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Metal Church > Masterpeace > Reviews
Metal Church - Masterpeace

Grows on the Listener if Given a Chance - 88%

Quindorrian, June 25th, 2023
Written based on this version: 1999, CD, Steamhammer (Slipcase, Limited edition)

The thing with "Masterpeace" is it really seems to garner a strong reaction from Metal Church fans. Love it or hate it, you know you have something special if it can make you feel a strong emotion. What is funny about me is that I was in the "hate" camp for years and that changed over time. Here I try to explain how.

The problem with Metal Church fans, including myself, is we get hung up on our favorite vocalist. In this case, I really loved Mike Howe and this made me super critical of the David Wayne releases and the Ronny Munroe stuff as well. While I still loved the old mega classic hits that Wayne did such as "Watch the Children Pray", it made it harder for me to like this album because it is a different sort of album than "The Dark" or "Metal Church". This provides the context from which my initial dislike of this album came from.

I can't truly explain what it is that happened to get me to really appreciate David Wayne's vocals [on this album] and song-writing abilities as much as Mike Howe's, but that is what it took for me to give this album a fair chance. I needed to get past my preference of one vocalist over another and this took years for me to do. Once I did this, I was able to go back and give this album a fair chance and I am glad I did. Additionally, this album is the sort of record that gets better with repeated listens. It doesn't really have 1 or 2 big hits, so, it demands patience. These two facets alone make it harder for Metal Church fans to get into this album. I know, because I was one of them. Once these two barriers are overcome, this album can truly be appreciated.

I think it is important to talk about the songwriting first and foremost, because, as I mentioned, there aren't the 1 or 2 big hits on this album. Instead, this is a consistent album with very good songwriting throughout. It is interesting that Metal Church chose "Sleeps With Thunder" as the album opener because that isn't even close to the best song on the album. As a matter of fact, this album gets better with each song. Wayne delivers some very memorable choruses throughout the album; from the memorable, melancholy "Falldown" to the very interesting upbeat but somehow sad at the same time "Into Dust", and then into the power ballad like "Kiss For the Dead", this album continues to deliver some memorable and emotive moments, song after song. Each song has qualities to it that will stick in your head, especially with subsequent listens after the first listen. This is the hallmark of a great album; it's an album that ages like a fine wine and gets better with each listen. So, in summary of the songwriting: 1. Consistent and emotional throughout 2. Gets better with each listen.

The one thing that really stands out to me about the musicianship on this record is how it is more complex than many other Metal Church albums. The guitars do a lot of interesting things on this album. It felt as though Metal Church was really inspired by the return of David Wayne on this record and wanted to really push themselves. For example, the thrashy "Faster than Life" has a lot of movement in the riffing and chooses not to play it as simple as Metal Church does in the Ronny years. The same can be said for "All Your Sorrows" with its charging ahead thrashy riffing. But truly, the guitar work is interesting through the album and never bores the listener. If I were to offer one point of criticism, it would be with the drumming and bass guitar, both of which seem to take quite the backseat through most of the album. They aren't bad by any means, but they also aren't anything exceptional either. The guitar and vocals were clearly intended to come to the forefront of this record, and that holds true for the entire album.

As a whole, this album not only stands the test of time, but gets better with each listen all these years later. It truly is a great Metal Church record. Listening to it now makes me a little sad for what could have been if Wayne were still alive and decided to keep working with the band. But, Metal Church has continued on with different singers since this album and put out some great albums since this record. This album remains an important part of their history, but they continue to move forward, and I think we should all do the same. I for one am glad I can now appreciate this record amongst the Metal Church catalog and I recommend everyone who maybe balked at it to try giving it some new listens with an open mind.

