Kurdt Vanderhoof Remembers Metal Church

Interview by Avril Savoie
Exclusive to Rockstar Weekly

Metal Church originally formed as Shrapnel in 1981, with Mike Murphy on vocals, Kirk Arrington on drums, Craig Wells and Kurdt Vanderhoof on guitars, and Duke Erickson on bass. Mike Murphy quit, however, citing personal and creative differences. He was replaced by David Wayne. In 1982, Metal Church released a demo tape called the Four Hymns. This album contained the songs "Battalions", "Deathwish", "Gods of Wrath", and "The Brave". Though the demo has been long out-of-print, the songs are freely available from the band's web site. In 1984, their self-titled debut album was released. The album included three songs from the Four Hymns demo and a cover of Deep Purple's "Highway Star". Metal Church had to sell 70,000 copies of their debut on their own before being signed to Elektra. According to David Wayne, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich of Metallica urged Elektra to sign the band before some other label did. By the time Metal Church released The Dark in 1986, they were touring with high-profile acts like Metallica. The Dark was a commercial success, helped by the fact that the band's first music video, featuring the song "Watch the Children Pray", received frequent airplay on MTV. Unfortunately, these positive developments were followed by serious problems within Metal Church, which resulted in a change in lineup. In 1989, the band replaced Wayne with former Heretic singer Mike Howe and released Blessing In Disguise. John Marshall took over Vanderhoof's position on guitar, who now contributed mainly as a songwriter. Ironically, after being replaced by Heretic's former singer, David Wayne recruited the remaining members of Heretic to form Reverend. It would be a decade before David Wayne worked with Metal Church again.

Following the release of 1991's The Human Factor, Kurdt started working solo. He formed a new band called Hall Aflame, which released a debut album in 1991 entitled Guaranteed Forever through I.R.S. Records. This was the only album Hall Aflame would release, and the band folded shortly thereafter.

Metal Church broke up in 1993 after the release of Hanging in the Balance. Kurdt and Kirk formed "Vanderhoof" and released their self-titled debut album in 1997. The founding members of Metal Church released the album Live in 1998. Featuring songs from their first two albums and recorded at multiple performances in the mid-'80s, this is Metal Church's only official live album to date. It was during the production of Live that the members of the first major lineup decided to re-form, beginning work on a new studio album. Craig Wells was forced to depart from the band, however, due to familial obligations.He was replaced by John Marshall. The new album was entitled Masterpeace, and was released in 1999. This was Metal Church's first album with new material in six years. Many fans expected Masterpeace to be a follow-up to Metal Church and The Dark, but some were disappointed when they compared the latest album to the band's early releases. Even vocalist David Wayne expressed some regret with what happened on Masterpeace. This dissatisfaction would influence Wayne's musical output years later. David Wayne departed Metal Church again in 2001 due to personal and creative differences. He then formed a new band called Wayne and released an album entitled Metal Church with former band mate Craig Wells. (Craig Wells didn't actually play guitar on this album, but he did give permission for his name to be used on it.) Wayne's Metal Church album created significant controversy with the band Metal Church, particularly founding member Kurdt Vanderhoof, who objected to the album's name and cover art. According to Wayne, the purpose of the album's name was to let everyone know of his involvement. Vanderhoof released A Blur in Time in 2002, and Kurdt started working on new material for Metal Church's studio album. In 2004, Kurdt and Kirk recruited Ronny Munroe, ex-Malice guitarist Jay Reynolds, and Steve Unger. The result was the album Weight of the World. On May 9th, 2005, David Wayne died of complications from injuries sustained in a car accident that occurred months before. He was 47 years old. In 2006, Kirk Arrington left the band due to health complications with diabetes. His replacement was Jeff Plate, who previously worked with Savatage, Chris Caffery and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. On June 27th, 2006, Metal Church released A Light in the Dark, which featured a re-recording of "Watch the Children Pray" as a tribute to David Wayne. Kurdt Vanderhoof said that the tribute was a way of showing fans that he harbored no ill-will for David Wayne, despite the contentious situation that existed between them before Wayne's untimely death.

Metal Church released their latest album entitled This Present Wasteland on September 23rd, 2008, followed by a tour. Guitarist Jay Reynolds left the band before the album was recorded; his replacement was Rick Van Zandt. In October 2008, the band was forced to take a hiatus from touring for approximately six months due to Vanderhoof's back problems. Vanderhoof stated that he would continue working in the studio on new Metal Church projects and work on Ronny Munroe's new solo album. The remaining members of Metal Church planned to remain musically active until Vanderhoof's health returned. On July 7,2009, the band announced on their website that they are calling it quits. They have canceled all concert dates for August and beyond. The band is scheduled to play Rocklahoma on July 9,2009, which will be their last show.

Hows the back doing? Are you able to jump around on stage?

Have you tried alternative medicines and non-conventional techniques?

Taking it easy and a lot of chiropractor appointments, no surgeries.

Do you think youd take on a writing & producing only role like back in the late 80s?

Whats been going on in the Metal Church camp since you pulled out of the Overkill tour?

What do you remember from the early days and recording the first album?

That's a little crazy?

Metal Church disbanded in 1993 for several years. What led to the break-up?

At that point you recorded solo material. Was that a different mindframe for you?

The band got back together again in 1998. Was it a familiar experience or was it a challenge?

A couple years later the Wayne album came out. Was that a shock to see that on store shelves?

David was an important part of the bands history. It was a sad loss.

Where were you when you heard the news?

Whats the latest line-up of the band?

You said that you were in the studio, is there another CD coming?

Is there a tour in the plans?

What about Vanderhoof, will there be more?

Where did the name Metal Church originate?

Do you see the metal culture as a bit of a religion?

In the UK and Europe, metal has a larger, more accepted following. Is Metal Church looked at differently over there than in North America?

Add New
RSS

Comments (1)

2009-12-09 21:34:02 |69.155.46.255| steve buchanan - early early years!!!

I remember listening to kirk arington jam on his drums when he lived in hoquiam on queen st in north end hoquiam. Before metal church he had a band called crystal image back in his high school years, he had a guitar player named bill phelps , they would play cover tunes from the steve miller band. You could here them for blocks.

Reply