The Human Factor

The Human Factor is the fourth album on which METAL CHURCH brings together cutting guitars, heavy, moving rhythm and Mike Howe’s powerful voice, sharply raising its craft as a traditional-metal band. Howe’s second album with the group, it pushes the direction of Blessing in Disguise further, binding social subject matter to a heavyweight sound more tightly. The hardness inherited from thrash remains, but the songs never rely on urgency alone, pressing in with mid-tempo weight and the rise and fall of melody. On the title track “The Human Factor” and on “Date With Poverty,” “In Mourning” and “In Harm’s Way,” a realistic, tension-filled lyrical world is inseparable from robust riff work. On “The Final Word,” “In Due Time,” “Agent Green” and “Betrayed” too, intricate riffing and powerful singing act as one, giving the album depth and consistency. Even an aggressive number like “The Fight Song” has firm hooks rather than mere speed. Grounded in 1980s aggression while showing the depth and stability of a 1990s band, it is highly regarded as one of METAL CHURCH’s signature works.