Kurdt Vanderhoof: “New Album is heavier but sounds like old Metal Church with a modern production”

Canada’s The Metal Voice recently spoke to Metal Church‘s guitarist and main man Kurdt Vanderhoof
Metal Church will release their 13th studio album, “Congregation Of Annihilation”, on May 26 via Rat Pak Records (America) and Reaper Entertainment (Europe).

Excerpts from the interview
When asked about the making of the new album
“After the Covid stuff started lifting, I wrote a new album and sent it off to Mike (Howe) and we were going back and forth starting our process. So then it happened (Mike Howe passes). There were a few months there that I kind of figured that it was over. Both original singers are gone, am I getting the message? But then after months realizing I had an album sitting there that if nothing else maybe we can put it out in honour of Mike. When we found Marc (Lopes) we took things step by step. We didn’t want to do a huge international search for a singer and make a big production of it, cause it might not have worked. We wanted to do everything under the radar. So as things worked out with Marc because of the way he sings, (the album) started taking on a more aggressive sound, much more thrashy, back to our roots kind of thing. So half of the songs off the new album I wrote with Mike (Howe) in mind and when we started seeing there was a new direction, then I wrote another batch of songs to fit in the more thrashy aggressive style.”

When asked about their set list with new singer Marc Lopes
‘The set list is going to be mostly the first two albums, with some Mike (Howe) era stuff. So now we are going to go back and do a lot of the older stuff and we are going to pull out a few deep tracks from that era with things that haven’t been played which will be fun. And a couple of songs off the new album.”

When asked about the new Metal Church’s album musical direction
“The New Album is heavier but sounds like Old Metal Church with a modern production.”

“Congregation Of Annihilation” track listing:

01. Another Judgement Day
02. Congregation Of Annihilation
03. Pick A God And Prey
04. Children Of The Lie
05. Me The Nothing
06. Making Monsters
07. Say A Prayer With 7 Bullets
08. These Violent Thrills
09. All That We Destroy
10. My Favorite Sin (bonus track)
11. Salvation (bonus track)

One comment on “Kurdt Vanderhoof: “New Album is heavier but sounds like old Metal Church with a modern production””

If Kurdt is ever feeling melancholy and reminiscent, I probably still have a lump on my head from Kirk Arrington’s drumstick when Metal Church opened for Anthrax in York, PA, in 1985-ish. Nobody knows what actually happened to the drumstick, though. I think it disintegrated.
For the record, Metal Church crushed it that night.