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March 28, 2024


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Wayne
Metal Church (Nuclear Blast)

By: Jeb Branin

Former METAL CHURCH vocalist David Wayne declares war on his previous band mates by making an album that is pure metal and pure METAL CHURCH. In spite of being a long time fan I still can't bring myself to care one bit about the band politics that are so obviously at the root of this record. All I care about is the music. In that regard I am both pleased and a bit disappointed. Pleased, because this is exactly the kind of album it should be - raw, driving heavy metal that is almost fast enough to be thrash but still has enough BLACK SABBATH to not be (in fact too much BLACK SABBATH during the tune "DSD" where the main riff is just a little too close to "Heaven And Hell" for comfort). Disappointed, in the fact that I expected this to be more than it is. Maybe I expected too much but if Wayne has the audacity to name the album "Metal Church" (and use the cover art he does) then I don't think it unreasonable that I anticipate something on par with the classic first two METAL CHURCH albums. This is not at that level. Sometimes it comes close (the track "Nightmare Part II" for example) but overall it is more on par with Wayne's post M.C. band REVEREND, which is not really a bad thing mind you, REVEREND was good, it just isn't the quality of classic M.C. One of the biggest problems on this CD is that David Wayne's voice has gotten better over the years. He has learned to sing. Now you wouldn't think that a liability but in my book it is. His voice now lacks some of the distinction and uniqueness it once had. Sometimes now he sounds more like Ronnie James Dio than himself, which is disappointing if you are a long time fan. All in all a good album and a godsend for fans of real metal but I'll still hope for something more on the next release.
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