METAL CHURCH's KURDT VANDERHOOF Refuses To 'Talk Smack' About Ex-Bandmates MARC LOPES And STET HOWLAND: 'If They Have An Issue, That's Fine'

In a new interview with Pete Pardo and Lynne Versaci of Sea Of Tranquility, founding METAL CHURCH guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof spoke about the band's new lineup, in which he is joined by longtime guitarist Rick Van Zandt, bass icon David Ellefson (MEGADETH),powerhouse drummer Ken Mary (FLOTSAM AND JETSAM, FIFTH ANGEL, ALICE COOPER, HOUSE OF LORDS, TKO, CHASTAIN) and dynamic new vocalist Brian Allen (VICIOUS RUMORS). Regarding how the latest version of METAL CHURCH came to be, Kurdt said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, about two years ago, maybe a little over two years ago now, we did a Australia run. And the shows were fine, but we got back. Things got ugly, and the whole thing was just turned into a mess. And then [there was] a whole bunch of stuff flying around. Stet [Howland, former METAL CHURCH drummer] didn't like the way business was going, so he left. And the other guys didn't like it either. I didn't like the way things were going at all. It just wasn't any fun anymore. And a band at our level, if you're not having any fun — that's part of the pay. And if you're not having any fun anymore… Nobody makes a lot of money anymore, so you gotta be able to afford to do what you're doing and enjoy it… So I shut the band down, I was, like, 'This isn't worth it anymore.' The record company lost interest in us; [they] didn't wanna work with us anymore. Both European and American labels, they were just, like, 'They're done.' And I'm, like, 'Okay, there's no reason to go on.' So I shut the band down. And I made a point of saying, 'Look, I'm not gonna say anything derogatory about anybody in the press or anything like that, and I hope you would do the same.' But apparently some people decided not to do that. So, that's on them, not me."

Asked if he was happy with METAL CHURCH's last album, "Congregation Of Annihilation", which came out in May 2023 via Rat Pak Records (America) and Reaper Entertainment (Europe),Kurdt said: "Yeah. Oh, yeah. It's a fine album. It's good. Yeah, it had some great moments, and it was fine. It was just a bunch of business stuff and a bunch of things like that just wasn't working for anybody, myself included. And so it was, like, 'Eh.' And then when labels and people like that aren't really [into it, I was], like, 'Okay, I don't think I wanna do this anymore either. There's no point.' So I shut the band down, and I thought it was done — again… And I keep trying to kill it. It's like the band that won't die… So, again, I had no intention of doing it anymore. I was done. I was, like, 'All right. We did that. We're not getting along. Okay, I'm done.' And then not having interest [from] the label, there was just no point. So I shut it down. I was still working with Rat Pak with PRESTO BALLET and HALL AFLAME and a couple of other things. So I still had my deals with them on my other projects. And so I was working with them. And then just out of the blue one day, Joe [O'Brien] at Rat Pak sent me a couple of files from this guy doing METAL CHURCH songs… Well, he did 'Start The Fire' and 'Date With Poverty', I believe. And Joe just said, 'Hey, listen to these.' And I did. And it was, like, 'Is this like an unreleased track of [late METAL CHURCH singer] David Wayne?' kind of thing. When I heard 'Start The Fire', I was, like, 'Wow, who is this?' Anyway, so that turned out to be Brian Allen, who, I didn't know at the time, was a guy I knew from Portland. I didn't know him, but we knew him from Portland when he was in a JUDAS PRIEST tribute band, and we did some shows with him back over the last 10, 15 years. So I was, like, 'Wow. I had no idea.' And he did such a great job with it, I was, like, 'Well, if we ever decide to put the band back together, there's our singer,' 'cause he can do the David Wayne and Mike Howe [late METAL CHURCH singer] stuff. And so he said, 'Great. Okay. Isn't that nice?' And it was completely unsolicited. It was Todd La Torre [from QUEENSRŸCHE] who told Brian to send [Joe the files]. And I'm, like, 'Okay, cool. That was quite impressive, to say the least. So a little time goes by and then Rat Pak's working with ELLEFSON-SOTO [Ellefson's collaboration with Jeff Scott Soto]. So he put out their record, and so he's in contact with Dave Ellefson and working with him. And as that comes up, Dave offered his services: 'Oh, well, if METAL CHURCH ever wants to get back together. I'd love to be involved. I'd love to play bass.' … And it was, like, 'Wait, what? Wait, Dave Ellefson would wanna… Really? Okay.' Well, then it was starting to get interesting. And soon after that, or right about the same time, [former METAL CHURCH drummer] Jeff Plate said, 'Well, yeah, if you ever wanna do that, yeah, I'd love to get re-involved again. Sure. That'd be great.' I'm, like, 'Okay. Again, here I am saying this is the final tour. We're not doing anything, the farewell tour or whatever.' … So long story endless, suddenly there's Brian Allen, the singer, which would be the most important part of that. Then Dave bringing a certain credibility to it. And then Jeff coming back. I was, like, 'Okay.' So I kind of started putting some songs together, songs started happening. But then the SAVATAGE thing took off, which I couldn't be happier for [Jeff] and all of those guys… So [Jeff] couldn't continue [with METAL CHURCH]. Lo and behold, Ken Mary, an old friend of ours from Seattle, who is a transplant down here as well, reaches out to me for some other complete other reason, and I'm, like, 'Are you still in FLOTSAM?' He goes, 'Yeah, yeah. But we don't work on all that much.' 'Hey, well, [I'm] kind of thinking about maybe seeing if I… I kind of started putting METAL CHURCH back together, but Jeff is really busy with the SAVATAGE reunion.' And he's, like, 'Yeah. Oh, I'd love to do that.' I'm, like, 'Okay.' So it was kind of a no-brainer at that point. So there you have it."

