The Dark

Seeing as there's been a recent surge in Metal Church suggestibility, I find myself stomping my feet on the dusty but forever enticing doormat of the Golden State pioneers' suitably celebrated The Dark sophomore album which released in 1986, year of that ill-fated challenger explosion (and no, it wasn't because the schoolteacher pulled the wrong lever looking for the restroom). Not only is it a whopper of an old time heavy metal classic, but also my second introduction to ghoulish front man David Wayne before he donned the cloth for Reverend, following years gone sampling of the titular, mossy axed debut from 1984. Welcome, fellow disciples, welcome...

Although everything has been espoused regarding the historic and influential gem, I'm simply going to invite myself in so the creepy abode can swallow me whole. Hear my screams as the album's productively canned goodness envelopes every addled mind fibre as soon as the masterfully titled "Ton Of Bricks" hits like just that. Right away, it sets the fervent tone for The Dark's cozy forty-some minute duration thanks to its crazed guitar shuffle complete with twisted underpinnings of a grimly fierce nature which elevate the opener's crippling sordidness ten fold. Ditto for equally killer "Start The Fire", with its rangy swagger and amazing chorus I can't stop buzz humming as I pen these possessed lines. Surely, I'm cursed by Father Wayne's uniquely impish delivery.

While I wouldn't label them as "light", hauntingly experimental tracks such as unsettling "Watch The Children Play" (giver of cues to Maryland's swampy Earthride) and horror movie ode extraordinaire "The Dark" prove Metal Church is amply capable of swaying its rivetheaded flock towards deftly nuanced, yet every bit as claustrophobic pastures. For instance, the former's clean and lugubrious progression reminds me of Pantera's "Hollow", but with way more character and much less tough guy posturing - it shows David's mournful and reflective side, albeit a disturbing one.

Solos aren't prominent, but an otherwise disjointed and chromatic "Over My Dead Body" belies how The Dark is mainly a rhythm guitar driven slab of old school excellence worth any nostalgic horn thrower's undivided attention.

In a world of black and white, or, in our case: posers and thrashers, albums like "The Dark" added first shades of grey. An unknown fool had discovered the seemingly huge commercial potential of Metal Church. (One can discuss whether they were thrashers, but they were definitely no posers.) As always, nobody was able to stop the avalanche of avaricious evil. Three fifth of the vinyl's A side had a surprisingly soft touch. Despite previous rather calm tracks such as "Gods of Wrath", "Watch the Children Pray" broadened the spectrum of the band in the most remarkable manner, because it was nothing else but a more or less epic ballad. A few powerful guitars were sidelined by emotional lines and melodic parts. Yet apart from its slightly too sensitive ending, the song did not confuse the listener with cheesy details. "Method to Your Madness" shined with a strong, melodic instrumental part after the second chorus, and "Start the Fire" showed impressively that a conservative song structure works perfectly as long as it can rely on an ingenious riff. I know that I use the following description a lot of times and I beg your pardon, but nevertheless: this riff was simple yet highly effective.

Anyway, despite the ideas of the idiots of the business, Metal Church still had a certain currishness, for example their lead singer. In his most expressive moments, Dave Wayne sounded like a malicious dwarf. But do not underestimate the weapons of this little creature. Ronald Reagan looked like a senile dodderer, but this dangerous dude had the power to start an atomic war. More or less the same applied for Wayne. Regardless of his gnome-like performance, he had the power to add the characteristic features to the songs of the five-piece. Inter alia his high-pitched screams that introduced the chorus of "Watch the Children Pray" demonstrated the skills of Wayne in a very good way. No doubt about it, his precise and clear style of singing left its mark. Yet this does not mean that the contributions of the other guys did not deserve credit. Quite the opposite, the riffs of the guitar duo formed a lot of outstanding numbers. "Beyond the Line of Death" and the opener were its most aggressive representatives.

