Former Metal Church vocalist Marc Lopes has spoken out about his departure from the veteran metal band. He criticized what he describes as a lack of communication and integrity in handling internal conflicts. His comments were shared during an interview on The Big Truth Podcast.
Lopes addressed the circumstances surrounding his exit from Metal Church after recording just one album with the band, 2023’s ‘Congregation Of Annihilation.’
“For most of 2025 nobody knew what was going on with Metal Church. When Metal Church canceled the tour in 2024, there was a lot of things going on behind the scenes that we didn’t make public, obviously,” Lopes said. “People get mad, people have disagreements, and we kind of just let things lay for where they were in hopes that maybe we could have a conversation, like adults should.”
The singer expressed frustration with the lack of communication throughout the process.
“If there’s a disagreement, resolve it one way or the other, whether it’s yes or no, or whatever the case may be. But there was no communication for that whole time,” he continued. “And I did a lot of interviews and a lot of people would always ask [about Metal Church’s status], and when I said I didn’t know it was, it was the truth — I did not know.”
Lopes was particularly critical of how the situation was handled. He described it as lacking integrity.
“In a nutshell, now we’ve come out to where we are now, it’s basically no integrity. The cowardice of not confronting any of the issues, whether good or bad, it didn’t matter, in my book, that doesn’t work,” he said. “That doesn’t fly. If there’s an issue, no matter what it is, either you freaking take it out in the school yard, so to say, or you have that discussion and each person goes ‘fuck you’ and that’s the end of it. But when that doesn’t even happen, that’s a tough nail to bite.”
The former vocalist revealed that learning about developments through the internet was particularly frustrating.
“And then, obviously, the conclusion of it is to find out everything on the Internet. That was the ultimate ‘fuck you’. And that does not bide well with me personally, which will be addressed in another time,” Lopes added. “But, yeah, so that was a big, huge thing. And thankfully, I was still able to play and do stuff with Ross [The Boss], which I’m eternally grateful for, and it was awesome.”
Despite the difficulties, Lopes indicated he has moved forward from the situation. He acknowledged it was a challenging period.
Lopes’ departure marks another significant transition for Metal Church, a band that has experienced considerable lineup changes in recent years. Blabbermouth reported that Lopes had joined Metal Church in the summer of 2022 as the replacement for late singer Mike Howe, who tragically passed away in July 2021.
The album ‘Congregation Of Annihilation’ represented Lopes’ sole contribution to the Metal Church catalog. Blabbermouth noted that the record was produced by founding guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof and was released in May 2023 via Rat Pak Records in the U.S. and Reaper Entertainment in Europe.
Following Lopes’ exit, Metal Church has undergone another significant lineup transformation. Blabbermouth confirmed that the band has brought in former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson and new vocalist Brian Allen as part of a revamped lineup. This signals the band’s commitment to continuing despite the internal conflicts that led to Lopes’ departure.
The situation highlights the ongoing challenges faced by veteran metal bands in maintaining stable lineups while navigating personal and professional disagreements. Metal Church’s ability to attract high-profile musicians like Ellefson demonstrates the band’s enduring reputation in the metal community. They continue to work through these transitional periods.
