METAL CHURCH singer Marc Lopes explains tour cancelation
01-02-2024
At last Wednesday night’s (January 24) Metal Hall Of Fame gala at the Delta Marriott Garden Grove in Garden Grove, California, METAL CHURCH singer Marc Lopes spoke to The Metal Voice about the cancelation of the band’s previously announced 2024 tour dates due to “an ongoing back issue” suffered by guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof. He said: “We did this whole tour from May till December, finishing in Australia. He’s had a chronic problem with his back for a long time. And I can understand that, ’cause I do too. It’s a little bit different. But he battled through as best as he could always; I mean, he never not did what needed to be done. And it just got to the point where if he didn’t address it, it would just end up being — he wouldn’t be able to play. So, rather than take that chance, it was better off that he go and get it taken care of and then carry on from there.”
Asked by host Jimmy Kay if METAL CHURCH is “continuing” despite Kurdt‘s health setback, Marc said: “As far as I know. (Laughs) I haven’t got that memo [that the band is over] yet. And in all honesty, if it did happen, I would understand. It would suck, but I would totally understand. But we’re not there. So that’s good. But hopefully we’ll get together and write more. We were actually starting to get into that mode of writing the next record. I had a billion ideas ready to go — you know me — so, that probably will happen at some point, depending on how his recovery is.”
When METAL CHURCH first announced that it was canceling its tour dates, Vanderhoof said in a statement: “As some of you may have recently noticed during our live performances, I frequently will disappear to the side of the stage during a set and continue playing while sitting on a chair. This is due to an ongoing back issue that I’ve needed to deal with for a while now. I kept putting it off and it’s finally caught up with me, so I’m going to get this taken care of so I can continue performing live in the future.
“That being said, sadly we will be canceling all upcoming show dates for 2024. I apologize for this but I need to get this taken care of.
“Check with your local venues for any refunds.
“Thank you for your continued support and I’m looking forward to seeing you in the future!”
In a recent interview with Metal Wani, Lopes was asked how he takes care of his singing voice. He said: “I work out all the time. I eat good. I rest as much as I can. It’s a mindset too. And just try to stay mentally healthy too, ’cause that’s probably one of the biggest parts of the battle; a lot of people don’t understand. I know, ’cause I know at the beginning of this METAL CHURCH stuff, I was a mess — the stress and the amount of anxiety I had. I mean, the first batch of shows, I could barely get notes out, there was so much stress. I felt like everybody was just weighing on my chest. And now (I feel] just a lot more comfortable in my footing and having a lot more fun.”
METAL CHURCH made its live debut with Lopes on June 3, 2023 at the Legions Of Metal festival at Reggies in Chicago, Illinois.
Lopes joined METAL CHURCH in the summer of 2022 as the replacement for Mike Howe, who tragically passed away in July of 2021. The band’s current lineup is rounded out by founding guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof, guitarist Rick Van Zandt, bassist Steve Unger and drummer Stet Howland.
Lopes‘s first studio album with METAL CHURCH, “Congregation Of Annihilation” came out on May 26, 2023 via Rat Pak Records (America) and Reaper Entertainment (Europe). The LP was produced by Vanderhoof.
“Congregation Of Annihilation” features nine all new tracks from METAL CHURCH and continues to build upon their iconic sound the band established over three decades ago. Infused with intelligent lyrical content, thundering guitar riffs, and Marc‘s aggressive soaring vocals, “Congregation Of Annihilation” furthers the bands sonic evolution up to the next level and is guaranteed to enthrall metal music fans around the world. From the first guitar riff of album opener “Another Judgement Day” through the driving outro of album closer “All That We Destroy”, it is clear METAL CHURCH is back and better than ever. “Congregation Of Annihilation”, “Children Of The Lie” and “These Violent Thrills” showcase the sonically charged songwriting that made the early METAL CHURCH albums such fan favorites. Haunting musical opuses “Me The Nothing” and “Making Monsters” each puts the musicianship that METAL CHURCH was known for on full display in 2023. The album also features two bonus tracks: “My Favorite Sin” and “Salvation”.