"Ton of Bricks" was this kind of short sharp shock that every thrash maniac needs from time to time. Rasping guitars, drum rolls and an ominous riff introduced this straight crusher whose line "I hit you like a ton of bricks" was absolutely right. I still feel the impact. However, apart from my headaches, "Beyond the Line of Death" also kicked the listener in the teeth, but its slightly more complex configuration revealed a higher degree of diversity. Especially its chorus shined with a spontaneously occurring melody and the break after 2:30 supplemented the dominating high speed parts excellently. I know that a lot of people worship the debut, but in my humble opinion, the highlights of "The Dark" did not need to fear any comparison with the tracks of the formation's (strong) first album. Moreover, the variety of "The Dark" led to the fact that the whole album was more than the sum of its parts. For example, the title track shined with an atmosphere that could not be compared with that of any other track. Fairly spooky, slightly weird and nightmarish, it left its trace in a very exciting manner.

The different faces of Metal Church benefitted from a transparent and powerful sound. Admittedly, it suffered from minor flaws. The snare did not sound organic, the bass guitar fought a losing battle and everything was a little bit too polished. Guess this lack of sharp edges and corners was another idea of the unknown fool. Anyway, under the bottom line, this was still a great production and a certain brutality was delivered by the harshest compositions themselves. Just listen to the thundering "Psycho" in this context. Its unbridled energy could not be stopped by the small deficiencies of the technical implementation. And to avoid misunderstandings, I may not forget that the sound lent the album a lively overall appearance. Well, pure underground fetishists will hate this work due to its commercial elements, but everybody else with an affinity for coherent song structures, a fundamental heaviness and some rapid outbursts will realize the glory of "The Dark".

My fondness for Metal Church begins and ends with the early David Wayne period, the very first two albums, before Mike Howe stepped in and Wayne formed Reverend with the rest of Howe's previous band Heretic. Oh, cruel irony. With Wayne's mad hermit vocals at the helm, and a deal with Elektra records (alongside Metallica, no less), the potential was enormous for this band. Alas, they sputtered out like a rusted pickup with bullet holes in the tank.

The Dark is notable for having several of the most memorable Metal Church tracks ever conceived, while the rest of the record is at least solid enough to entertain. "Ton of Bricks" is an amazing opener for the album, anchored with a brickhouse thrash rhythm and Wayne's terrifying pterodactyl voice. "Start the Fire" is simply one of the best metal tracks of the 80s, with a huge rhythm riff and vocals that channel Udo Dirkschneider almost perfectly. The guitar work is great, and the lyrics totally cheesy, comparable to Twisted Sister's "Burn in Hell" in both tone and atmosphere.

The other truly momentous track on this album is the titular "The Dark", with some excellent chugging guitar rhythms and creepy, fun vocal patterns. One of the better horror metal songs for its day, essentially a tribute to all the bad films produced in that era (Nightmare On Elm Street, Halloween, whatever). Beyond these three monster tracks, there are some solid offerings in the doomy "Watch the Children Pray", the raging "Line of Death", "Burial At Sea", and "Western Alliance", none of which are quite so catchy.

The Dark is a balanced effort, despite the charisma of Wayne's vocals they never dominate the mix. The guitars are thick and insanely well produced, hell even better than on Master of Puppets the same year (though this album doesn't hold a candle to that all-time masterpiece of the genre). It has a lot of character, and though it's cheesy, it's a fun listen that I'd recommend to anyone seeking out gems of the 80s. This one wasn't exactly hidden in the back of the cave.

Highlights: Ton of Bricks, Start the Fire, The Dark, Line of Death

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

While this album isn’t quite on the monolithic level that was reached by such efforts as "Reign in Blood" or "Master of Puppets," it is another one of the many reasons why 1986 was such an awesome year for heavy metal. It was the band’s second effort and the last to feature both David Wayne and guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof until 1999’s "Masterpeace." Of course, the latter stayed within the fold on a songwriting basis for the albums in between and is currently the band’s only original member...

