Metal Church is a pioneering American heavy metal band that fuses thrash, power, and classic metal into a formidable sound and style that's proven influential since their arrival in the early 1980s. Formed by guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof, Metal Church's Billboard-charting self-titled debut (1984) and 1986 follow-up, The Dark, helped cement their reputation in the community. Despite enduring shifting tastes, multiple personnel changes, and hiatuses throughout their decades-long tenure, the band has managed to release new music on a fairly consistent basis, with highlights arriving via assured efforts like Blessing in Disguise (1989), Masterpeace (1999), XI (2016), and Congregation of Annihilation (2023)