Metal Church vocalist Mike Howe sadly passed away in 2021 at 55 years old. Later that year, Metal Church drummer Stet Howland said the band was obvious grieving and that when "there's more, you'll hear about it," referring to the future of Metal Church. Now in a new interview with Metal-Rules, guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof has revealed that Metal Church is currently working with a new singer and that there will be a new record in 2023.
"I had written a new record and Mike and I had just begun the process before he passed, so I had a lot of material on hand," said Vanderhoof. "I also wanted to complete the album in honor of him. I have written a batch of additional material and its going in a more aggressive direction. We didn’t choose a Mike Howe clone or David Wayne [Metal Church's other longtime vocalist] clone, we decided to approach the future as a 'new' chapter in the band's career. I think the fans will really dig it!"
Vanderhoof adds that no other lineup changes have happened with Metal Church, and that there could be a tour if enough people are into the record. Looking backward, Vanderhoof said Metal Church will undertake a reissue campaign as well that'll include a previously-unreleased Howe single.
"We will be releasing a limited run of Metal Church vinyl picture discs and CDs later this year, it’s a best of the latter Mike Howe years, and there will be an unreleased track on it, that no one has ever heard. We will also be launching an official Metal Church store at some point very soon as well."
Metal Church has released 12 albums since their inception in 1980, five of which Howe performed on.
