Drummer Jeff Plate has announced his departure from West Coast metal veterans, Metal Church. His statement follows:

“It is with a heavy heart that I am announcing my departure from Metal Church. I came to this conclusion two weeks ago, and agreed to hold off on the announcement until Metal Church had made some decisions on what they were going to do. This is obviously not an easy decision. After many conversations with myself, my wife, my family, my management and Kurdt Vanderoof and Mike Howe, I know I am doing the right thing for my future.

“I know there will be questions and speculation. The bottom line is time, my time, and how best I manage it. I had to come to terms with the fact that time is just blowing by at the speed of light and there is no time for me to second guess or regret anything I'm doing. At this point in my life I need to be in more control of my time and career. I have a number of things I’d like to do and try, and to do these I have to give up something I truly love and am very proud of.

“I cannot thank Kurdt Vanderhoof enough for inviting me into Metal Church. For the past 12 years I have had the honor and privilege of playing some of the best, truly iconic hard rock/heavy metal songs ever written. I have recorded four records with the band. The latest, XI, is not only one of my favorite Metal Church records, but I feel it is the one of the best, if not the best records I have recorded throughout my career.

“Also, I cannot thank the Metal Church fan base enough for the tremendous support. I have met thousands of you over the years and you, fans old and new, are simply the best. You have kept this band alive for the past 33 years, and I am sure there is more great music to come.

“Metal Church is in a good place, and there are a number of shows and good things coming up this year. This decision is made now to not only let me prepare for the year to come, but also to let Metal Church do the same.

“Kurdt Vanderhoof, Mike Howe, Steve Unger, Rick VanZandt, Tim Harding (sound and production), and Joe Obrien (President, Rat Pak Records) have been a tremendous team, and they are also very good friends of mine. I wish them nothing but the best.

“I hope to see you all again somewhere down the road. I will keep you posted on my activities. Trust me, I will not sit still for very long.

“Thank you, take care.”

Metal Church will release Classic Live via Rat Pak Records on April 28th. Produced by Kurdt Vanderhoof, this special edition release features nine classic Metal Church songs recorded live on their 2016 tour and also includes a special bonus track; a powerful new studio version of “Fake Healer” that features a duet with Queensrÿche vocalist Todd La Torre. A music video for “Fake Healer” can be seen below:

Comments guitarist Kurdt 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 honour to be back and it makes me very happy to see that almost 3 decades later, fans are still enjoying these songs!”

On the subject of the “Fake Healer” duet with Todd, Mike Howe comments, “The idea came from the owner of our label Rat Pak Records (Joe). It was his idea to record this as a duet with Todd. It’s an amazing version and I think fans will be very surprised at how good it sounds!"

Todd La Torre further comments, "Having been a fan of Metal Church since my early teens, never in my wildest dreams would I have ever imagined that the great Mike Howe would re-join the band! Getting the opportunity to record a duet to the track Fake Healer was beyond amazing!”

Metal Church Classic Live is currently available for pre-order via the Rat Pak Records website in various bundles including vinyl, signed CD’s and t-shirts and can be found at this location.

Tracklisting:

“Beyond The Black” (Live)
“Date with Poverty” (Live)
“Gods Of A Second Chance” (Live)
“In Mourning” (Live)
“Watch The Children Pray” (Live)
“Start The Fire” (Live)
“No Friend Of Mine” (Live)
“Badlands” (Live)
“Human Factor” (Live)
“Fake Healer” (Bonus studio track featuring Todd La Torre of Queensrÿche)
“Badlands” (2015 Studio Version) (Vinyl version only

(Top photo - Metal Church Facebook)