UMUR "A Light in the Dark" is the 8th full-length studio album by US power/heavy metal act Metal Church. The album was released through Steamhammer Records in June 2006. It´s the successor to "The Weight of the World" from 2004 and features one lineup change since the predecessor as drummer Kirk Arrington has been replaced by Jeff Plate (Savatage, Chris Caffery, Trans-Siberian Orchestra). Arrington had been a member of Metal Church since 1982, with only a few short breaks from the band in those years, but he had to leave Metal Church due to health complications from his diabetes. "A Light in the Dark" features a re-recorded version of "Watch the Children Pray" from "The Dark (1986)", which is dedicated to former Metal Church vocalist David Wayne, who died in 2005 from gangrene after being involved in an automobile accident.

"A Light in the Dark" is the second Metal Church album featuring lead vocalist Ronny Munroe, and although he is no David Wayne (Mike Howe isn´t either), he is still a skilled singer with the ability to sing both relatively high pitched and mid-range raw vocals. He predominantly performs the latter style. Stylistically there are very few surprises here if you are familiar with the preceding releases by Metal Church. US power/heavy metal with both traditional heavy metal riffs, harmonies, and guitar solos with the occasionally harder edged thrash metal moments. The rhythm section deliver a powerful and organic attack, the guitarists are well playing, and Munroe puts on a good performance too.

I´m not completely sure why but to my ears "A Light in the Dark" is a slightly less interesting release than "The Weight of the World (2004)". The melody lines are maybe a little less memorable, and the songwriting not quite as catchy and varied, but when that is said "A Light in the Dark" is still a good quality release by Metal Church, featuring a well sounding production job, strong musicianship, and professional songwriting. At 60 minutes it´s slightly too long for its own good, and it is to my ears an album featuring a few issues. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is still deserved though, and it speaks volumes of the generally high quality of Metal Church´s releases, that an album I consider a little sub par, is still an album I rate this high.