"Sky Falls In" abruptly slashes the speed with a dark, crushing swing when the chorus pushes in with an expansive, open atmosphere, the song solidifies itself as one of the album's major draws. Stylish solos on songs like "No Tomorrow" and "Signal Path" add a lot of life and personality, and the riffs' constant search for untrodden paths reminds us of how Kurt Vanderhoof's and Craig Wells's unpredictable guitar work helped make Metal Church such a reputable name in the first place. Mixing the roguish bravado of metal's brashest traditions with the darker undertones known to infiltrate Metal Church's work, XI deftly avoids falling into the ruts and repetition of many a straightforward heavy metal band. The album unfolds smoothly with a steady stream of upbeat, hard-riffing heavy metal songs written in a very familiar vein, but bedecked with the trappings of thrash. Howe isn't Dio, and the strain on his lungs and vocal cords occasionally peeks through, but on XI he proves himself still very capable of fronting Metal Church not only do I feel that his voice suits the band much better than Ronny Munroe's, but Howe simply has a better grasp of singing mechanics and how to add the proper force and feeling to Metal Church's music. In particular, I still miss Kirk Arrington, whose drumming drew me to Metal Church in the first place, but at least Howe brings the band one step closer to that ancient Pax Metallica of the 1980s. All is not quite right with the world, as most of the classic line-up still lies outside this latest incarnation. Mike Howe is back where he belongs, heading this beast of a band with his raspy snarl. XI proves Metal Church still worthy of its name - perhaps more worthy than it has been in many years.
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