David Wayne's brief return - 75%

colin040, August 21st, 2021

I’m not sure why, but I can’t help but think that Metal Church’s later period has been rather overlooked. A shame, really, as I’ve recently dived into the band’s later works and everything I’ve come across sounds fairly enjoyable. Masterpeace is definitely an interesting album for several reasons. First of all, it marks the return of David Wayne on vocals, but avoids the by-the-books styled writing of old and still has a few surprises in store. Second of all, the guitars sounds far busier and punchier here than they did on Hanging in the Balance, making this arguably the band’s heaviest album since Blessing in Disguise. Hell, even the artwork looks promising; an electric guitar that's struck by lightning in the middle of what looks like a museum - one might wonder if this wouldn’t be a win-win situation…

Alright, I wouldn’t exactly call it like that, but Masterpeace is yet another interesting chapter of Metal Church and arguably the start of a new era of this band. The average song hits harder than anything the band released in the early 90's and I suppose that a logical successor to Hanging in the Balance probably wouldn’t have worked out, given that David Wayne’s voice doesn’t hit like a ton of bricks anymore. Now I’ll admit: it took me a while to get used to him at this point. He still sounds somewhat recognizable; albeit he sounds more nasal than maniacal and while the result isn’t disastrous, anyone hoping to hear some glass-shattering screams will probably have to look elsewhere. That said, David Wayne mostly sings within his limits here. It also helps that Kurdt Vanderhoof and John Marshall support him with a fair amount of authentic, yet memorable riffs in their arsenal and the additional upgrade in thrash-like riffing is worth to mention, even if the results are fairly mixed. Still, as somewhat expected, there’s some slight experimentation found in terms of songwriting and besides the typical heavy/power/thrash-hybrid riffing that Metal Church are all about, I’d argue that Masterpeace certainly has some depth to it. ‘’Into Dust’’ is a pounding, yet emotive track that allows David Wayne to sound more vulnerable, but only does so once the unexpected heavenly keys appear. ‘’Kiss for the Dead’’ continues down this sentimental road and there’s something seriously haunting about this track. At first it seems simply structured; you’ve got the soft verses and ‘’heavier’’ chorus, but I also love how there’s an unexpected banger of a riff shot halfway through. It reminds me of what Fates Warning did with ‘’Guardian’’, as the result is a similar balladic type of tune that doesn’t forget to rock the hell out either.

The remaining highlights consist of an ordinary reliable verse-chorus format…but of course this would only be problematic if Metal Church had forgotten about the art of effective songwriting in the first place. ''All Your Sorrows'' sees the band operate in thrash mode and the result is the heaviest tune on the record that also builds up some tension, thanks to that a domino effect of forceful thrashing riffs. ‘’Falldown’’ is by far the most fun tune on the record and offers no pretense or whatsoever. David Wayne sounds totally in his element here, as he wails over a few rapid, weighty riffs – as if the Mike Howe era prior never happened in the first place. Certainly, there’s nothing deep about that one-worded-chorus, but with one hooky riff after another, why would you nitpick about this tune? ‘’Lb. of Cure’’ isn't quite as heavy nor as fast as the aforementioned tunes, but it's easily the catchiest offering on the album, mainly due to Wayne’s clearer and appealing vocal hooks. In addition, Kurdt Vanderhoof and John Marshall release yet some more wild, if sticky riffs and catchy leads that won’t leave your head anytime soon. Again, it might be somewhat superficial when compared to Mike Howe's social conscious era of this band, but if you’ve missed some positively cheesy, yet metallic tunes of this band, then Masterpeace should certainly be your thing.

Moving on, side B of Masterpeace isn’t quite as strong as side A is and the last three tracks seriously make me frown every time I listen to them. ‘’They Signed in Blood’’ has more of an archaic and epic flavor to it: its evocative first half resembles riders traveling towards the unknown, only to fight their final battle before facing a violent death. All great and whatnot, but by the time things get heavier, you’d probably expect some riffs crashing down with fury – instead you end up with some flat chugging riffs that don’t do it for me, even if a decent climax thanks to the chants and victorious guitar leads that finish things off. The cover of ‘’Toys in the Attic’’ is unsurprisingly out of place and generally I’m not a fan of covers to begin with, but that says more about my close minded mentality than anything else…I suppose? Album closer ‘’Sand Kings’’ amusingly enough remind me of mid-90’s Septic Flesh due to the exotic cleaner guitar sections, even if there’s a serious lack of riffs screaming, shouting or pounding along. Instead, you end up with some generic power chords that drive the track forward…just without any power to it, I’m afraid. Not to mention David Wayne sounds a bit too silly for his own good here (and don’t get me wrong, I can tolerate cheese!). Maybe the track needed better verse riffs to compensate for its silly chorus, maybe this tune could have actually worked if Mike Howe sang it…or maybe it’s better if Kurdt Vanderhoof had never written this flop in the first place. Either way, it’s a bad note to end Masterpeace on, but then again this album doesn’t start out too well either; ''Sleep with Thunder'' isn’t exactly the most promising opener, as it introduces some been-there-done-that thrashing rhythms that appear somewhat tasteless and bring to mind an aging band lacking youthful energy. Now excuse my rambling…what the hell was I even complaining about again?

