Metal Church
Prove They're Not Dead Yet
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Tracks
1 Brainwash Game
2 F.A.F.O.
3 Dead to Rights
4 Deep Cover Shakedown
5 Feet to the Fire
6 The Show
7 Heaven Knows (Slip Away)
8 No Memory
9 Wasted Time
10 My Wrath
11 Blood and Water (bonus)
Metal Church — Dead to Rights: Is This Their Best Album in Decades?
"It's a nice blend of David Wayne and Mike Howe… PLUS…"
"It still sounds like old-school metal… elements of 'bolth' power metal and thrash…"
"That dude's gonna destroy the old stuff… perfectly."
About This Episode
Released April 10, 2026, Dead to Rights is the 14th studio album from the mighty Metal Church — a band now 40+ years into their career and showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. Featuring a brand new lineup anchored by former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson and new vocalist Brian Allen, the album is a return to the power metal-infused thrash style that made Metal Church a force to be reckoned with back in the 80s.
On this episode of Metal Nerdery, we dove in track by track — and the verdict? This album contains all the best elements of The Dark and Blessing in Disguise with the added blessing of modern production quality. It's chock full of great riffs and catchy hooks that maintain the classic flavor of Metal Church while delivering some upgraded, present-day refinements.
Pre-show: The episode opened with a deep discussion on the art of "Splitting the G" — an apparently essential St. Patrick's Day tradition involving a pint of Guinness that was executed in approximately 16 seconds. "It was creamy and foamy… OMG it was too much." The Mean Bean, Mean Gene Okerlund, Hulk Hogan's Netflix documentary, and the WCW were also briefly discussed. As you do.
Also previewed: A taste of the brand new Venom album Into Oblivion featuring Cronos — described as looking like the AI Black Metal version of the original Black Metal album cover. "He's like the Ozzy of black metal… or Lemmy…" Also a listen to Actus Reus — "Tension." "It's the cowboy hat that gives him the power, dude."
Fast Facts — Dead to Rights
| Artist | Metal Church |
| Album | Dead to Rights |
| Released | April 10, 2026 |
| Album number | 14th studio album in 40+ years |
| Vocalist | Brian Allen (new) |
| Bass | David Ellefson (formerly of Megadeth) |
| Drums | Ken Mary (currently of Flotsam and Jetsam) |
| Style | Power metal-infused thrash — elements of The Dark and Blessing in Disguise |
| Production | Modern quality with classic Metal Church flavor |
The New Lineup — What Were Your First Impressions?
Before diving into the album, we asked the big question: "What was Metal Church to you when you were discovering the thrash scene? Was it the name or the artwork?"
Metal Church were always a little different from their thrash contemporaries — heavier and faster than most of the NWOBHM acts, but with a power metal melodic streak that separated them from the Bay Area thrash pack. Darker. Heavier. Faster. All good things.
The David Ellefson factor: "I just think it's rad that David Ellefson is now part of Metal Church." The man spent decades as the engine room of Megadeth — bringing that pedigree to Metal Church's 14th album feels like a genuine upgrade. And Ken Mary on drums from Flotsam and Jetsam? Two musicians from beloved thrash institutions competing to outdo each other. "They're trying to outdo each other — and we ALL win!"
Brian Allen — the new voice: The verdict on the new vocalist was positive. He blends the best qualities of both David Wayne and Mike Howe — the two vocalists who defined Metal Church across their classic catalog. "That guy's gonna destroy the old stuff… perfectly." And across the album's runtime he showed genuine range — from clean melodic passages to powerful, aggressive delivery. "That's probably the cleanest he's sang so far…"
Track by Track
The Verdict
Metal Church's Dead to Rights is a genuine return to form — and then some. The combination of David Ellefson's bass pedigree, Ken Mary's technical drumming, and Brian Allen's versatile vocal range gives the classic Metal Church sound a new dimension without sacrificing what made the band great in the first place.
The album is chock full of what one host summed up perfectly as "articulate grunt crunch" — the classic Metal Church flavor, modernized but never diluted. It has the hooks of the Howe era, the darkness of the Wayne era, and the production quality neither of those albums ever had access to.
