In a recent interview with Australia’s Metal Mal, Metal Church guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof opened up about the late Mike Howe‘s final plans before his untimely passing. Vanderhoof revealed that Howe, the band’s lead singer, was beginning to recover from personal struggles and was excited about working on a new record.
On July 26, 2021, Metal Church announced the news of Mike Howe’s death on their Facebook page. The 55-year-old singer was found dead at his home in Eureka, California. The cause of death was ruled as suicide, with asphyxia due to hanging being the specific cause. Howe was the second Metal Church singer to have passed away, following David Wayne in 2005.
In his conversation with Metal Mal, Vanderhoof explained that although he knew the late singer was facing difficulties, he had started to see a positive change in him. The two had engaged in multiple conversations about the future and the possibility of creating new music. Encouraged by Howe’s enthusiasm, Vanderhoof began writing material for a new album.
The guitarist said the following about Howe’s final plans:
“He [Mike Howe] just went through a real bad time, like we all do. I knew he was struggling a little bit, but… I don’t wanna get too personal about what was going on with him, but he was coming out of it. We spoke, we had a couple of great conversations. Mike was coming back.
He was ready to make a new record. So I started writing. And then, all of a sudden… I got him the record. We had a conversation. He listened to it and called me back [and said], ‘Oh, I like this. And I like this. Let’s do something with this.’ Blah blah. The usual process. And then, about a week after that, I got the call.”
According to Vanderhoof, the typical process of collaboration between the two musicians had begun, with Howe providing feedback on the new material. The singer expressed his interest in certain tracks and discussed potential directions for the record. However, just a week after their last conversation about the project, Vanderhoof received the devastating news of Howe’s death.
