Review Of The New Metal Church Album "Dead To Rights".
Band Name: Metal Church
Album Title: Dead To Rights
Tracklist:
Brainwash Game
F.A.F.O.
Dead To Rights
Deep Cover Shakedown
Feet To The Fire
The Show
Heaven Knows (Slip Away)
No Memory
Wasted Time
My Wrath
Blood And Water (Bonus Track)
Running Time: 47:11
Release Date: April 10, 2026
Rating: 9.5/10
Version Reviewed: Jewel Case CD
Label: Rat Pak Records
Band Members:
Kurdt Vanderhoof - Guitars
Rick Van Zandt - Guitars
David Ellefson - Bass
Brian Allen - Vocals
Ken K. Mary - Drums
Additional Album Credits:
Mixed And Mastered By Zeuss At Planet-Z Studios
Album Cover Artwork By Joe O’Brien And Jean Michel At DSNS Art
Internal Artwork, Layout And Art Direction By Jean Michel Ay DSNS Art
I have had a love affair with Metal Church for decades. Not from the debut album, but I got into the band as many of us did with “The Dark”, an album so good that for some reason even non-metalheads loved the album. It’s weird… I meet so many people not into Metal that say “But I love Metal Church’s “The Dark!”. Hell, even my pop-loving sister loves it and throws it on from time to time. It is a perfect album beginning to end. Brilliant songwriting, catchy music, professional musicianship… it has it all. Throughout the years there’s been numerous lineup changes with varying results. I saw Metal Church live for the first time a few years ago at The Machine Shop in Flint, Michigan and that show was fantastic. The band decided to do a free meet and greet for everyone there but to get to the signing you had to go up some steps. Being in a wheelchair, that wasn’t an option for me. The band offered to come down to meet me when they were done, which was great of them, but we had to go and couldn't wait, so they said they’d make up for it next time. How does the newest (and fourteenth!) album “Dead To Rights” stack up to the albums of their storied past? Read on and find out!
Yeah, this is the stuff, baby! “Dead To Rights” sees the band at its peak musical form. Kurdt is better than ever with his guitar and props to him because I’ve heard he has had some neck or back issues recently, and what else can be said about David Ellefson? I mean, he’s one of the best Metal bassists that ever existed. The rest of the band I’m not too familiar with except Rick Van Zandt who I saw live with the band in Flint, and he ruled the stage with an awesome entertaining presence. The rest of the band I’m not too familiar with, but rest assured they are all phenomenal. Vocalist Brian Allen reminds me of a cross between David Wayne and Rob Halford. He has a powerful and at times soaring vocal style that fits the music well. He now is also in the band Trauma, which was Cliff Burton’s band before Metallica. The album is fucking heavy throughout and stays firmly rooted in the band’s Thrash roots and never wavers with any ballads. The lyrics on the album tell stories about accountability, reckoning, and taking back control from a manipulative and corrupt force. Government, justice and that sort of thing. The production and overall sound quality for this album is a beast! It’s one of the best productions I’ve heard in a while and everything on the album comes through your speakers perfectly.
The cover art is one of the band’s best, in my opinion. It’s a post-apocalyptic image showing Lady Justice relaxing on a stone court bench of sorts and it looks like she’s tired of trying and just giving up. Her sword is no longer in her hand and laying against the bench and her scales are laying in a heap at her feet in the rubble. Flames are all around and it’s just an eerie and highly detailed piece of artwork. The back cover folds out to show more of this scene as well. The booklet is twelve pages long and inside you will find all of the lyrics, album and band info and a group band photo.
Anyone into the almighty Thrash genre would do well to pick “Dead To Rights” up and listen to a band that has been going at it since the very beginning and still is able to put out albums that impress.
I would like to dedicate this review to Kirk Arrington, who passed away a few years ago. He is in my opinion the most underrated drummer in all of Thrash. If you don’t believe me, listen to his drumming on “Blessing In Disguise”, especially that intro to “Rest In Peace (April 15, 1912)”. So good! Rest well, sir!
As always, I like to ask my readers to support the bands, labels and artists they love by buying the physical copies of the albums they love or by going to their Bandcamp and/or their Facebook pages and supporting them there!
Metal Church!!!
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