"Hail to Metal Church."
- Episode: Metal Nerdery #351
- Album: Dead to Rights — 14th Metal Church studio album
- Released: April 10, 2026
- New vocalist: Brian Allen — described as a blend of David Wayne and Mike Howe
- Ellefson connection: Formerly of Megadeth — now the engine room of Metal Church
- Ken Mary connection: Currently of Flotsam and Jetsam — two thrash institutions competing to outdo each other
- Bonus track verdict: "Dio vibes… this is REAL PEOPLE doing REAL SHIT with REAL INSTRUMENTS"
- Best quote: "Articulate grunt crunch" — the perfect three-word review of Dead to Rights
- Also previewed: Venom — Into Oblivion (2026) featuring Cronos
Related Metal Nerdery Episodes
Find out why “Splitting The G” is an essential St. Patrick’s Day event for every holiday, get yourself a tiny sample of the brand-new Venom album, “Into Oblivion” (featuring Cronos), and find out why “the Metallica of the WCW” likes to enjoy “the Evil Bean with the Mean Gene” when you JOIN US as we embrace the power and the fury of METAL CHURCH with their latest offering, DEAD TO RIGHTS.
Show Notes:
(00:01): “I’m not a beer chugger…there’s a thing called ‘splitting the G’…”/ #SplittingTheG /
“I guess they do it in Ireland or something, where #Guiness is big…”/ “I’m not usually a big beer chugger…”/ “We practiced ALL night…”/ “It took me like a hard 16 seconds to get it…but I got it down…I swallowed all of it…”/ “It was creamy and foamy…OMG it was too much…”/ “We got The Mean Bean…wait, wasn’t that the dude with The Hulkster? ‘The Evil Bean’…that’s Mean Gene!”/ “The Hulkster’s got a show on #Netflix…it’s a #documentary …”/ “He was like the #Metallica of the WCW I think…”/ “He was part of…WCW, WWF…was he in the whole N.W.O. thing? That was when he got The Black Beard, right?”/
“He was drinking the Evil Bean with The Mean Gene, brother…”
***WARNING: #listenerdiscretionisadvised ***
(03:26): “That’s where that comes from…”/ “Someday…a selfish part of me wants to see Bill like…FAT…and like us…or like me…”/ #TheAntiBill / “It’s not gonna happen…”/ #highschoolfashion / #baremidriff / ***WELCOME BACK TO THE METAL NERDERY PODCAST and THE BUNKERPOON CENTER FOR METAL EXCELLENCE!!!*** /
“That’s right…I like that…”/ ***PATREON US at patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast ***/
“Mine’ll be the smallest…”/ “I showed somebody The Twiddler files the other night…”/
“OMG, you didn’t see The Twiddler Files!? Duuude…”/
***SOCIAL MEDIA US at #metalnerderypodcast on #YouTube #Instagram #Facebook and #TikTok / #viralaf / ***EMAIL US at metalnerdery@gmail.com *** / #TripSix (Shoutout to Grandmaster Vag Destroyer!!!) / #TwoHotDogs / #blessyou / #Shart / ***VOICEMAIL US at 980-666-8182!!!***
(9:56): “A little #ActusReus ???”/ “He’s got really nice gear…”/ #ActusReus TENSION /
“It’s the cowboy hat that gives him the power, dude…”/ #markthetime / #thickness /
“Maybe a little bit of the new…Venom…the Godfathers of Black Metal…they’ve got a new album out…they’re like the Black Sabbath of Black metal…”/ #BlackSabbath #BlackMetal /
