METAL CHURCH - The Weight Of The World
September 30, 2004, 20 years ago
(SPV)
And so it goes, in the space of one song the much ballyhooed and royally trounced Masterpeace "comeback" album from 1999 is wiped from memory. Mine, anyway. Lead track 'Leave Them Behind' kicks in and it's 1993's Hangin' In The Balance all over again, albeit with guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof actually in the band rather than just writing the material, and shredding up a storm to boot. New vocalist Ronny Munroe is anything but a pretender to the throne, matching if not surpassing the performances of former Churchmen David Wayne and Mike Howe, pretty much carrying this album from start to finish. In fact, the only time Munroe's charm falters is in the chorus of 'Hero's Soul', which is just plain annnoying, but all is forgiven in light of songs like 'Cradle To Grave', 'Bomb To Drop', 'Sunless Sky' and the aforementioned 'Leave Them Behind', all of which sport classic Metal Church decor. In stark contrast to Masterpeace, which is a directionless wash of sound in comparison, The Weight Of The World drags you in and keeps your attention for almost the entire duration. It loses the flow somewhat on closing track 'Blood Money', but even primary songwriter Vanderhoof is allowed to have an off moment or two.
