''This Present Wasteland'' is the ninth 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 ...

. The album was released in the US on September 23, 2008, and in Europe on September 26. This is the first album to feature guitarist Rick Van Zandt. ''This Present Wasteland'' sold about 920 copies in the US in the week following its release. This was their last album before their second breakup from July 2009 to October 2012. The album cover was chosen from contest entries submitted on Myspace.

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 ...

reviewer Alex Henderson stated that, while the album was not "essential", it was "a solid and well-executed effort" by the band, singling out "Breathe Again", "Monster", "A War Never Won" and "Company of Sorrow" in particular as standout tracks on the album.

Metal Storm Metal Storm Limited was a research and development company based in Brisbane, Australia, that specialized in electronically initiated superposed load weapons technology and owned the proprietary rights to the electronic ballistics technolog ...

reviewer found the album solid and "extremely pleasant but not sensational", because Metal Church did not "take any risk with this new release" and kept the songs "really simple and not original." ''

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 ...

'' reviewer Keith Carman praised

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 ...

's performance which he compared to

Bruce Dickinson Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who has been the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1981 to 1993 and 1999–present. He is known for his wide-ranging operatic vocal style and energetic stage ...

's, but found the music old-fashioned and "mired in more crooning, stock riffs and mid-tempo beats than anything truly engaging", concluding that "''This Present Wasteland'' is a fitting moniker for a band living off nostalgia more than current ability." ''

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 the current line-up "only a shadow of the aggressive quintet of the past" and remarked the scarce originality of the compositions and the pessimistic mood of the album.

Track listing

Personnel

;Metal Church *

– lead vocals *Rick Van Zandt – 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,

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...

, synthesizer, producer, engineer, mixing *Steve Unger – bass, backing vocals *

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 ...

– drums ;Guest musicians * Angus Clark – guitar solo on "Monster" *

Chris Caffery Christopher Caffery (born September 9, 1967) is an American musician, best known for his work as a member of Savatage and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Recently, Chris has been pursuing a solo career, releasing four albums since 2004. Biography ...

– guitar solo on "Mass Hysteria" *Matt Leff – guitar solo on "Congregation"

References

{{Authority control Metal Church albums 2008 albums SPV/Steamhammer albums