Aside from a few more accessible touches, the music on this album is never too far removed from the style seen on the Church’s debut. The twin guitars seem to stay on the twin line between thrash and a more traditional style, the rhythm section is fairly solid though not as spectacular as on the debut, and the vocals consist of raspy shrieks with occasional lapses into melody. The songs themselves range from Metallica inspired thrashers ("Ton of Bricks," "Over My Dead Body," "Psycho," "Line of Death," "Western Alliance"), more accessible numbers ("Start the Fire," "Method to Your Madness"), a few menacing tracks ("The Dark," "Burial at Sea"), and even a foreboding power ballad in the minor hit "Watch the Children Pray."

Despite possessing a very strong first half, the second half seems to falter at the hands of some slightly inconsistent songwriting. Tracks such as "Over My Dead Body" and "Psycho" seemed to be constructed in a rather awkward fashion and stronger tracks such as the title track and "Burial at Sea" don’t quite reach the heights of the first half. Not to mention, even the highlights sound a little dated thanks to the production and a few cheesy lyrics. I always imagine "Start the Fire" as being one of those songs with an extremely music video on VH1 Classic where the audience and band are headbanging in a coordinated fashion. Hmm, reminds me of a Twisted Sister video. . .

Its flaws may keep it away from a truly classic status but it’s worth checking out for fans of the band.

Pros:
1) A strong blend of traditional metal and thrash
2) The band sounds strong
3) More accessible songwriting

Cons:
1) Dated production
2) Occasionally cheesy lyrics

My Current Favorites:
"Ton of Bricks," "Start the Fire," "Method to Your Madness," "Watch the Children Pray," and "The Dark"

"The Dark" is the second opus from thrash legends Metal Church. Although this is an amazing album, it never really got the recognition it certainly deserved. Many fans of the band would cite their first album album simply titled "Metal Church" as this bands magnum opus but I believe that this is their best album. The riffs, the solos and those godly vocals are absolutely astounding. David Wayne was easily the best vocalist of this band and it's sad that he is not of this mortal world anymore. Anyway, onto reviewing the actual album.

"The Dark" contains both your slower paced, almost ballad like songs and some fast -paced songs that won't ever leave your head due to how catchy they are. "Ton Of Bricks", the albums opener falls in to the fast-paced category. From it's thrashy riff to it's great, catchy, sing-a-long chorus, this song truley is a thrash metal classic. Actually, I think it would be fair to say that every song on here is a thrash metal classic.

The song "Method To Your Madness" slows the pace down a bit but it still is a great song, although I feel it does drag on a bit too long. The next song "Watch The Children Pray" is probably the most famous Metal Church song. It's the longest and slowest song of the album but it contains one of Metal Church's best guitar solo's. Again, this song has a very catchy chorus that I'm sure the live crowds would eat up.

After "Watch The Children Pray", the album starts to get faster and thrashier. The song "Over My Dead Body" reminds you that you're listening to thrash metal albums again. Kurdt Vanderhoof's guitar work on this song is once again, astounding. Kurdt Vanderhoof is probably the most underrated guitarist in thrash metal history. Another one of the better songs from the album is "Psycho". It's easily one of the more agressive songs from the album. Once again, it's got awesome guitar work. The drum roll that comes in right before the chorus for the first time is very well-done and David Wayne shrieking "THE PYSCHO IS READY TO KILL!" just makes the song become an instant classic.

This is easily my favourite thrash metal album of all time. It's got some of the best lead guitar work on any album I have ever heard, the drum work is very cool and even the bass has some good moments. Oh, and David Wayne on the album just makes it a whole lot better, his thrash metal vocals are unmatched. The only thing I'm not too fond of is that some songs go on for a bit too long, like "Method To Your Madness" and "Line Of Death". Although they are good songs they could have benefited by being a minute shorter.

But to sum it all up in one line, this is a thrash metal classic and every metal head should own this album!

After a band has released their definitive album, usually one of two things will occur. Either the band will recognize that they cannot top what they have previously done and work toward a stylistic deviation or they will attempt to recharge their creative juices and outdo themselves anyway. The former can lead to mixed results, while the latter tends to result in an album that falls far short of its goal, leaving only disappointed fans and a discouraged band, in 90% of cases anyway. The other ten percent encompasses those albums that actually do manage to outdo their predecessors and, which is the case with this Metal Church album, those albums that live up to the hype despite being unable to dethrone its predecessors. To make a long-winded story short, Metal Church’s sophomore effort certainly doesn’t outshine their ungodly debut, but it has more than enough substance and good old fashioned metal charm to keep it sitting quite pretty in their discography.

