Metal Church with Marc Lopes on vocals, after the suicide of Mike Howe (July 26, 2021), brings the air of renewal and fits perfectly with what they want to play on their 13th album, they achieve the ultimate bond.
Solid heavy compositions with a lot more thrash references.
If we put “Congregation of Annihilation” in the set of Metal Church releases, it fits easily as a continuation of their discography.
Taken individually, it has all the elements of a modern heavy/thrash album that will please with its dynamics.
Kurdt Vanderhoof will take his playing and production of “Congregation of Annihilation” to a high and favorite standard for fans of the band.
With the short time compositions the thrash elements stand out more, while with the longer ones the heavy ones.
Marc Lopes’ voice is reminiscent of David Wayne at times and Ronny Munroe at others, but as we mentioned above, the most important elements are his own personal style and the renewal he brought with his arrival.
The compositions are more than worked with the American playing style dominating the most typical example is the track “Pick a God and Prey”.
The dominant compositional highlight of the Metal Church tracks, i.e. the sharp riffs and the dynamic drums are also here on this album.
But there are also melodic pieces with slower passages and they bring to the surface other synthetic virtues. A typical example is the track “Me the Nothing”.
With only founding member Kurdt Vanderhoof and so many changes in the band’s lineup, it’s fortunate that “Congregation of Annihilation” is so good and Metal Church’s best among recent releases.
Spyros Tribos
8,5/10
“Congregation of Annihilation” tracklist:
1. Another Judgement Day 03:37
2. Congregation of Annihilation 04:24
3. Pick a God and Prey 04:39
4. Children of the Lie 05:48
5. Me the Nothing 05:33
6. Making Monsters 05:29
7. Say a Prayer with 7 Bullets 03:35
8. These Violent Thrills 03:46
9. All That We Destroy 04:11
10. My Favorite Sin 04:24
11. Salvation 03:44
total 49:10
“Congregation of Annihilation” lineup:
Kurdt Vanderhoof Guitars
Steve Unger Bass
Rick van Zandt Guitars
Stet Howland Drums
Marc Lopes Vocals
