Metal Church has had a revolving door of vocalists, guitarists, bassists and drummers throughout its 42-year career, and Vanderhoof remains the group's sole consistent creative, despite reducing his role strictly to composition in 1986 after tiring of performing. The "classic" lineup of Vanderhoof, vocalist David Wayne, guitarist Craig Wells, bassist Duke Erickson, and drummer Kirk Arrington recorded the band's first two studio albums, Metal Church (1984) and their major breakthrough The Dark (1986). By the end of the 1980s, Vandehoof and Wayne had parted ways with the band and were replaced by vocalist Mike Howe and guitarist John Marshall respectively. Metal Church's popularity continued with their third album Blessing in Disguise (1989), which spawned one of their best-known songs "Badlands". After releasing two more studio albums with Howe, the band called it quits in 1996.
Metal Church reformed in 1998 with most of their "classic" lineup, including Vanderhoof's return to performance, resulting in the Masterpeace album. They endured numerous lineup changes thereafter, releasing three further studio albums while fronted by Ronny Munroe before disbanding once again in July 2009. The group reunited for the second time in October 2012, and released their tenth studio album Generation Nothing a year later. Following Munroe's departure in the fall of 2014, Metal Church considered disbanding for the third time before Howe was rehired in April 2015 as the band's lead singer. He recorded two more albums with the group, which enjoyed a renewed popularity in the mid-to-late 2010s, before his death.
On July 26, 2021, Metal Church announced that Howe had died that morning at his home in Eureka, California, at the age of 55. In October 2021, after announcing the return of his short-lived early 1990s band Hall Aflame, Vanderhoof hinted that Metal Church would continue on with a replacement for Howe. By mid-2022, rumors suggested that Ronny Munroe would rejoin the band, but resulted in him joining Vicious Rumors.
On February 2, 2023, Metal Church announced Marc Lopes as their new lead vocalist. A month later, the band announced their upcoming album, Congregation of Annihilation, would be released on May 26.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Church
Discography
Metal Church (1984)
The Dark (1986)
Blessing in Disguise (1989)
The Human Factor (1991)
Hanging in the Balance (1993)
Masterpeace (1999)
The Weight of the World (2004)
A Light in the Dark (2006)
This Present Wasteland (2008)
Generation Nothing (2013)
XI (2016)
Damned If You Do (2018)
Congregation of Annihilation (2023)
Fake Healer
Metal Church Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Of terminal disease
You won't know the difference
Now it's time for surgery
Another shot, another pill
Two weeks therapy
I take all major credit cards
Your money is what I need
I'm a healer
I will keep you all alive
I'm a healer
A villain at your bedside
Take this and you'll be fine
Severely educated
Just pay your bill on time
I think it's time for another test
I need more of your blood
Sign this affidavit
So my insurance won't go up
I'm a healer
I will keep you all alive
I'm a healer
Research and development
Spend millions every year
You sickly and decrepit ones
Keep my yacht safe on the pier
You're dying on a stretcher
We'll try to save your life
If you can't afford my service
I will let you die
I'm trusted and respected
Says my diploma on the wall
Before I will do anything
I'll give your bank a call
I'm a healer
I will keep you all alive
I'm a healer
The lyrics of Metal Church's "Fake Healer" are a scathing indictment of the greed and deception present in certain corners of the healthcare industry. The song tells the story of a charlatan posing as a benevolent healer, preying on the fears of his patients and exploiting their vulnerability for personal gain. The first verse sets the stage for this narrative, with the singer describing how he feeds on his patient's "morbid fear/Of terminal disease" in order to manipulate them into unnecessary surgeries, medications, and treatments. The second verse goes further into the deceptions of the fake healer, with the lyrics describing how he demands constant payment and even scams his patients with unnecessary tests and procedures. The final verse reveals the true nature of the healer, promising to let those who can't pay for his services "die", and revealing that his true motivations are to keep "my yacht safe on the pier".
Overall, the lyrics of "Fake Healer" serve as a critique of the healthcare industry, specifically the profit-driven, morally questionable practices that can exist when healthcare is treated as a business rather than a public service. The song exposes the exploitation and manipulation of vulnerable patients, as well as the harm that can be caused by individuals who prioritize greed over human life.
Line by Line Meaning
I prey upon your morbid fear
I take advantage of your fear of dying or being seriously ill
Of terminal disease
Of having a disease that will eventually lead to death
You won't know the difference
You won't be able to distinguish between my real treatment and my fake treatment
Now it's time for surgery
Now it's time for me to operate on you, even if you don't really need it
Another shot, another pill
I'll keep giving you more drugs, even if they're not effective
Two weeks therapy
I'll keep you in therapy for two weeks, regardless of whether it's beneficial for you
I take all major credit cards
I'm only interested in your money and will accept any form of payment
Your money is what I need
I care more about your money than your health
I'm a healer
I claim to be a medical professional who can cure you of your illnesses
I will keep you all alive
I will do whatever it takes to keep you coming back and paying for my services
A villain at your bedside
I'm not a trustworthy or kind caregiver, but rather someone who is using you for personal gain
Take this and you'll be fine
I'm promising you that my drugs and treatments will work, even if they won't
Severely educated
I have some level of education, but it may not be enough to truly help you
Just pay your bill on time
I'm only interested in getting paid and will prioritize that over your health
I think it's time for another test
I'm going to run unnecessary tests to make more money, even if it's not helpful for you
I need more of your blood
I'm going to take more of your blood, even if it's also unnecessary
Sign this affidavit
I want you to sign this legal document that absolves me of any wrongdoing
So my insurance won't go up
I'm more concerned about my personal finances and reputation than your health and wellbeing
Research and development
I'm using scientific-sounding language to justify my high prices and seemingly sophisticated treatments
Spend millions every year
I claim to invest a lot of money into R&D, but it's likely exaggerated or false
You sickly and decrepit ones
I'm targeting vulnerable and desperate people who are more likely to believe my lies
Keep my yacht safe on the pier
My wealth and luxury are more important to me than your health
You're dying on a stretcher
Even if you're close to death, I won't give up trying to profit off of you
We'll try to save your life
I'll make it seem like I'm doing everything I can to help you, even if it's not true
If you can't afford my service
I don't care about helping people who can't pay me enough money
I will let you die
I'm willing to put people's lives at risk if it means I won't lose money
I'm trusted and respected
I'm exploiting people's trust and respect for medical professionals to manipulate and deceive them
Says my diploma on the wall
I'm using my credentials and education to further deceive you into thinking I'm a legitimate healer
Before I will do anything
I'm going to prioritize my own financial interests even if it means delaying or preventing your treatment
I'll give your bank a call
I'm going to check your finances before deciding how much to charge you or whether to treat you at all
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CRAIG STEPHEN WELLS, KURDT YORK VANDERHOOF
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
DB NEWS
Rest In Peace Mike. Thanks for blessing us with your beautiful vocals all these years.
Jörg Mühlberg
I really miss him. His zynistic way to show everybody what's going wrong
Ashes and Urns
100%
Joe Dazey
I'm stunned. There will NEVER be another Mike Howe. So young, he looked in great shape. I wish the band and family my condolences.
Death of Siegfried
I think it was a suicide
Emperor Helix
@Death of Siegfried hanged himself.
michael crowley
@Emperor Helix :( imagine the pain he was feeling , which he only felt solace in suicide
Christopher Myers
Gone too young! One of the most powerful singers of his generation! RIP!
Mike Wold
Mike and LaTorre is fricking awesome!
Johann1222
Rip Mike, what a great voice what a great Song.