''A Light in the Dark'' is the eighth studio album by American heavy metal band

Metal Church Metal Church is an American heavy metal band. They originally formed in San Francisco, California in 1980 and then relocated to Aberdeen, Washington the following year and briefly using the name Shrapnel. Led by guitarist and songwriter Kurd ...

, released on June 16, 2006 in Germany, June 19 in the rest of Europe, and June 27 in the US. This was the third Metal Church album to feature the cruciform

Gibson Explorer The Gibson Explorer is a type of electric guitar model by Gibson guitars, released in 1958. The Explorer offered a radical, "futuristic" body design, much like its siblings: the Flying V, which was released the same year, and the Moderne, which ...

on a cover, as well as the last to feature Jay Reynolds on guitar. It was also the first to feature

Jeff Plate Jeff Plate (born March 26, 1962) is an American professional hard rock/heavy metal drummer. He plays with the group Trans-Siberian Orchestra. He is best known as drummer for American heavy metal band Savatage on their albums since ''Japan Live '9 ...

on drums. "Watch the Children Pray 2006" is a tribute to vocalist

David Wayne David Wayne (born Wayne James McMeekan, January 30, 1914 – February 9, 1995) was an American stage and screen actor with a career spanning over 50 years. Early life and career Wayne was born in Traverse City, Michigan, the son of Helen M ...

, who died on May 10, 2005 from complications following a car crash.tacomascene.com, ''David Wayne's Obituary'' a
tacomascene.com
Retrieved April 26, 2011.metalchurchmusic.com, ''Memorial to David Wayne'' a
metalchurchmusic.com
. Retrieved April 26, 2011.

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Greg Prato reviewed the album positively and commented that it is "unmistakably" Metal Church, in spite of the fact that only Kurdt Vanderhoof is the only remaining founding member of the band who performs on the record. Prato stated that ''A Light in the Dark'' "could easily be mistaken for a

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

release of the '80s" because of songs like "A Light in the Dark" and "Beyond All Reason". Keith Bergman of

Blabbermouth.net Blabbermouth.net is a website dedicated to heavy metal and hard rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. Blabbermouth.net was founded and is run by Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was launched in March 2001; in October ...

had the same feeling, as the production "seems designed to recall past glories", but praised ''A Light in the Dark'' for being "more cohesive, more like a band effort, and not coincidentally, the most consistent album since the band's heyday with late frontman David Wayne." ''

Rock Hard "Rock Hard" is a single by the Beastie Boys, released by Def Jam Records on 12" in 1984. The track contains samples from the AC/DC song "Back in Black", which was used without obtaining legal permission, causing the record to be withdraw ...

'' reviewer called it a "good, in the most positive sense, old-fashioned metal album with a balanced mix of proven power riffs, beautiful melodies and some sing-along choruses", though it did not approach qualitatively the band's early classics. Greg Pratt of ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' wrote that "Metal Church are proving themselves to be a dependable metal institution", but criticized the album for being too long, for having "too many mid-tempo blah rockers" and for the "sense of melodrama that dogs down" many songs.

Track listing

Personnel

;Metal Church *

Ronny Munroe Ronny Munroe (born November 22, 1965) is an American singer, most noted as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Metal Church from 2003 until the band broke up in 2009. His second tenure with the band lasted from 2012 when the group reunite ...

– lead vocals *Jay Reynolds – lead guitar *

Kurdt Vanderhoof Kurdt Vanderhoof (born June 28, 1961) is an American guitarist, best known as the rhythm guitarist and founding member of the American heavy metal band Metal Church. Biography As early as 1976, Vanderhoof was ardently networking with loca ...

– rhythm guitar, keyboards, producer, engineer, mixing *Steve Unger – bass, backing vocals *

– drums ;Production *Mark Greer – mixing *Kai Swillus – artwork

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Light in the Dark, A 2006 albums Metal Church albums SPV/Steamhammer albums