THIS PRESENT WASTELAND

Metal Church: Ronny Munroe (vocals); Kurdt Vanderhoof (guitar, Mellotron, mini-Moog synthesizer); Rick Van Zandt (guitar); Steve Unger (bass instrument, background vocals); Jeff Plate (drums, drum, percussion). Personnel: Matt Leff, Angus Clark (guitar). Recording information: The English Channel. Metal Church helped define the West-Coast thrash metal sound, and they've hung around long enough to see the style come back into vogue. Despite roots in thrash hotbed San Francisco and the pre-grunge Pacific Northwest, they developed their own unique style, still on display on THIS PRESENT WASTELAND. Opener "In The Company of Sorrow" is classic driving sheet-metal thrash, but follow-ups "Perfect Crime" and "Deeds of a Dead Soul" are both dramatic quasi-ballads with power-metal leanings and wailing vocals.

• Genre: Rock
• Format: CD
• Released: 09/23/2008