The newly revamped lineup of Metal Church officially made its live debut on May 17, 2026, closing out the San Luis Metal Fest at Teatro del Pueblo in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. The latest incarnation of the pioneering heavy metal act features founding guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof playing alongside longtime guitarist Rick Van Zandt, iconic Megadeth bassist David Ellefson, veteran drummer Ken Mary (Flotsam And Jetsam, Fifth Angel, Alice Cooper, House Of Lords, TKO, Chastain), and powerhouse new vocalist Brian Allen (Vicious Rumors).
During a recent episode of “The David Ellefson Show“, David Ellefson reflected on his inaugural performance with the group, explaining how the timing of the Mexican festival gig provided the perfect opportunity to hit the ground running before their larger summer tour.
“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. [And] Armored Saint was there. It was a cool two-day festival, I think. So it gave a perfect opportunity to just sort of ramp up, get rehearsed. We had photo shoots, all the big stuff when you’re launching a tour. And then we did only one show, ’cause the rest of it now starts up here in mid-July. So I’m glad that it’s up and running, ’cause as I pick up the bass now, the songs are right there. It all comes back. So part of that is just that ramp-up, learning the parts, rehearsing it, playing. 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,” he said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
The bassist expressed immense satisfaction with how the band gelled on stage and offered high praise for their newly minted frontman, Brian Allen.
“But it was great. We ended up closing the festival. We were the last band to play on — I forget if it was Sunday night, maybe. And this was back in May. And it was great. The band played great, sounded great. I was very impressed with Brian Allen as a frontman,” he added.
“It’s funny — performers, especially probably singers, some guys script everything out, and then other guys are just kind of like a wild wolf,” Ellefson continued. “Once you hit the stage, the adrenaline hits, and you turn on the charisma. So he had it, and it was great. So it was fun.”
“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 f**king rad is this? I’m jamming with Kurdt Vanderhoof and his band Metal Church, man. How cool is this?’ And I told him afterwards, I said, ‘Dude, that was a real honor, man, just to stand up there and rock out with you.’ And so [there was] just kind of mutual respect. So it’s good. It’s big boy time. Everybody’s on their game and been doing it for a while, so it’s good professionalism as well.”
Earlier in June while speaking with Australia’s Metal Mal, Vanderhoof gave an update on the spinal problems that forced Metal Church to scrap their 2024 tour dates.
“Well, it’s getting sorted out now. It’s a process. I actually finally found a good recommendation of a sports medicine guy over in Phoenix. ‘Cause I live in Palm… well, Joshua Tree, so southern California. So it’s like four hours away, and we were over there rehearsing. ‘Cause [Metal Church drummer] Ken [Mary] and [Metal Church bassist] Dave Ellefson all live over in Phoenix, so we decided to rehearse over there. There was a studio, and I got recommended a doctor over there. And I went to one treatment, and I’m already feeling a lot better. I started doing a lot of stuff on my own, just taking some time off after the last show,” he said at the time.
The guitarist didn’t sugarcoat just how grueling the ordeal has been, explaining that the condition left his entire body locked up.
“Yeah, it was brutal, man,” he continued. “It was brutal. I had spinal stenosis. Well, I still have it, but I’m fighting it, and in the process of all that, this doctor — finally somebody who knew what they were doing — all my muscles all over from my neck down to my feet are all in knots from trying to hold myself up when I’m all crooked. So that’s why it’s so hard for me to stand up for any length of time. And I’m going every week now, and he’s just reefing on me, just getting my muscles loosened up. It’s painful, but it’s kind of like… It hurts like a mother, but you’re going, ‘Oh, yeah.’ Your body somehow knows that’s what it needs. So I’m just one big knot. So I’m doing a lot better now. I’m doing much better. And before we really start touring here at the end of next month, yeah, I should be in pretty good shape. I finally found somebody who knows what they’re doing… ‘Cause I’ve had a lot of bad advice from chiropractors and other doctors and stuff over the past 15, 20 years, which never helped anything. It actually sometimes made it worse. So taking some time off and then doing some things that I know to do. But, yeah, it’s getting better. It’s getting a lot better. I am very, very happy to say that.”
He also pointed to a problem that plagues many people in the modern age: “So many people have back issues now ’cause we sit all the time, and that’s what it’s from. We all sit in front of a computer all the time. And then I’m in the studio sitting again. So it’s, like, it’s amazing anybody can stand up at all. Anyway, enough of the old man stuff.”
Vanderhoof was thrilled with how the Mexico gig turned out, even if it doubled as the moment he realized he needed to get back to his doctor.
“That went amazing. It really, it really did. Other than that’s when I really realized, ‘Okay, I gotta go go back to Phoenix to this doctor.’ ‘Cause it had been a long time, so the first four or five songs I was fine. After about four or five songs, it started in again. I was, like, ‘Oh, f**k.’ So that’s when I, like, okay. We got back from Mexico and I’m, like, ‘Hey, doc, I’ll be right over,’ you know. So and, and after one treatment I’m doing a lot better. But the show went great. It went absolutely amazing. We didn’t play perfectly ’cause it was our first show, but right out of the box to headline a festival, that was pretty cool. It was, like, ‘Okay, this’ll work.’ Yeah, it was a lot of fun, and it was a lot of fun after not being on stage for a couple of years to be out playing again. And especially kind of watching Brian and wondering how he’s gonna… Is he gonna front the band? You always wonder. He always had a great reputation. I’d never heard Vicious Rumors before, so I didn’t know. But he did it, man. He was selling it and he was fronting the band. And I was, like, ‘Okay. Well, there we go. Looks like we got ourselves a rock and roll band,’ to quote Ted Nugent,” he recalled.
As for what the band played, Vanderhoof said the debut set leaned heavily on the group’s early catalog, with a couple of new tracks worked in.
“Well, [we were] focusing mainly on the classics — mostly [the stuff that was originally recorded with late Metal Church singer] David Wayne, first two albums. Good chunk of Mike Howe [later Metal Church singer] stuff, and then two songs from the new album. We only had an hour. But we’re adding more songs for our headline set. So we’re adding more stuff, early stuff, and maybe one more from the new album. 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. I’m the same way [with my favorite bands],” he concluded.
Metal Church setlist at Teatro del Pueblo, San Luis Potosí, Mexico was as follows (according to Setlist.fm):
- “Ton of Bricks“
- “Start the Fire“
- “Fake Healer“
- “Gods of Wrath“
- “F.a.F.O” (Live debut)
- “Badlands“
- “Date With Poverty” (First time live since 2019)
- “Watch the Children Pray“
- “Brainwash Game” (Live debut)
- “The Human Factor“
- “Beyond the Black“
- “Metal Church“
The revitalized Metal Church lineup was first announced last November, nearly two years after the band called off its 2024 tour due to Vanderhoof‘s ongoing back trouble. The new formation has since released Dead To Rights, the band’s 14th studio album, which arrived on April 10 via Rat Pak Records and marks the first record from this configuration. With Vanderhoof on the mend, the group is gearing up to hit the road in earnest, carrying both their storied back catalog and fresh material to fans around the world.
