UMUR "Blessing in Disguise" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US power/heavy metal act Metal Church. The album was released through Elektra/Asylum Records in February 1989. It´s the successor to "The Dark" from 1986 and features a couple of lineup changes since the predecessor as lead vocalist David Wayne has been replaced by Mike Howe (Heretic) and guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof has been replaced by John Marshall (although Vanderhoof is still credited with playing additional guitars). The band had many problems with Wayne, so a change on the lead vocalist position was natural, but losing one of the band´s principal songwriters and driving forces behind the band in Kurdt Vanderhoof probably felt like a greater loss to the remaining members of the band.

Having built a solid reputation with their first two albums, Metal Church and Elektra/Asylum Records fired on all cylinders on "Blessing in Disguise", to try and elevate the band to a higher level of commercial success. While the album did sell fairly well and was the band´d highest charting album at the time, it ultimately didn´t satisfy Elektra/Asylum Records, and "Blessing in Disguise" ended up being Metal Church last release on the label.

The Terry Date (Soundgarden, Pantera, Dream Theater...etc.) produced affair, is a professional sounding album, and it´s obvious it wasn´t a cheap album to record. The band also put on a skilled and convincing performance, and new lead vocalist Mike Howe is also a relatively good replacement for David Wayne. The latter is missed here though, as he is a world class singer, and while Howe is a great singer with a strong voice too, he doesn´t have an easily recognisable voice and singing style like Wayne has. It´s like the difference between Championship and Premier League Football.

"Blessing in Disguise" features 9 tracks distributed over a 54:33 minutes long playing time. Stylististically the material is US power/heavy metal and the quality of the compositions is generally high. Hard rocking heavy metal riffs and rhythms, well played guitar solos, and Howe´s raw and melodic singing on top. Upon conclusion "Blessing in Disguise" is a quality release by Metal Church and the next logical step in their career, but it doesn´t exactly burn through like the debut (and to a lesser extent "The Dark (1986)") did. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

Warthur Although to my ears he doesn't quite have quite a far-reaching vocal talent as David Wayne, Mike Howe does a very credible (if somewhat Bruce Dickinson-inspired) job on lead vocals on Metal Church's Blessing In Disguise. Of course, he has the benefit of Metal Church's high-quality thrash-traditional metal mashup. Opening number Fake Healer gets things going with Metal Church's contribution to the subgenre of "80s metal songs taking the piss out of faith healers in revenge for televangelists saying mean things about metal", and it's an excellent example of that genre, whilst other highlights include The Spell Can't Be Broken, which reminds me a little of early Megadeth.

That said, there's a reason why Howe's Bruce Dickinson-like voice is particularly apt for this album, since at this stage in their career Metal Church seemed to be increasingly following the lead of other, more successful acts and conforming to the typical 80s thrash sound, the magic of the Wayne-era releases already beginning to fade.