Former METAL CHURCH vocalist MARC LOPES has broken his silence about his departure from the band, expressing anger over being left in the dark and accusing the band's camp of spreading misinformation.
Lopes served as METAL CHURCH's frontman on the 2023 album "Congregation of Annihilation," having joined in summer 2022 as a replacement for the late Mike Howe. In November 2025 the band announced a new lineup featuring vocalist Brian Allen, followed by the album "Dead to Rights" (released April 10, 2026).
"None of my phone calls or none of my e-mails or nothing was ever answered," Lopes stated flatly. He stressed that his grievances were not about ego, but about basic respect and transparency — accusing the band of peddling "half truths, if barely truths" about the reasons for his exit.
The vocalist emphasized that he was a full creative contributor, not a hired hand: "I wrote every song on that album," he said, citing extensive collaboration with guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof during the recording process.
His account was corroborated by drummer Stet Howland, who described the situation as a "shitshow" and noted that Lopes "barely shared the tip of the iceberg" of what actually went wrong. Howland characterized METAL CHURCH's management as a "business disaster" despite the high calibre of the musicians involved.