METAL CHURCH - The Human Factor

While the grunge era was in full swing, Metal Church gathered all their strength in their attempt to fight the windmills, and so they released an album that enjoyed an enthusiastic reception by the metal audiences of the time. The Human Factor gives us energetic, adrenaline-filled metal, made by very good players complemented by a vocalist that fits the music perfectly. It is a fast album, with influences from heavy metal, thrash and power metal. The lyrics cover social and political issues, and their message is still valid today, even though 20 years have passed since its release.

The five are assisted significantly by their former guitarist, Kurdt Vanderhoof, who, even though he did not enter the studio with them, writes on each song, except Flee from Reality. Mike Howe, the one that replaced David Wayne in the late 80s seems to have been the winning ticket for what Metal Church wanted to do. His voice is filled with enthusiasm and he doesn’t let down a single moment on this record. It is said about Mike Howe that he was a front runner in the mid-90s to replace Rob Halford at Judas Priest, only losing to another super-singer, Tim Owen "Ripper". John Marshall, who joined the band together with Howe, soloes in tandem with Craig Wells doing honour to what heavy metal used to be. On the bass guitar we have Duke Erickson, setting the rhythm for this release together with super-drummer Kirk Arrington.

My favourite songs are In Due Time and Agent Green, but this doesn’t mean that the other eight are in any way inferior. The album’s hit, for which a video was made, In Harm's Way, is a song starting slowly with acoustic guitars and gradually increasing in intensity and speed and climaxing in a marvellous guitar solo. I must also note the wickedness on The Final Word and the speed on Flee from Reality, two tracks that are an honour to the genre. At the same time, Date with Poverty, toward the end, gives us a very interesting dialogue between Howe and one of the guitars, ending in a simple yet effective "fuck you" from the vocal. The Fight Song concludes the material, and is perhaps the most optimistic song of all, calling you to fight for your rights and not become a victim of this miserable society we live in.

Even if The Human Factor did not impress with its sales, it is the album that any heavy metal fan would want to hear. This is why I recommend it to all music lovers who prefer this genre done without any compromise and who are not yet familiar with this human factor.

Fantotzii Nota: 10