But seriously though - in a period where plenty of bands had caught up with the trends, these guys rocked on like only a few other bands did. Regardless of my critique, Masterpeace is a respectable and authentic album that highlighted how a band could age gracefully, even if it’s not the masterpiece Metal Church claimed it to be.

This review was originally written for antichristmagazine.com

A New Comeback - 80%

Sweetie, June 22nd, 2015

While most fans would recognize Metal Church as one of the early thrashers of the '80s that was less harsh than others of the time, this album would come as quite a surprise to them. Masterpeace is nothing shy of a solid, clean, heavy metal record that would sound like an '80s classic making a comeback in the early 2000's. With David Wayne back on vocals, it still makes for a pretty great comeback despite being a different approach.

Speedy guitar riffs that were once essential to Metal Church are now just something that appear time to time. The distortion has lost its extremely aggressive sound, and takes more of a steady approach, with metal riffs of the likes of Anvil or perhaps even Accept. Solo work here is phenomenal and has not lost any of it's juice, as they shred through many cuts of this record. Overall though, the slower approach in general is the biggest change. Especially in the first track "Sleeps With Thunder", which loses almost all signs of thrash that were once present. However, on the flip side, if you listen to "Lb. Of Cure", you'll hear a more upbeat approach with some speedy riffs and a drum beat that moves at a quicker pace. There's also some very calm parts, like the acoustic instrumental title track, "Masterpeace", which sounds absolutely beautiful.

While Wayne's voice has the same tone and hasn't changed much, there aren't really anymore harsh screamy parts. Instead, they have also cooled down a bit and take the melodic route on just about every track. A lot of long, high pitched screams take control and dominate many tracks, and almost sound like King Diamond, except not quite to the high pitched notes that he can reach. It all falls together very well. With calmer vocals and calmer guitars that still have that metal drive behind them makes for a more classic sounding record that any fans of the older bands can appreciate. I can't help but mention how excellent the cover of Aerosmith's "Toys In The Attic" that's thrown in at the end is. Being a huge fan of them and that song, it makes for the perfect way to wrap up this record, along with one more track. While this may not be as excellent as The Dark, it is certainly a masterpiece within itself (pun intended). I would recommend this to any fan of classic metal or early thrash, and if you like this, I would also recommend trying Metal Church by Wayne, a solo album that he did.

Misses a few spots when dusting off the pulpit - 63%

autothrall, June 13th, 2012

While I held out fairly high hopes for this inevitable Metal Church reunion record with singer David Wayne, it ultimately proved another of those myriad reformation disappointments, striving so hard to simply reconnect to the band's original level of inspiration that it fails to build upon their legacy in any meaningful way. Hell, before you've even gotten to the music, you feel underwhelmed by the terrible cover. The crucifix guitar returns, sure, but the bright white museum color scheme feels all too sterile a herald for the return of a bunch of hellions after a five year absence. Not that Metal Church has ever had luck packaging its albums, mind you, with the possible exception of The Dark or the cheesy but iconic debut photo, but this was not looking good...

