{"id":5904,"date":"2016-03-17T11:36:24","date_gmt":"2016-03-17T11:36:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-metal-church-xi\/"},"modified":"2018-03-21T21:20:44","modified_gmt":"2018-03-21T21:20:44","slug":"album-review-metal-church-xi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-metal-church-xi\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Metal Church – XI"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MetalMetal Church<\/b> take their metal seriously, some might say religiously, and, with the exception of the line-up, little has changed in their camp since their early eighties inception as one of the prime movers on the Bay area thrash scene. If it’s hard riffing and rough-edged vocals with plenty of fear and drama thrown in that you\u2019re looking for, this album is for you. It’s so metal you can almost smell the leather.<\/p>\n

From the word go it’s back to 1983, the retro guitar sound of the opening riff to ‘Reset’<\/i>, with its urgent drums and traditional metal vocal, sounding totally old school. ‘Killing Your Time’<\/i> follows at similar tempo and it\u2019s “time to pay for all your evil ways”<\/i> with shout-along choruses, fist pumping and a lorra head-banging.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

But, you know what? It rocks. MC<\/b> know their way round a good solid riff, can knock out a scorching solo at the drop of a hat and there are plenty of hooks in their tracks. It may be far from groundbreaking, but it is all highly proficient. From the scatter gun riffing and hot-rocking groove of stand-out track ‘No Tomorrow ’<\/i>, through to the epic ‘Signal Path’<\/i> and ‘Sky Falls In’<\/i>, replete with atmospheric touches and big choruses, it’s all well-executed.<\/p>\n

However, some tracks like ‘Blow Your Mind’<\/i> are unnecessarily long; the six-and-a-half minutes of brooding drama proving a little indulgent. Also, the theatrical ‘It Waits’<\/i> and the one-paced ‘Needle & Suture’<\/i> are indicative of the more clich\u00e9 aspects to their sound.<\/p>\n

On the whole though, if you don’t mind the obvious throwback feel, ‘XI’<\/i> is largely enjoyable and boasts a fine array of riffs sure to please their army of hardcore fans and any ardent metalhead.<\/p>\n

3\/5<\/p>\n

‘XI’<\/em> by Metal Church<\/strong> is released on 25th March on Nuclear Blast<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Heel<\/strong> links: Website<\/a>|>Facebook<\/a>|Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n

Words by Edward Layland (@EdwardLayland<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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