Stylistically, The Dark runs along the same line as their first album, but with more emphasis on the thrashy element of the Metal Church sound. Songs like “Ton of Bricks,” “Over My Dead Body,” and “Western Alliance” kick forth at a pace heard far less often on their debut, leaving the listener to wonder how the band would’ve sounded if they continued in this faster direction. “Line of Death” and “Psycho” kick ass as well: this is the kind of shit Grave Digger wish they could’ve written. Mid-paced songs like the title track and “Start the Fire” are just as heavy and only a few bpms behind the mid-tempo works of Exodus and Nuclear Assault. The band themselves are at the same level as the debut, especially David Wayne, whose mix of raspy and clean vocals and insane shrieking are one of the band’s trademarks. No worries about the state of Craig Wells or Kurdt Vanderhoof; these guys are shredders. But of course, the thrash songs are only half the package on a Metal Church album. The power/traditional side is well represented here, even if a bit less so than on the debut. “Watch the Children Pray” is the obligatory power ballad, and while it doesn’t stand up to “Gods of Wrath,” David Wayne’s diverse vocal attack makes this quite memorable of itself. The powerful “Burial at Sea” brings Maiden to mind, but it’s nothing compared to the album’s highlight, “Method to Your Madness,” where the change in tone between the verse and chorus riffs is amazingly inspired. No one but Metal Church can throw songs like that in what is otherwise mostly a thrash album.

With both the band and song selection rocking solid on The Dark, there’s only one thing that keeps this short of the debut. The production is considerably weaker, diminishing the bass presence and creating an overall tinnier sound. Duke Erickson’s mighty bass work should be right up with the guitars. Plus there’s way too much reverb on Wayne’s vocals. Additionally, the lyrics can be somewhat cheesy at times (“Like a ship that’s built for destruction, I’m a metal man of construction” from “Start the Fire), but this isn’t nearly as much of an issue.

Fans of the first album can pick this up without any qualms, as can any thrash/power/traditional/speed metal fans; the sound is that broad. No, it’s not as good as the first one, but that’s not likely to be topped any time soon.

So, for my first review I decided to make one for this thrash gem. 86 was a great year for thrash, as we all know. This is one of the albums that contributed to that, despite it not being very well known. I hope that's about to change, because this one is just totally awesome!

There are lots of great moments on this album. Check out the solo's, for instance. Especially the ones in Method to your Madness, the title track and Western Alliance; they are quite melodic and thrashy at the same time. Metal Church manage to pull off the combination between those two aspects perfectly. Oh, and the songs themselves are great as well. Where Ton of Bricks opens the album perfectly, Western Alliance closes it off perfectly. You can't possibly hate this album.
Also, Start The Fire has this creepy growl to kick the song off with. I can't help but mention it, it's just totally awesome in the way Kreator is. Also worth mentioning is 'Watch The Children Pray'. An extremely well-done ballad, probably the best I've heard. If there's one thing Metal Church gets right, it's the atmosphere, as shown in a lot of the songs on here. They would even improve on that later (Blessing in Disguise) but here it's pretty prevalent already.

Quite a great album we have here. There's a heavy production which makes the instruments come out quite nicely, the songwriting is very nice and there's no filler whatsoever (obviously!). If this isn't a part of your collection, then go get it as soon as possible. It's a definite must-have!

So where does Metal Church go from its debut? Not too far, to be sure. If anything, this marks a faint regression from the self-titled as overall Metal Church elected for simpler compositions. The fully realized epics characterized by “Beyond the Black” and “Gods of Wrath” have receded to make way for shorter and less ambitious songs. Which is not to say that the riffs don’t hammer at you relentlessly and the evil vocals of David Wayne beckon you to sing along. I think it safe to say that if you enjoyed the first album you will enjoy this one.