Nor was it sounding good. Granted, it does not help at all that Masterpeace opens with one of the weaker songs, "Sleeps With Thunder", a steadfast but dreadfully average thrasher in which Wayne goes for a more eerie, nasal Ozzy Osbourne intonation/meter circa "Paranoid" or "Symptom of the Universe" and comes up pretty short, not to mention the distracting Alice in Chains-like wah or the annoying, useless micro leads shoved under the verse, or the underwhelming groove chorus. For one thing, I wasn't sure just how much the band was trying to 'ignore' the Mike Howe period of the band, or if that was even a motive. Certainly some of those same 70s proto-metal influences bleed through on this album, so it might be more or less a direct continuation with a slightly more metallic bite to it through the guitar tone, but either way, with the exception of the lead, the band's chance to blow you over was lost on this track.

In fairness, not all of the disc is a bust, and there are some brief moments of brilliance like the titular acoustic interlude with its ethereal, floating guitar melodies, or the simple yet catchy NWOBHM thunder in "Lb. of Cure" (great tune), but a lot of the more hard rocking cuts on the album seem to play it mildly safe, like "Into Dust", "Falldown" or the Aerosmith cover "Toys in the Attic". I don't know if age was wearing them down or not, but I wanted to hear David Wayne breathing clouds of noxious, incendiary gas over some balls to the wall, crushing metal hymns like "Ton of Bricks" that I can use to cast devil horns and middle fingers at their respective targets. Yeah, I wanted Reverend. I wanted The Dark. So sue me. This seems like an album more inspired by the groups' youths growing up in the 70s, and while it works in a few cases, I felt that strange sense of ennui creep in that I had for the oft praised 1993 record Hanging in the Balance.

The real tragedy, of course, is that this was the final official Metal Church record with Wayne on the mic. I would have hoped for a triumph. Sure, he would go on create a solo group with earlier guitarist Craig Wells and release the eponymous Metal Church (a little better than this one), much to the dismay of Vanderhoof, but in 2005 the world would lose this excellent singer, and I for one thing he had some fire left...somewhere. Alas, Masterpeace was just not as lethal or inspired as the band's first two records, where you could feel this clear momentum and have just about every 'banger for blocks around joining you for syncopated neck wrenching communion to "Start the Fire". This record was admittedly loyal enough to the band's catalog up to its release, but too often feels like it was meant more for putting one of the band members' kids through college than tolling the bell of its iron cathedral for miles, and summoning back all the lost lambs to the raging flock. Not their worst, but it was a letdown when I first got it to review for my old paper zine in the late 90s, and despite the repeated chances I've given it, remains so, with just the few exceptions.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

no apologies, fuckers - 92%

UltraBoris, September 28th, 2004

I am quite possibly the ONLY person in the world to think this way, but I fucken LOVE this album. Hell, not even Kurdt Vanderhoof likes this one... but this one just RULES. All the classy songwriting that made Hanging in the Balance a complete WINNAR is indeed still here. Combine this with a more powerful punch in the riff department, and also a few subtle touches of 70s guitar rock that Kurdt had played with in his Hall Aflame and Vanderhoof projects... you get an absolute rager of an album - one with a clarity of purpose sadly missing in very many bands. The subsequent tour may have been a disaster, but the songwriting sessions for the album were miraculously competent.

The biggest complaint people seem to have are the vocals... they're not perfect, but after a few listens they get appropriate. This isn't Mike Howe, but it'll do quite well. That said, they are the weak part, when compared to the fabulous riffage. This isn't anything like the first two albums - in fact, it sounds more like The Human Factor and Hanging in the Balance than anything else - so people were inevitably disappointed. Tough billiards, people.

Highlights? It's the little things... like the PURE FUCKEN METAL break in the middle of "Into Dust" (2:40) combined with the catchy refrain - "I gotta get some of that magic" - I don't think any other band could pull this off convincingly, but these guys can. Throw in the acoustic second guitar a la Badlands, and even the purposeful keyboards, and we've got probably the best track on the album.