“Congregation Of Annihilation” track listing:
01. Another Judgement Day
02. Congregation Of Annihilation
03. Pick A God And Prey
04. Children Of The Lie
05. Me The Nothing
06. Making Monsters
07. Say A Prayer With 7 Bullets
08. These Violent Thrills
09. All That We Destroy
10. My Favorite Sin(bonus track)
11. Salvation (bonus track)
When Lopes‘s addition to METAL CHURCH was first announced in early February, Vanderhoof wrote in a social media post: “We auditioned a handful of vocalists and while they were all great, Marc quickly became the clear choice.
“Both David Wayne and Mike Howe had a very unique, irreplaceable quality to their voices, so we were not looking for a clone of either. We wanted someone new, who could embrace the past, and also bring something fresh and exciting to the mix.
“Marc brings a very classic yet modern feel to the songs and we are looking forward to getting this new album out to you later this year (via Rat Pak Records)!”
Howe was found dead at his home in Eureka, California in July 2021. According to TMZ, Howe‘s official cause of death was determined to be asphyxia due to hanging. A spokesperson for the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Dept. told the site authorities are calling it a suicide. He was only 55 years old.
When Mike‘s death was first announced, TMZ stated that cops in Eureka got a call just after 10 a.m. on July 26, 2021 reporting an unexpected death at a home. By the time deputies arrived, they found Howe dead at the scene.
According to police, drugs and alcohol are not believed to be factors in the death and no controlled substances or paraphernalia were located at the scene.
Four days after Howe‘s death, the surviving members of METAL CHURCH shared a statement on social media in which they blamed his suicide on the fact that he “was victimized by a failing health-care system and subsequently poisoned by the venom of Big Pharma,” a term which refers collectively to the global pharmaceutical industry. “In short and in essence, he fell prey to the real ‘Fake Healer’.”
METAL CHURCH‘s statement was quickly met with criticism from some of the band’s fans who felt that the long-running metal act was using Howe‘s death as a platform to assert its political views. As a result, METAL CHUCH pulled its original post from social media and replaced it with a revised version, in which the musicians said they were “in no way, shape or form referring to anything in relation to vaccinations, COVID or politics. We were saying our brother was hurting and while he was seeking medical care for it, the treatments he was utilizing did not protect him,” they wrote. “Otherwise, he would still be with us today.”
Howe, who fronted METAL CHURCH from 1988 until 1994, officially rejoined the band in April 2015.
Prior to joining METAL CHURCH more than three decades ago, Howe spent two years fronting California metal act HERETIC.
The reunion between Mike and METAL CHURCH was put in motion in July of 2014 when Mike started working with Vanderhoof on a side project Kurdt was forming with Nigel Glockler from SAXON. Through these initial conversations, Kurdt convinced Mike to ultimately return to METAL CHURCH. The idea was to see if they could recapture some of the magic from the three albums METAL CHURCH released in the late ’80s: “The Human Factor”, “Blessing In Disguise” and “Hanging In The Balance”. Out of those sessions, 2016’s “XI” was born and captured the sound that made the band fan favorites in the ’80s and mixed it with a new, invigorated sound.
METAL CHURCH‘s latest release was “From The Vault”, which arrived in April 2020 via Rat Pak Records. The effort was a special-edition compilation album that featured 14 previously unreleased songs from the Howe era, including four newly recorded studio tracks, among them a redux of the band’s fan favorite classic “Conductor”.
Howe is not the first singer of METAL CHURCH to die. David Wayne passed away in May 2005 from complications following a car crash. He was 47 years old.
Wayne sang on METAL CHURCH‘s first two classic offerings (1984’s “Metal Church” and 1986’s “The Dark”) before leaving the group and being replaced by Howe.
Left to right in photo: Stet Howland (drums), Steve Unger (bass), Marc Lopes (vocals), Rick Van Zandt (guitars), Kurdt Vanderhoof (guitars)
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