Ushering in the album are two tracks quite representative of the material here. “Tons of Bricks” and “Start the Fire” straddle some catchy guitar work and even catchier vocals. The Dark has many tracks like these, stuff similar to the trilogy of “Hitman,” “In the Blood” and “(My Favorite) Nightmare” off the first album, though slightly better in quality. Unfortunately, they lack my favorite elements of Metal Church, elements resplendent on any other Metal Church album. That is, the tangible atmosphere and overpowering emotion that only Metal Church can consistently conjure. Here, Metal Church elects to pump out some top-notch thrash and power metal, taking a respite from the much tougher task of conceiving unmitigated classics.

This album harbors a couple exceptions to the above characterization. “Method to Your Madness” liberates David Wayne allowing him my favorite performance of the first two albums. David Wayne may not be the most proficient singer in metal, but for memorable and effusive performances few can beat him and he only improved on the second album. With David Wayne’s deranged performance, “Method to Your Madness” is one of the few tracks exuding that unique Metal Church atmosphere.

Succeeding that track is that ballad to end all ballads, “Watch the Children Pray.” Yes, it has been said before, but it bears repeating. Metal Church is the master of the metal ballad and this song is the most resounding proof of this assertion.

“Western Alliance” also deserves mention for plain awesomeness. And “The Dark” and “Psycho” for excellent displays by David Wayne of how to sound downright insane. Ok, so this is Metal Church and thus magnificent.

To summarize, The Dark pursues the same style as the debut only more consistent and with fewer mind-blowing tracks.

The David Wayne era of Metal Church was one of the most rightoeus bands with one of the most kickass sounds in metal history. It frustrates me that they never quite got the praise they so obviously deserved. This is another amazing album from one of thrash's greatest bands.

The sound is very much in the same vein as the first album, which is a good thing. You've got fast and catchy riffs, soaring vocals from the very talented David Wayne, and strong songwriting and arranging which keep the record strong throughout its entirety. The songs are much shorter than on the debut album, and the feel of it is a bit less epic, but maybe truer to the thrash sound.

"Ton of Bricks" is a cool opener with some mean riffing and even meaner vocals. There is a confidence about this band that is very appealing. They knew they were hot shit. "Start the Fire" has a very rowdy mood to it. The inclusion of gang vocals was pure genius because it adds a level of fun to the track. This is a heavy song and the gang vocals just added the right attitude. "Method to Your Madness" is a standout track with probably the catchiest verses on the record. The riffing matches the vocal melody perfectly as the entire band delivers a knockout performance. The chorus is also pretty powerful, with once again some grat guitar playing to boot.

The next track is the album's most famous song, and one of Metal Church's all-time classics. "Watch the Children Pray" is the ballad of the record, kind of like "Gods of Wrath" from the debut. The clean verses are dark yet enjoyable as the guitar and vocals once again mesh perfectly. Wayne's scream before the chorus hits you is a gut wrenching performance that isn't likely to go unnoticed. The chorus itself has a very anthemic feel to it. It's all very epic as it is the longest track on here. This is still a classic to this day and is one of the best metal ballads I've ever heard.

"Over My Dead Body" is a fast-paced killer of a track with some speedy riffing and cool lead play, not to mention once again a stellar performance from Wayne. The title track is also very awesome, with what is an aptly dark and menacing feel that fits the title perfectly. The chorus is very catchy and groovy. This is a killer track. "Psycho" is a fast pace thrash fest with some awesome high pitch scream and a very menacing chorus. "Line of Death" is in a similar vein with war like lyrical content. "Burial ar Sea" is a very epic, Maiden-like slow track that has a very power metal element to it which is very interesting. There is actually some pretty awesome lead work on this track to fill the holes between the verses. "Western Alliance" ends things with a bang as this might be the fastest track on the record. The chorus once again features gang vocals and there is some killer lead playing on this track. This closes the record with style.

metal Church had something seriously cool going, the riffs and the attitude in their music was too killer for words and some of these records are absolute thrash classics. The Dark defintely fits that category.

