This Present Wasteland

This Present Wasteland is the ninth studio album by American heavy metal band Metal Church. The album was released in the US on September 23, 2008, and in Europe on September 26.[2] This is the first album to feature guitarist Rick Van Zandt.

This Present Wasteland
Studio album by
Metal Church
ReleasedSeptember 23, 2008[1]
StudioThe English Channel Studio (Olympia, Washington)
Genre
Length57:21
LabelSPV/Steamhammer
ProducerKurdt Vanderhoof
Metal Church chronology
A Light in the Dark
(2006)		 This Present Wasteland
(2008)		 Generation Nothing
(2013)

This Present Wasteland sold about 920 copies in the US in the week following its release.[3] This was their last album before their second breakup from July 2009 to October 2012.

The album cover was chosen from contest entries submitted on Myspace.[4]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Metal Storm7.5/10[5]
Rock Hard6/10[6]

AllMusic reviewer Alex Henderson stated that, while the album was not "essential", it was "a solid and well-executed effort" by the band, singling out "Breathe Again", "Monster", "A War Never Won" and "Company of Sorrow" in particular as standout tracks on the album.[1] Metal Storm reviewer found the album solid and "extremely pleasant but not sensational", because Metal Church did not "take any risk with this new release" and kept the songs "really simple and not original."[5] Exclaim! reviewer Keith Carman praised Ronny Munroe's performance which he compared to Bruce Dickinson's, but found the music old-fashioned and "mired in more crooning, stock riffs and mid-tempo beats than anything truly engaging", concluding that "This Present Wasteland is a fitting moniker for a band living off nostalgia more than current ability."[7] Rock Hard reviewer called the current line-up "only a shadow of the aggressive quintet of the past" and remarked the scarce originality of the compositions and the pessimistic mood of the album.[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ronny Munroe and Kurdt Vanderhoof, except "Monster" by Vanderhoof

No.TitleLength
1."The Company of Sorrow"6:37
2."The Perfect Crime"4:37
3."Deeds of a Dead Soul"8:27
4."Meet Your Maker"5:35
5."Monster"6:25
6."Crawling to Extinction"4:11
7."A War Never Won"5:33
8."Mass Hysteria"4:41
9."Breathe Again"5:23
10."Congregation"5:52

Personnel
Metal Church
Guest musicians
  • Angus Clark – guitar solo on "Monster"
  • Chris Caffery – guitar solo on "Mass Hysteria"
  • Matt Leff – guitar solo on "Congregation"

References
  1. Henderson, Alex. "Metal Church - This Present Wasteland review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  2. "Metal Church: New Album Track Listing, Release Date Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. June 19, 2008. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  3. "Metal Church: 'This Present Wasteland' First-Week Sales Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. October 3, 2008. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  4. "Video: Reunited Metal Church Performs On '70000 Tons Of Metal' - Feb. 3, 2013". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
  5. "Metal Church - This Present Wasteland". Metal Storm. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  6. Jaschinski, Björn Thorsten (2008). "Review Album: Metal Church - This Present wasteland". Rock Hard (in German). No. 257. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  7. Carman, Keith (September 22, 2008). "Metal Church - This Present Wasteland". Exclaim!. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
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