Ex-METAL CHURCH Singer MARC LOPES Opens Up About His Departure From The Band: 'It's Pretty Disgusting What Happened'

During an appearance on the latest episode of The Big Truth Podcast, singer Marc Lopes opened up about his departure from METAL CHURCH after recording just one album with the veteran metal band, 2023's "Congregation Of Annihilation".

Lopes joined METAL CHURCH in the summer of 2022 as the replacement for Mike Howe, who tragically passed away in July of 2021. The band's lineup on "Congregation Of Annihilation" was rounded out by founding guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof, longtime guitarist Rick Van Zandt, bassist Steve Unger and drummer Stet Howland.

Last November, it was announced that METAL CHURCH was returning with a "revitalized" lineup consisting of Vanderhoof alongside Van Zandt, bass icon David Ellefson (MEGADETH),powerhouse drummer Ken Mary (FLOTSAM AND JETSAM, FIFTH ANGEL, ALICE COOPER, HOUSE OF LORDS, TKO, CHASTAIN) and new vocalist Brian Allen (VICIOUS RUMORS). The announcement came nearly two years after METAL CHURCH canceled its 2024 tour dates due to "an ongoing back issue" suffered by Vanderhoof.

Reflecting on how he found out he was no longer a member of METAL CHURCH, Lopes told The Big Truth Podcast: "For most of 2025 nobody knew what was going on with METAL CHURCH.

"When METAL CHURCH canceled the tour in 2024, there was a lot of things going on behind the scenes that we didn't make public, obviously," he continued. "People get mad, people have disagreements, and we kind of just let things lay for where they were in hopes that maybe we could have a conversation, like adults should. If there's a disagreement, resolve it one way or the other, whether it's yes or no, or whatever the case may be. But there was no communication for that whole time. And I did a lot of interviews and a lot of people would always ask [about METAL CHURCH's status], and when I said I didn't know it was, it was the truth — I did not know.

"The last thing that I had heard… I kind of gotta be honest and be 100% honest, there was definitely some half truths to what was going on, and I went along with it only because I didn't feel… I still felt that there needed to be conversations before anything could be said," Lopes explained. "So, I had a lot of… I definitely wasn't a happy person. [Laughs] So, personally, I had to deal with a lot of inner demons when it comes to that stuff, because I worked so hard, and to just not get any kind of respect of an answer for anything, no matter what it was after the amount of work that I put into that band, that didn't go over too well with me for a long time. So, that was always in the back of my mind. I wish it wouldn't have overtaken me as much as it did, but my passion for what I do is so intense, that's the part that bothered me. Financially, that sucked too, but [I knew I would be able to] make it up in other ways. So it really wasn't that."

Circling back to how he learned about METAL CHURCH moving forward with a new lineup, Marc added: "In a nutshell, now we've come out to where we are now, it's basically no integrity. The cowardice of not confronting any of the issues, whether good or bad, it didn't matter, in my book, that doesn't work… That doesn't fly. If there's an issue, no matter what it is, either you freaking take it out in the school yard, so to say, or you have that discussion and each person goes 'fuck you' and that's the end of it. But when that doesn't even happen, that's a tough nail to bite. And then, obviously, the conclusion of it is to find out everything on the Internet. That was the ultimate 'fuck you'. And that does not bide well with me personally, which will be addressed in another time. [Laughs]

"But, yeah, so that was a big, huge thing," Lopes said. "And thankfully, I was still able to play and do stuff with ROSS [THE BOSS], which I'm eternally grateful for, and it was awesome. But, yeah, it definitely was a rough year coming off the tail end of that. And then, obviously, towards the end of the year when all that other stuff came out, I definitely wouldn't say I would wanna be in the same room as me. But we got through it and it's all cool."

Asked later in the interview if there was still any "movement on METAL CHURCH" or whether he has closed the door on any further involvement with the band, Marc responded:  "Oh, no, dude. They announced a whole new lineup, new single, new album. Oh, yeah. That's all done. They totally bamboozled us. And, yeah, it's pretty, pretty disgusting what happened.

