On March 28th, Metal Church featuring returning frontman Mike Howe performed at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in New York City, NY. Check out fan filmed video of "No Friend Of Mine" and "Gods Of Second Chance", taken from the band's Hanging In The Balance album, below.

Savatage / Trans-Siberian Orchestra guitarist Chris Caffery has joined Metal Church for their current US dates, filling in for guitarist Rick Van Zandt, who has had undergone surgery to fix a detached retina.

The setlist on the night was as follows:

"Fake Healer"
"In Mourning"
"Start The Fire"
"Reset"
"Gods Of Second Chance"
"Date With Poverty"
"No Tomorrow"
"Watch The Children Pray"
"No Friend Of Mine"
"Killing Your Time"
"Beyond The Black"
"Badlands"
"The Human Factor"

Metal Church will be heading over to Europe in May and then return back to Europe for more dates in July and August. More tour dates to be announced in the near future. For more information on all upcoming tour dates, go to this location.

Tour dates:

April
1 - Ringle, MI - Q & Z Expo Center
2 - Cudahy, WI - The Metal Grill
3 - Des Moines, IA - Vaudeville Mews
4 - Chicago, IL - Reggie’s
6 - Cleveland, OH - Agora Ballroom
7 - Columbus, OH - O’Shecky’s
8 - Poughkeepsie, NY - The Chance
9 - Rochester, NY - Montage Music Hall

May
6 - Hamburg, Germany - Klubsen
7 - Hannover, Germany - Musikzentrum
8 - Saarbrücken, Germany - Garage
10 - London, UK - Underworld
12 - Prattein, Switzerland - Z7
13 - Regensburg, Germany - Airport Obertraubling
14 - Gelsenkirchen, Germany - Rock Hard Festival
15 - Berlin, Germany - Columbia Theater

July
15 - Balingen, Germany - Bang Your Head Festival
16 - Eindhoven, Netherlands - Dynamo Metalfest

August
5 - Pori, Finland - Porisphere Festival
6 - Wacken, Germany - Wacken Open Air
13 - Kortrijk, Belgium - Alcatraz Metal Fest

Metal Church released their new album, XI, on March 25th via Rat Pak Records. The band’s 11th studio release also marks the return of legendary vocalist and front man Mike Howe. Check out a new lyric video for the track “Killing Your Time” below:

Guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof posted on the band's Facebook page about how Metal Church feels like a “real band” again.

Vanderhoof writes: “I can’t begin to tell you how great it’s been having Mike Howe back!! We have great chemistry, we all love metal music, and for the first time in a very long time, it feels like (a) REAL band again! Thanks to everyone who has preordered so far!”

The new album is available for preorder in various exclusive bundles at this location. A limited number of the Deluxe International Version are available on the website and features a bonus disc of 8 extra songs. Other bundles include guitar picks, stickers, a special edition behind the scenes photo book, t-shirts and even a limited number of personal phone calls from Mike Howe himself.

The album is also available via Amazon (link below), Google Play and via iTunes, and fans that order the digital version will receive an instant download of “Killing Your Time” from the new album. XI was produced by Kurdt Vanderhoof and co-produced by Chris “The Wizard” Collier.

XI tracklisting:                                                                        

“Reset”
“Killing Your Time”
“No Tomorrow”
“Signal Path”
“Sky Falls In”
“Needle & Suture”
“Shadow”
“Blow Your Mind”
“Soul Eating Machine”
“It Waits”
“Suffer Fools”

“No Tomorrow” video:

Behind the scenes:

Photo by Mark Gromen