch we all knew the band was capable of delivering. Despite the lame-o cover art, which unfortunately gives the whole thing a demo feel, the ten tunes are jam-packed with classic ’80s heavy metal riffs, from glorious thrash to some NWOBHM melodic near-punksters (check out "Hero’s Soul”), and more than a small dose of melodramatic metal melody. New vocalist Ronny Munroe is capable of doing the deed, and ex-Malice guitar guy Jay Reynolds, along with founder Kurdt Vanderhoof, dish out so many great riffs on these long, long songs (too long, too long) it makes you sad to think about the credit this one probably won’t get, but deserves. It’s been five years since the last album, which was kind of a dud, but don’t write these old schoolers off just yet, as The Weight of the World proves they’ve still got a sincere passion for metal coursing through those aging veins.