{"id":105968,"date":"2026-04-10T00:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T23:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=105968"},"modified":"2026-04-17T10:42:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T09:42:09","slug":"album-review-metal-church-dead-to-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-metal-church-dead-to-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"METAL CHURCH – Dead To Rights (2026) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

METAL CHURCH
\nDead To Rights<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nRat Pak (2026)<\/span>
\nRating: 7.5\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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I\u2019m not going to bore you with the Metal Church history lesson like most reviews will probably resort to. Let\u2019s just focus on this, the next chapter and one we should be thankful for as sole survivor and guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof assembles a new line-up with Brian Allen (vocals, ex-Vicious Rumors), Dave Ellefson (bass, ex-Megadeth<\/a>) and Ken Mary (drums, Fifth Angel \/ Flotsam & Jetsam) joining Vanderhoof and Rick van Zandt (guitar).<\/p>\n

Still combining power metal and thrash, Metal Church continues to bridge metal genre styles successfully as deliciously crafted leads are contrasted by the more in-your-face vocal style of Allen. With both soaring falsetto\u2019s and levelled grit, Allen brings a fiery dynamic. When the combo rips into thrashy trajectories, Allen steps up to the plate yapping through \u2018F.A.F.O.\u2019 to the tirades of Mary\u2019s drums. For some, Allen\u2019s snaps may be an acquired taste, but they are befitting, certainly of the faster cuts. However, the vocalist boasts incredible versatility too.<\/p>\n

On \u2018The Show\u2019 and \u2018No Memory\u2019 the band shifts seamlessly from speedy passages to rich, textured bristling power metal, and with these transitions Allen applies his flexibility. One can see why he fits in so well, and also what made him such an asset to Vicious Rumors too. Both Vicious Rumors and Metal Church belong in that cult metal league of bands that, through the 80s and beyond, deserved the big time but somehow just simmered below.<\/p>\n

\u2018Feet To The Fire\u2019 is a massive mid-paced groove machine, rattling with an almost serrated riff as Allen slows his rage to a more brooding command. Allen is certainly closer to the grit of former Metal Church vocalist David Wayne than the soaring steel of Mike Howe, but with that he brings a solidity and consistency, the band always providing a feisty layering given extra gravel by the vocals, especially on \u2018Deep Cover Shakedown\u2019 and the juggernaut \u2018Wasted Time\u2019.<\/p>\n

By assembling such veterans, Vanderhoof has steadied a ship that on several occasions previously looked like it was sinking. Instead, Dead To Rights<\/em> is a stable vessel; there\u2019s nothing extraordinary about its construction but Metal Church has transformed out of its battle weary state and into something more formidably rejuvenated.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s not a bad song on here, just a formation of sturdy numbers from the straight up metal category. It\u2019s not necessarily an opus littered with creative spikes, its flair tends to act as gelling agent whereby the band can simply churn out heavy, rolling compositions (\u2018Brainwash Game\u2019 and \u2018My Wrath\u2019) at either end of the metal spectrum. To report on this platter as a solid slab makes me happy \u2013 the Metal Church vehicle remains fully armoured.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

METAL CHURCH Dead To Rights Rat Pak (2026) Rating: 7.5\/10 I\u2019m not going to bore you with the Metal Church history lesson like most reviews will probably resort to. Let\u2019s just focus on this, the next chapter and one we should be thankful for as sole survivor and guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof assembles a new line-up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,5383],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-metal-church"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105968"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105970,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105968\/revisions\/105970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}