Severe competition is offered from the epic war march "They Signed in Blood", which comes in near the end, but not as the closer. "The riders are coming! The hoofbeats are thumping! The spectre of death leads the way!" This is nothing that had not been done by other bands, anything from Black Sabbath (Megalomania, Heaven and Hell) to Helstar (Winds of War) to Gamma Ray (Rebellion in Dreamland), but hey, it's how metal works. It doesn't work when Opeth takes the formulae and defecates on them from a great height - it works when they are used well, and the songwriting is never EVER lost.

Indeed, this goes past the "chapter and verse" recital of the first two albums, and thus adds something in the memorability department that those two don't have. Oh they are quite excellent albums too, ranging from all-out ballbusters like "Big Guns" and "Western Alliance" to epic over-the-top masterworks like "Gods of Wrath" - here, we've got straightforward rockers "Sleeps with Thunder", "All Your Sorrows", "Faster than Life"... then the and the aforementioned "Into Dust", which makes Virgin Steele envious with the total atmosphere.

Throw in the cover "Toys in the Attic", where Kurdt and pals show that 70s-rock streak, but do it oh-so-well. This will never EVER get confused with the dregs of that - James Taylor or the rest. This is uptempo, energetic, and gets straight to the point at all times.

It's all good... from the oddly moving "Kiss for the Dead", which tackles dying and does it well, with Dave Wayne actually doing a great melodic singing voice for once... to even the little interlude title track, taking a chapter out of the Heretic cookbook. Another riff monster in "All Your Sorrows" - man, these guys come in with classic power-metal riff after classic power-metal riff. This will not be mistaken for Lamb of God - this is a classic heavy fucken metal album in every sense of the word. Don't forget the pre-solo buildup that's a total singalong, and then of course screaming duelling leads all over the place without sounding gratuitous.

A winnar. An absolute winnar. It's totally not what the fans expected, and basically everyone tanked it. But hey, everyone tanked Hanging in the Balance too, and that's their best. This one comes in a surprising second.

Not too memorable and weak - 70%

Reaper, August 6th, 2004

I approached this album with much anxiety and anticipation, as I liked previous Metal Church albums. This album somewhat disappointed me as I can only recall two or three songs that I actually enjoyed. The first song, “Sleeps With Thunder,” is one of the songs that stood out for me, and is also one of the highlights of the album. Great chorus and nice drum work, make this song a fine listen.

As you progress through the album, the songs get weaker, except for the fifth and eight songs, “Lb. For Cure” and “All Your Sorrows” respectively, which I liked due to the fact that they were comparably heavier then the rest of the songs, and somewhat memorable. The song “Falldown” has a decent chorus, but it does have a cheese factor. Now, I listen to some of the Flower Metal, such as Sonata Arctica, but you can’t sing, We Allllll Falllllll Doooowwwnnnn, without sounding like an idiot. Metal Church can do much better than “We All Fall Down.”

The other songs are decent, but like I said before, they’re nothing too special. What really pissed me off was the fact that the title track, “Masterpeace,” Was a crock of shit. No, it wasn’t even that it was corny, or cheesy or badly produced or anything else of that nature, it was a fucking acoustic bullshit track for a minute and 54 seconds. I was expecting a bang-your-head-to-guitar-drum-bass-vocal-assault, but what I got was a waste of my time. Well I say, fuck you David Wayne, Masterpeace my ass. Now I know what you’re saying, it’s just one song. May I remind you that it’s supposed to be a metal album, and when you call an album or a song “Masterpeace” I, at least, expect something decent. Instead I got three or four songs that I can listen to and the rest are fillers without a personality.

The last song “Sand Kings,” is a highlight as well, comparable to the first track. Although the lyrics are a tad cheesy, they are entertaining to sing along to and offer an enjoyable experience. The fact that the first and last tracks are the most memorable and the best to listen to does not help the album, as most of the other songs lack what the first and last tracks have, which is individuality. Sure you can sing along to some of them, but in the end they’re just bland and boring.

This album is a lot weaker than the other Metal Church albums, and less than what I expected. Overall it is tolerable to listen to, but nothing to rush out to the store for. If you’re a big Metal Church fan, this will be enough, as it does offer some good tracks, but overall it just doesn’t make the cut, and I doubt it will be in your cd player very often.