Kurdt went on to say that the first two songs that were released from METAL CHURCH's upcoming "Dead To Rights" album, "Brainwash Game" and "F.A.F.O.", are "getting a great response, and people seem to like" it. "But it's a really good bunch of guys [we have in the band now]," he explained. "And again, I had no intention of doing it. And so we made a record. We're really happy with the record. And so I guess we're back at it. It was kind of unplanned. It was resurrected by itself. So, yeah, I'm really happy. I'm still a little bit surprised of how it came together 'cause it wasn't on my radar. So that's basically, a very Reader's Digest, condensed version of how it happened. But that's basically it. And I know a lot of people, they want a lot of the dirt and stuff like that, and a couple of the other guys like to talk smack about what happened. Whatever. That's fine. I'm gonna keep to my promise, and if you guys wanna [talk smack], that's on you guys. That's fine. 'Cause I can't stand those Internet fights when this guy, formerly of this band, and this guy [says], 'He did this' and 'he did that'. I'm not doing that. No, I'm not doing that. If they have an issue, that's fine. They have their opinion, I have mine. But I'm not airing my stuff in public."

"Dead To Rights" will be released on April 10 via Rat Pak Records. The LP was produced by Vanderhoof and mixed and mastered by Chris "Zeuss" Harris at Planet Z.

METAL CHURCH plans to hit the road extensively this year on the "Dead To Rights" tour.

Singer Marc Lopes joined METAL CHURCH in the summer of 2022 as the replacement for Howe, who tragically passed away in July 2021. Lopes's first and only studio album with METAL CHURCH was the aforementioned "Congregation Of Annihilation".

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

Last month Lopes described METAL CHURCH as "a shit show" and blasted Vanderhoof over the way the band's recent lineup changes were handled. He went on to say that Kurdt had "no integrity" and accused the guitarist of displaying "cowardice" by "not confronting any of the issues, whether good or bad." He added that he had "to find out everything on the Internet" about what was actually going on with METAL CHURCH. "That was the ultimate 'fuck you'. And that does not bide well with me personally, which will be addressed in another time," he added.

Stet, an in-demand metal drummer who has also pounded the skins for W.A.S.P., BLACKFOOT and Lita Ford, briefly addressed his eight-year stint with METAL CHURCH in a social media post. He wrote in part: "After seeing recent [METAL CHURCH] interviews, Marc's statement, and Kurdt's response. There's clearly MANY things that need to be said. But in short, Marc was 100% accurate. Tho[ugh] he barely shared the tip of the iceberg of the bullshit, and he was much more kind than I'm going to be. There's truths that need to be told and facts that need to be shared. I'll be as kind as I can, but I'll be dissecting and explaining a shitshow."

Photo credit: Rick Moyer