"It's kind of funny," Lopes continued. "Obviously, somebody always likes to tag you on something [on social media] and I saw one comment that made me fucking laugh. They're, like, 'Oh, he knew, and he's just playing victim.' I'm, like, 'Listen, motherfucker, you have no fucking idea, 'cause you're not in it. You're not involved in it. And I can tell you right now, right fucking right here, I'm not playing victim.' Fucking victim of what? That whole thing was a shit show from day one, if you wanna know the truth. But to not have conversations and get totally slighted like that, especially in public, and then saying that we quit?! Nobody fucking quit. Nobody was fired. You just threw it under the table. 'They're not gonna [notice]. No one's gonna notice.' [Laughs] And you know what? Honestly, that's the only thing that bothered me. You think that you are working with people that are supposed to be comrades, you're with them on tour day to day, and then they just totally blow you off and disregard, like not even having a conversation to even say, 'Hey, look, you know what?! We're gonna go in another direction,' or, 'We don't agree with this or what that was.' But not to have that?

"Let's just put it this way, it was business, business — that's all I'm gonna say — it was business that the whole thing started to crumble," Marc added. "And it didn't have to end like that. But you know what?! Hey, whatever. The thing is this, like I said. And the fans are gonna go. They're gonna go. If they're happy, that's cool. Great. I'm grateful for what I did while I was there. Everybody was awesome. I thank them, and the support was awesome. And I did what I had to do. One and done. The album did great. It got great reviews. The tours were awesome. I have no regret in any of that. [Do] I wish it would've went down different? Absolutely. You know what I mean?! But the moral of that story is communication is very important in everything. A lot of those things could have been avoided just by having a simple conversation. But when certain parties don't wanna even deal with it and they just want to take their ball and go home?! So there it is. What can you do? And that's the honest truth. I mean, that's as far as I'm getting into it right now. But that's where it's at. Go enjoy the new record. Do what you want. But I'm not there. [Laughs] … I'm being nice. [Laughs] I just hope we're never on the same show with them. [Laughs]"

METAL CHURCH made its live debut with Lopes on June 3, 2023 at the Legions Of Metal festival at Reggies in Chicago, Illinois.

"Congregation Of Annihilation" came out on May 26, 2023 via Rat Pak Records (America) and Reaper Entertainment (Europe). The LP was produced by Vanderhoof.

When Lopes's addition to METAL CHURCH was first announced in February 2023, Vanderhoof wrote in a social media post: "We auditioned a handful of vocalists and while they were all great, Marc quickly became the clear choice. Both [late METAL CHURCH singer] David Wayne and Mike Howe had a very unique, irreplaceable quality to their voices, so we were not looking for a clone of either. We wanted someone new, who could embrace the past, and also bring something fresh and exciting to the mix. Marc brings a very classic yet modern feel to the songs."

Kurdt addressed the dissolution of the METAL CHURCH lineup that recorded "Congregation Of Annihilation" and the band's eventual "resurrection" during a December 2025 appearance on "The David Ellefson Show" podcast. He stated at the time: "Well, it was a couple years ago, after we just did our Australia run. And when we came back, things just really fell apart. Stet quit, Stet left, 'cause he wasn't happy with the way business was going. The other two guys kind of felt the same. I felt the same for different reasons, and for me, it was, like, 'This isn't any fun and this is no good.' And at my age, at this many years of doing this, if it's not fun. I'm out. If there's just drama and stuff like that, I'm just not interested. So I let everyone know, 'Hey, I'm shutting this down. Sorry. I'm done with this. This is not working.' And, basically, I thought we were done. And then about a year and a half later, just out of the blue, these opportunities [came up] with people that were interested that would be a good fit if I was to resurrect the band, and it kind of resurrected itself."

In November 2025, the new METAL CHURCH lineup released its first single, "F.A.F.O.". The track was produced by Vanderhoof and mixed/mastered by Chris "Zeuss" Harris at Planet Z. Those sessions have now evolved into a brand-new METAL CHURCH album, set for release in 2026 via Rat Pak Records. Additional details will be announced soon.