I admit that my first couple of listens to this album after it came out left me uncertain that Metal Church could match the classic debut. After that, it grew on me and I realized just how special and powerful and excellently-executed this album really was. The production has a more spacious feel to it, as opposed to the more compressed and in your face debut's sound. Which means the drums sound bigger and more ambient, the guitars are crunchier, and even the bass has its own little niche in there somewhere.

David Wayne is his usual metal god self on this, his screeching howls defining their sound alongside more of his formidable clean vocal prowess. The latter talent comes to the fore on "Method To Your Madness" on the bridge before the solo section and is most haunting there. He also layers some clean vocals underneath his customary screams, it sounds like, on the chorus of "Watch The Children Pray" to memorable effect. He's at his best on "Psycho", "The Dark", and those two songs I just mentioned. "Ton Of Bricks" weighs in just like that title, too, between the music and his angry snarling.

The rest of the band does just fine as well, with more melodic leads and their lethal sense of arrangement making certain that the whole thing stays consistently heavy and dangerous. Kirk Arrington was one of my favorite drummers in those days with his dexterous nuances coexisting right alongside his more aggressive playing and some damn hot feet to boot. Once he got the double kick machine rolling, few could match him back then.

I always seem to come back to "The Dark", "Psycho", and "Method To Your Madness" as my favorites on this album, as well as "Watch The Children Pray", one of the heaviest tunes of the 80s in my opinion. But "Psycho", with its jagged riffing and chorus ending uber-shriek of "THE PSY-CHO IS REA-DY TO KILLLLL!!!!" gets me every time, and that evil chuckle after the music stops at the very end is chilling. Of course, I like "Ton Of Bricks" as well, a perfect album opener if ever there was one, a baseball bat to the head.

One of the more unsung albums of the 80s, this was, and a shame it is that Metal Church never really cracked the big time with their unique and distnictive blending of classic metal riffing, thrash fury, and melodic underpinnings. Close but not quite seems to be the story of their career, and it's a damn pity.

Yes, that's right, 96%. This is an album where you can fast forward to any point on it, any point at all (except the slower part of Watch The Children Pray) and be guaranteed to hear a good riff. The guitars are produced perfectly which is really saying something considering this was 1986 and the riffs are excellent and also well-varied throughout the album, which even Reign In Blood cannot say about itself. The vocals are very shrieky, but i have to say that most 80's thrash album have something strange about the vocals, and in fact I prefer the bands who have the more unique sounding vocalists. Here we find a nice high pitched, very sharp and clean-sounding shriek. The drumming is well done overall and not overproduced, both of which can't be said for Metallica. And voila, Metal Church have something on both of the two most famous thrash acts ever!

There are not many guitar solos as on other albums and the ones present are above average but not excellent, but this album is one that does not feed off of soloing like some bands do (i.e. Judas Priest on Painkiller), rather here a solo is more of an added bonus, but the song is based a lot more on the riffs.

Something else to mention is the presence of a slow ballad. Making good ballads is indeed a lost art and is much more difficult than it seems. In fact, around 80% of attempts at a nice and emotional ballad fail (see The Black Album). However, one of the best ones since Stairway To Heaven is found on here, that is Watch The Children Pray. It is a must-hear, and my words will not do it justice. My two other favorite songs are Start The Fire and Western Alliance. I would place this in the top 10 all time for thrash albums without question!!!

The self-titled and "The Dark" are the two most similar Metal Church albums, and they are both excellent - one really isn't any better than the other. This one has quite a few highlights, just like the rest, including quite possibly their most underrated song, the total speed metal classic "Western Alliance"!!! You know that part in the middle that sounds like a metal folding chair being rattled around? That's what it is: a metal folding chair being rattled around.

You just cannot possibly rock harder than this. Unless you had a bottle of chocolate syrup and a live sheep, and ....

never mind. Yes, back to the review. "Over My Dead Body" is pretty fucking cool too, as is "Line of Death" (If he's gonna spit on us, he's got to pay the cost!!! - probably the most fun sing-along lyrics can be found here.) Also, slightly different is "Method to Your Madness" which has almost an Iron Maiden vibe to it (the first two albums, especially). This album is a really good mix of classic metal, speed metal, and thrash metal. It rules!!