''Masterpeace'' is the sixth 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 July 22, 1999 via

Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...

. It features the return of 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 ...

, absent since '' The Dark'' (1986), being the band's final studio album to feature him before his death in May 2005. All original members recorded on ''Masterpeace'' except guitarist Craig Wells and drummer Kirk Arrington. Jeff Wade (the "friendly ghost") filled in for Arrington on the album and on tour. This was the second 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, whi ...

on a cover, the first being the band's 1984 debut.

Album information

Kurt Vanderhoof criticized the failed reunion for the album, Masterpeace', which I like to call 'Disasterpeace'. The whole thing was a great idea, but when we tried to put together, it just didn't work. We got forced into doing some stuff, and, I swear, when we played Wacken with David Wayne, the whole thing fell apart with having all the original members. They literally forced us into doing that, and I was telling the management and record company, 'Look, this is a bad, bad idea.' We played, and we sucked — I mean, it was horrible. I was, like, 'Fuck you. I told you, and I warned you that this is bad.'" When asked about the reunion, he explains, "Well, David Wayne couldn't sing anymore — he was fucked up on drugs; prescription drugs, because that's 'different.' It was fun to play with John Marshall, but Kirk couldn't do it because of his health, and that's when I had to cut ties with Kirk. He didn't play, and he barely played on the record, and it took forever to get that done. It just didn't work. It was a horrible feeling. We did a tour and it was awful. We're still recovering from that now." He then adds, "Literally, 'Masterpeace', that era was when I decided I am never, never doing that again."

Track listing

All tracks written by Kurdt Vanderhoof and David Wayne, except where noted

Personnel

;Metal Church *

– vocals * John Marshall – lead guitar * Kurdt Vanderhoof – rhythm guitar, mellotron, producer, engineer, mixing *Duke Erickson – bass *Kirk Arrington – drums ;Additional musicians *Jeff Wade – drums ;Production *Mark Greer – producer, engineer, mixing *Karl Welty – engineer

References

1999 albums Metal Church albums Nuclear Blast albums SPV/Steamhammer albums {{1990s-thrash-metal-album-stub