Album Review: Metal Church – Damned if You Do (Nuclear Blast)

West coast metal veterans Metal Church will release their 12th full length studio album ‘Damned If You Do’ via Nuclear Blast Records on December 7th 2018. The latest release is the follow-up to their highly successful 2016 album ‘XI’, which saw the return of legendary frontman Mike Howe. Damned If You Do is a cross between the band’s iconic Blessing In Disguise and The Human Factor.

This new offering features ten fully-charged, classic-metal influenced songs that showcase the sound that has garnered the band a solid fanbase for over 3 decades.

You can read our reviews of the previously released singles, Out of Balance here and By the Numbers here.

Kurdt Vanderhoof comments, “I feel this album is a very powerful statement to what Metal Church has always been about. A tough and aggressive old-school metal album while maintaining a level of musicality and melodic sensibilities.”

Bang your head, throw the horns or a fist in the air…Metal Church are back with an album that is out and out heavy metal. No messing around needed here, the legendary metallers know what to do and on Damned if You Do they do it so well.

A rolling, in your face drum beat alongside a fiery vocal performance certainly ticks the right boxes on the title track, a perfect opener that gets the blood pumping nicely. Not that this is an album that ever cools down though. The Black Things, By the Numbers and Guillotine are rollicking slabs of gloriously old-school heavy metal and Mike Howe absolutely bristles with energy as he spits and snarls his way throughout.

He’s not the only one on fire though as Kurdt Vanderhoof, Steve Unger and Rick Van Zandt kill it on guitars. No matter if it’s a tasty bass hook that digs in deep, a riff that gets the hair standing up on the back of your neck or a solo that thrills the soul.

Then there is Stet Howland’s stunning drum performance. Rot Away is a head-banger in every way but his rhythmic crushing is what really stands out.

There are a handful of moments where things don’t quite gel though. Into the Fold is so straight-forward and slows to mind-numbing crawl. Easily the most forgettable track of the 10 although Monkey Finger gets pretty close with its very repetitive riffs.

The down-ward trend is corrected for Out of Balance though and the Metal Church that lit up the speakers return. Catchy vocals with guitar rhythm that slays, the solo in the latter half is hotter than hell. Damned if You Do then wraps up with chunky, pacey groove and Howe reaching devilish highs with his vocals. One last concerted effort from the band to get every head banging and you’d be a fool to not join in.

Proving that they still have it and have it in bucket loads, Metal Church aren’t rewriting the heavy metal rulebook here but they adding a welcome new chapter. Baring two songs it’s a banger throughout.

Metal Church – Damned if You Do Full Track Listing:

1. Damned if You Do
2. The Black Things
3. By the Numbers
4. Revolution Numbers
5. Guillotine
6. Rot Away
7. Into the Fold
8. Monkey Finger
9. Out of Balance
10. The War Electric

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Damned if You Do will be available via all major streaming services and can be ordered by Nuclear Blast here.