By: Anders

Posted: Sep 13, 2006

The church of metal is once again open for a mass, this time the topic of the preaching is light in the dark, a message delivered with heavy guitars, thundering bass lines and pounding drums and of course the words of wisdom delivered by the screaming vocals.

I haven't heard the last few new Metal Church albums, so I didn't really knew what to expect, except a slap of heavy metal, and heavy metal is for sure what the Americans deliver. There is doubt about the wonders mainman Kurdt Vanderhoof can do with his guitar, and besides the good riffing and balanced leads and solos, he also presents himself as a good song writer who knows how to cut a good and effective tune. And there are a few of them on this album, not cutting edge heavy metal in any way, though good and balanced between straight ahead power, epic moments and emotional songs.

The band is also on fire and performs the music well, especially the bass gets a lot of space and doesn't let down the trust, a lot of good and quite progressive lines at times. The drumming is good, though quite well balanced at most times, but very solid. The guitar play is as more or less already mentioned also great and solid and the vocal performance from the ex-Rottweiler Robbie Munroe is really good, filled with emphasis, passion and power.

For heavy metal fans and for fans of Metal Church this album will get a top placement, when this year's lists are going to be made. Solid and hard hitting metal, quite catchy, good musical performances and a good deal of emotion in the game as well. And as a tribute to the deceased former singer of the band David Wayne (RIP), Metal Church has re-recorded the classic 'Watch The Children Play' from the '86 legendary album "The Dark". A quite good and fulfilling performance, which actually fits the line of the rest of the album really well.

Rating: 7½/10

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