The current lineup of METAL CHURCH made its live debut on May 17 at the San Luis Metal Fest, held at Teatro del Pueblo in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, bringing together founding guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof, longtime guitarist Rick Van Zandt, bassist David Ellefson (formerly of MEGADETH), drummer Ken Mary (FLOTSAM AND JETSAM, FIFTH ANGEL, ALICE COOPER, HOUSE OF LORDS, TKO, CHASTAIN) and new vocalist Brian Allen (VICIOUS RUMORS).
Ellefson discussed the show on the latest episode of "The David Ellefson Show," explaining that the band rehearsed specifically for the one-off festival booking. "You rehearse to do this one show — and it was just a matter of timing of the calendar that we got this offer to go do this festival in San Luis, Mexico," he said. He also spoke to the way live performance changes a band's relationship to its own material: "Once you play something live with your band, whatever the venue, to 10 people or to 10,000 people, it doesn't matter, once you've gone through it and you've performed it, it now sticks in a different way."
Ellefson had particular praise for new frontman Brian Allen. "The band played great, sounded great. I was very impressed with Brian Allen as a frontman," he said, describing him as a natural performer: "Once you hit the stage, the adrenaline hits, and you turn on the charisma. So he had it, and it was great." Ellefson also described a moment sharing the stage with Vanderhoof: "I told Kurdt Vanderhoof after — I went over to his right side of the stage and rocked out with him a little bit. And even when I was doing it, I'm going, 'Dude, how fucking rad is this? I'm jamming with Kurdt Vanderhoof and his band METAL CHURCH, man.'"
Vanderhoof, for his part, told Metal Mal the show "went amazing," though he needed medical attention afterward due to the physical toll of the performance. He said the setlist leaned heavily on the band's earliest material: "[We were] focusing mainly on the classics — mostly the stuff that was originally recorded with [late METAL CHURCH singer] David Wayne, first two albums," while acknowledging that the band's new record still commands attention live: "The new album's getting such a great response, which is great, but people still wanna hear the old stuff. You can't get away from it."
The revitalized lineup was announced last November, nearly two years after METAL CHURCH scrapped 2024 tour dates due to Vanderhoof's back problems. The band's most recent album, "Dead To Rights," arrived April 10 via Rat Pak Records, produced by Vanderhoof and mixed and mastered by Chris "Zeuss" Harris.