#IntoOblivion / “The titles look badass…”/ “It looks like the A.I. ‘Black Metal’ version… (re: the Into Oblivion album cover vs the Black Metal album cover)…”/ #Venom KICKED OUT OF HELL (Into Oblivion – 2026) / “This is also with #Cronos by the way…”/ “You wanna grab one more on that…?”/ #thebighitsingle / LAY DOWN YOUR SOUL / “That’s the line from ‘Witching Hour’…” (NOTE: That’s actually from Black Metal, NOT Witching Hour) / #RussellsCigarReflections / “He’s like the Ozzy of black metal…or Lemmy…”/ #powerburpASMR / “That’s why we’re here…to support the commitment for Metal Excellence…”/ #keepgoing / #Pentagram / “That’s what it’s all about…if you can do that…”/ “Whether you’re a painter or, y’know, a writer…a whittler…”/ “That’s NOT stopping…”/ “Real quick…can you pull up ‘Black Metal’ by Venom?”/ “It’s the AI face of that dude…” / “Jamie? Sorry, I know it’s a lot…sorry Jamie…”
(22:11): #TheDocket METAL NERDERY PODCAST PRESENTS: METAL CHURCH – DEAD TO RIGHTS – BRAND SPANK ALBUM DIVE!!! / “If you wanted a cool t-shirt…that’s it!”/
“What was #MetalChurch to you…when you were discovering…the thrash scene?”/
“Sorry, I cupped a little bit that time…I half cupped it…”/ #InsideTheMetal / “What was your first Metal Church experience?”/ “Was it the name or the artwork?” / “They’ve got power metal elements…” / “It was darker…heavier…faster…” / #allgoodthings / “I’ve still got a big boner for metal, dude…rock hard…like 11:00…”/ BRAINWASH GAME / Released April 10, 2026 / “It’s like a nice blend of David Wayne and Mike Howe…PLUS…”/ “It still sounds like old-school metal…elements of “bolth” power metal and thrash
(29:58): F.A.F.O / #FAFO / “I just think it’s rad that David Ellefson is now part of Metal Church…”/ “They’re trying to outdo each other…and we ALL win!”/ “I think there needs to be ‘Eric Cartman does The Smashing Pumpkins’…” / #Cartman #SouthParkASMR #BillyCorgan #SmashingPumpkins / #CaptainCritical / DEAD TO RIGHTS / #titletrack / “That guy’s gonna destroy the old stuff…perfectly.”
(38:24): DEEP COVER SHAKEDOWN / “It’s got grunt to it…”/ “That’s a hooky riff, dude…”/
“If you’ve got two guitar players, they need to be doing some different shit…don’t be doing the same thing…”/ “It forces you to listen…”/ FEET TO THE FIRE / “That’s a different mix…it’s softer, it’s not as grunty…70’s-ish…”/ “Ken Mary is the drummer…”/ “Like 70’s power metal…yeah I can see that…”/ “That’s cool…I like the textures…”/ “Oooh, I like that…I don’t know what’s going on there…”/ THE SHOW / “That’s a meat and potatoes tone right there…”/ #DaveMustaineASMR / “C’mon, let’s do some Winger…”/ “Oooh, yeah, dude! We should do some Slaughter…”/ #edibles
(48:40): HEAVEN KNOWS (SLIP AWAY) / “Are they touring yet?”/ “Nobody ever comes to Atlanta…you know why? Because we’re the rap capital of the world, dude…”/
#RapNerdery / “I can totally do that dude, it’s America…I think…”/ NO MEMORY /
“That’s probably the cleanest he’s sang so far…”/ “They got some hooks in there…hooks are good…”/ WASTED TIME / “That’s kinda got an 80’s feel to it…”/ “Here’s everything I love about this album so far…”/ “Articulate grunt crunch…”/ “Flotsam!?”/ #flotsamandjetsam /
“That’s the vocal equivalent of that dude…”
(58:28): MY WRATH / “Whoa!”/ “That was super nice…”/ “It’s still the flavor of Metal Church…”/ BONUS TRACK / BLOOD AND WATER / “I still wanna hear it…”/ “Wait a minute…is this a cover?”/ “That’s got Dio vibes to it…”/ “This is two things I love about this podcast and metal in general…”/ “This is REAL PEOPLE doing REAL SHIT with REAL INSTRUMENTS…”/ #HailToMetalChurch / “That dude’s a fuckin’ dude, man…”/
“That’s metal…”/ THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!!! / #untilthenext #outroreel
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