Pete Pardo at Sea Of Tranquility caught up with Metal Church / Presto Ballet guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof, whio is gearing up to release his new  "'70s old-school guitar riff rock" solo album, Brainchild, in 2021.

Vanderhoof: "I did everything; drums, vocals, everything. Not because I think I can, but just because I wanted to do it. I wanted to try it and it came out okay. I can listen to it, and I don't have to hit 'eject' right away. Musically, it's fine, but the whole vocal thing was just something I wanted to try to do. I spent years and years and years and years telling singers how to do it, like, 'Okay, that was flat. That was sharp. Do it again.' So, I'm like, 'Well, why don't you just do it yourself?' It was a lot of fun."

Metal Church will release Classic Live via Reaper Entertainment on October 16th in Europe. Produced by Kurdt Vanderhoof, this special edition release features nine classic Metal Church songs recorded live on their 2016 tour.

Vanderhoof: "This album not only commemorates the reunion between Mike and the band, but it also pays tribute to some of the more popular songs of that era. It's really cool to see so many old fans and new fans of all ages enjoying these classics as we perform them live, so it only made sense to release this."

Mike Howe adds: "It's an honor to be back and it makes me very happy to see that almost three decades later, fans are still enjoying these songs!"

This unique collector's item comes as an exclusive LP in gatefold and as a CD jewelcase.

Tracklisting:

"Beyond The Black"
"Date With Poverty"
"Gods Of A Second"
"In Mourning"
"Watch The Children"
"Start The Fire"
"No Friend Of Mine"
"Badlands"
"The Human Factor"

Born out of the West Coast Metal scene of the 80's, Metal Church quickly became one of the standout talents of the genre. After signing a deal with Elektra records, they released two critically acclaimed albums, their self-titled release Metal Church and The Dark. With the heavy metal scene starting to rise in the US, Metal Church set out on a very successful tour with label mates Metallica. They tackled political and social issues of the day with the releases of Blessing In Disguise and The Human Factor. At a time when heavy metal bands moved from the underground and became part of the hair band/pop fad, Metal Church stayed true to their roots. In March of 2016 Metal Church released their eleventh studio album XI that reached #57 on the Billboard Top 200 and also landed on several other charts around the globe. Metal Church’s previous album Damned If You Do was the follow up to XI and landed on numerous charts around the globe in 2018. The album has been described as a cross between the band’s iconic Blessing In Disguise and The Human Factor albums.

More info coming soon - stay tuned.

Metal Church are

Mike Howe - Vocals
Kurdt Vanderhoof - Guitars
Stet Howland - Drums
Steve Unger - Bass
Rick Van Zandt - Guitars