THE BEAST

In a brand new interview with   EonMusic ,   METAL CHURCH   guitarist   Kurdt Vanderhoof   spoke about the ill-fated reunion of the band's classic lineup for the 1999   "Masterpeace"   album. He said: " 'Masterpeace' , which I like to call   'Disasterpeace' . The whole thing was a great idea, but when we tried to put together, it just didn't work. We got forced into doing some stuff, and, I swear, when we played   Wacken   [ Open Air   festival in Germany] with [classic   METAL CHURCH   vocalist]   David Wayne , the whole thing fell apart with having all the original members. They literally forced us into doing that, and I was telling the management and record company, 'Look, this is a bad, bad idea.' We played, and we   sucked   — I mean, it was horrible. I was, like, 'Fuck   you . I told you, and I warned you that this is bad.'"

Asked why the reunion failed,   Kurdt   said: "Well,   David Wayne   couldn't sing anymore — he was fucked up on drugs; prescription drugs, because that's 'different.' It was fun to play with [fellow guitarist]   John Marshall , but   Kirk   [ Arrington , drums] couldn't do it because of his health, and that's when I had to cut ties with   Kirk . He didn't play, and he barely played on the record, and it took forever to get that done. It just didn't work. It was a horrible feeling. We did a tour and it was awful. We're still recovering from that now."

The guitarist added: "Literally,   'Masterpeace' , that era was when I decided I am never, never doing that again."

Wayne   died in May 2005 from complications following a car crash. He was 47 years old.

Wayne   sang on   METAL CHURCH 's first two classic offerings (1984's   "Metal Church"   and 1986's   "The Dark" ) before leaving the group and being replaced by   Mike Howe .   Wayne   subsequently teamed up with members of   HERETIC   members to form   REVEREND , with whom he released two full-length albums and a couple of EPs. He eventually rejoined   METAL CHURCH   in time for   "Masterpeace" . A "solo" album (under the   WAYNE   banner), titled   "Metal Church"   followed in 2001.

Howe , who fronted   METAL CHURCH   from 1988 until 1994, officially rejoined the band in April 2015.