current_members associated_acts years_active alias label article_title past_members background genre image origin name
kurdt van zandt vanderhoof mike howe steve unger jeff plate rick hall , wayne , heretic aflame , presto ballet , vanderhoof , reverend 1980 -- present -- 1994 , 1998 -- 2009 , 2012 shrapnel ground spv , nuclear blast , mercury zero , elektra , i.r.s. , epic , metal church
 see members section group_or_band heavy power metal metal , thrash metal , speed metal , kurdt vanderhoof and jay.jpg san francisco , california , united states metal church
metal church

metal church is an american heavy metal band .
they originally formed in san francisco , california in 1980 before relocating to aberdeen , washington the following year and briefly using the name shrapnel .
their eponymous first album was released in 1984 , and their latest , `` generation nothing '' , in 2013 .
the band is credited as a formative influence on the thrash metal subgenre , melding the aesthetics of the new wave of british heavy metal and american hard rock with `` incredibly tight musicianship '' and `` piercingly screeched '' vocals .
early lyrical topics such as conflict and paranoia later expanded into philosophical and social commentary .
founding guitarist kurdt vanderhoof remained the group 's sole consistent creative force throughout its career , despite reducing his role strictly to composition in 1986 after tiring of performing .
vanderhoof , vocalist david wayne , guitarist craig wells , bassist duke erickson , and drummer kirk arrington composed the group 's classic lineup featured on its first two records , while vocalist mike howe and guitarist john marshall later contributed to the group 's sound .
after releasing five full-length albums and touring extensively throughout the 1980s and early 1990s , metal church disbanded in 1994 .
they reformed four years later with their classic lineup , including vanderhoof 's return to performance , yielding the `` masterpeace '' album .
they endured numerous lineup changes thereafter , releasing three further studio albums while fronted by ronny munroe before again disbanding in july 2009 .
the group once again reunited in october 2012 and issued `` generation nothing '' a year later .
