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

Says Caffery: “I’m really excited to announce that I will be playing guitar with the mighty Metal Church on their upcoming US tour. Their guitarist Rick had a serious eye condition develop that needed surgery and we all pray for his continued, speedy and successful recovery.

“It will be a lot of fun to play with my longtime bandmate Jeff Plate and the guys. The first time I toured with Kurdt his band Vanderhoof was opening for Savatage. Then my solo band opened for Metal Church on my Faces tour! Steve was on bass then at the time, all of these guys are amazing musicians. It's gonna be so awesome to hear Mike Howe every night! I watched him on the cruise and was blown away at how incredible his voice is!

“If you don't have your tickets yet... what are you waiting for! It's time to go to Church! Lots of work on my end in the next few weeks but I can't wait to play this stuff live! See you soon!”

The first leg of the United States tour kicks off on March 24th in Portland, ME and runs through April 9th wrapping up in Rochester, NY at the Montage Music Hall with openers Hatchet. The record release party for XI will be the show on March 25th in Manchester, NH at the Jewel Nightclub. Admission to that show is free and is on a first come first served basis.

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:

March
24 - Portland, ME - The Asylum
25 - Manchester, NH - Jewel Nightclub (Free Show) [Record Release Party]
26 - Hartford, CT - Webster Theater
28 - New York, NY - B.B. Kings
29 - Pittsburgh, PA - Altar Bar
30 - Westland, MI - The Token Lounge

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 will release 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 for pre-order on 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.

From the first guitar riff of album opener “Reset” through the driving outro of album closer “Suffer Fools”, it is clear Metal Church is back and better than ever. “Needle And Suture” and “Soul Eating Machine” showcase the songwriting that made the early Mike Howe albums The Human Factor, Blessing In Disguise and Hanging In The Balance such fan favorites. Musical opuses “Signal Path” and “Sky Falls In” clock in at over 7-minutes each and put the musicianship that Metal Church was known for on full display in 2016.

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:

EPK Part 1: