''Blessing in Disguise'' is the third 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 Kurdt ...
, released on February 7, 1989.
Overview
''Blessing in Disguise'' was Metal Church's final release on
Elektra Records, and the first album not to feature the vocals of
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 ...
, due to his departure to form the band
Reverend. This album marked the band's debut with vocalist
Mike Howe
Mike Howe (August 21, 1965 – July 26, 2021) was an American heavy metal singer who performed with Metal Church, Heretic, and Snair.
Career
Howe began his career as the singer for a Detroit band called Hellion (later renamed Snair after movi ...
(formerly of
Heretic) and guitarist
John Marshall, replacing Wayne and
Kurdt Vanderhoof respectively. Vanderhoof had produced Heretic's final album ''Breaking Point'' previously. It seems that this is how Howe came to the attention of Metal Church. Wayne's new project was made up of the remaining members of Heretic.
''Blessing in Disguise'' also marked the second and last time Metal Church had worked with
Terry Date
Terry Date (born January 31, 1956) is an American record producer and audio engineer specializing in rock genres, especially heavy metal. He is well known for his work with Metal Church, Dream Theater, Soundgarden, Overkill, Pantera, Dark Ang ...
, who also produced the band's
1984 self-titled debut album. Although Vanderhoof was technically no longer an official member of the band at this point, he composed the music and lyrics for seven of the album's nine songs and appears as a guest musician. Vanderhoof would continue to compose music and lyrics for Metal Church on their next two albums before he returned to the band as an official member in 1998.
''Blessing in Disguise'' has been seen as one of Metal Church's most diverse works, minimizing most of the
thrash
Thrash may refer to:
*Thrashing (computer science), where increasing resources are used to do a decreasing amount of work
*Thrash (surname)
* Thrash, mascot of the Atlanta Thrashers
*'' Thrash Rally'', a top-down perspective rally racing video gam ...
and
speed metal
Speed metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. It ...
elements of their first two albums and developing an experimentation with a more
progressive tone, similar to those of
Metallica and
Queensrÿche
Queensrÿche is an American heavy metal band. It formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington, out of the local band the Mob. The band has released 16 studio albums, one EP, and several DVDs, and continues to tour and record. The original lineup ...
. The album's style has also been described as
power metal
Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...
or simply
heavy metal,
and it includes the band's 2nd longest track to date "Anthem to the Estranged".
Critical and commercial reception
Contemporary reviews were mixed. Don Kaye of ''
Kerrang!
''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...
'' judged ''Blessing in Disguise'' "a hit-and-miss affair" that does not "live up to the standards set on (Metal Church) 1984 debut", lamenting "a lack of direction, an absence of focus that causes the record to fluctuate between greatness and mere mediocrity". He cited "Anthem to the Estranged" and "Badlands" as the best songs, "providing a real showcase for new singer Mike Howe, who elsewhere on the album comes across as a dime-a-dozen screamer."
''
Rock Hard'' reviewer considered the album "better than the predecessor ''
The Dark''", but "still light years away from the landmark ''
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 Kurdt ...
''"; he wrote that ''Blessing in Disguise'' is largely missing "the ultimate kick, the esprit, the special", despite being one of "the best-produced albums of recent times", thanks to
Terry Date
Terry Date (born January 31, 1956) is an American record producer and audio engineer specializing in rock genres, especially heavy metal. He is well known for his work with Metal Church, Dream Theater, Soundgarden, Overkill, Pantera, Dark Ang ...
's hard work.
Modern reviews for ''Blessing in Disguise'' have been more positive.
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 databa ...
's Jason Anderson considered the album "perhaps the finest Metal Church release", offering "some of the best material in the group's long career" and praised Howe for "bringing a burst of energy that the group used to create some of the best American underground metal of the decade."
Martin Popoff
Martin Popoff (born April 28, 1963) is a Canadian music journalist, critic and author. He is mainly known for writing about the genre of heavy metal music. The senior editor and co-founder of ''Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles'', he has additionall ...
in his ''Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal'' praised Howe's performance and Date's production, which turned "the band into an updated, renovated tower of strength, a guitar-driven machine set to stun."
Adam McCann of Metal Digest referred to ''Blessing in Disguise'' as both "a real classic album released in 1989" and a "late 80's classic that often gets overlooked", and noted that, "This was the album which marked the debut of the late, great Mike Howe on vocals as the band moved away from the heavy metal of their first two albums and into territory more akin with the burgeoning movements of progressive and power metal, particularly the former with the band bringing in fans from both
Metallica,
Fates Warning and
Queensrÿche
Queensrÿche is an American heavy metal band. It formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington, out of the local band the Mob. The band has released 16 studio albums, one EP, and several DVDs, and continues to tour and record. The original lineup ...
with this album riding the coattails of ''
Operation: Mindcrime'', ''
...And Justice for All'' and ''
Awaken the Guardian''."
''Blessing in Disguise'' entered the
''Billboard'' 200 chart on April 8, 1989, two months after its release. The album itself peaked at number 75 (the band's second-highest chart position to date, a record broken only 27 years later by ''
XI'', which peaked at number 57), and remained on the chart for 15 weeks.
Touring and promotion
Metal Church spent most of 1989 and 1990 touring behind ''Blessing in Disguise''.
They embarked a U.S. tour in the spring of 1989 with
Meliah Rage, and supported
W.A.S.P. on their ''
Headless Children'' tour. Metal Church played one show in Germany in October 1989 with
Fates Warning and Toranaga, and opened for
Saxon in Europe in April 1990. They were also a "surprise guest" for
Metallica's May 11, 1990 show at
The Marquee
The Marquee Club was a music venue first located at 165 Oxford Street in London, when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. Its most famous period was from 1964 to 1988 at 90 Wardour Street in Soho, and it finally closed whe ...
in London.
[
]
Track listing
Personnel
;Metal Church
* Mike Howe
Mike Howe (August 21, 1965 – July 26, 2021) was an American heavy metal singer who performed with Metal Church, Heretic, and Snair.
Career
Howe began his career as the singer for a Detroit band called Hellion (later renamed Snair after movi ...
– vocals
* Craig Wells – lead guitar
* John Marshall – rhythm guitar
* Duke Erickson – bass
* Kirk Arrington – drums
;Additional musicians
* Kurdt Vanderhoof – additional guitars
;Production
*Terry Date
Terry Date (born January 31, 1956) is an American record producer and audio engineer specializing in rock genres, especially heavy metal. He is well known for his work with Metal Church, Dream Theater, Soundgarden, Overkill, Pantera, Dark Ang ...
– producer, engineer, mixing
*Joe Alexander – engineer, mixing
*Brian Stover, Trish Finnegan – assistant engineers
*Metal Church – arranger
*Howie Weinberg
Howie Weinberg is an American audio mastering engineer with over 2,257 mastering credits, three TEC Awards, 21 Grammy Awards, two Juno Awards, and one Mercury Prize.
Career
Weinberg mastered Herbie Hancock's 1983 album '' Future Shock''. Other ...
– mastering at Masterdisk, New York
*Darryl Estrine – photography
*Walter O'Brienn, Bob Chiappardi, Diane Sherman – management
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blessing In Disguise
Metal Church albums
1989 albums
Elektra Records albums
Albums produced by Terry Date