Metal Church’s Dead To Rights is a survival record. “This new album is very special to me for one reason: the band was over,” founding guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof said. It wasn’t. Vanderhoof rebuilt with a current lineup that includes bassist David Ellefson and vocalist Brian Allen, made a record whose lead single cleared 400,000 YouTube views, and booked a co-headlining run with one of the other West Coast bands that came up alongside them in ’80s metal. The Metal Saint Tour hits Sherman Theater on Monday, March 29 at 7:00 p.m.
About the Show
Metal Church and Armored Saint are running full headline sets across roughly 20 North American dates from March 19 through April 10. This is the second leg of the tour; the fall 2026 run went through the West Coast and Pacific Northwest. Both bands carry new records.
Dead To Rights was released April 10, 2026 via Rat Pak Records, produced and mixed by Zeuss. It is the first album with this lineup, running from opener “Brainwash Game” through closer “My Wrath,” with single “F.A.F.O.” already past 400,000 YouTube views. Metal Church signed to Elektra Records out of the early West Coast metal scene and toured with Metallica; they built their name on precision and intensity, not crossover.
Armored Saint brings Emotion Factory Reset (Metal Blade Records, May 22, 2026), their ninth studio album, produced by bassist Joey Vera and mixed by Jay Ruston. The band has been active since 1982–83 (March of the Saint, 1984; Symbol of Salvation, 1991; Punching the Sky, 2020), and the new record is built around what Bush described plainly: “Use all our influences through the years, diverse music that we listen to and love, and let that seep in and bring something new out of us.” On the tour itself: “Two classic metal bands from the ’80s on tour together doing headline sets.” One Machine opens, the international metal outfit led by guitarist Steve Smyth (Testament, Nevermore); the band completed their EP Let the Culling Begin ahead of this run.
Venue & Logistics
Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg, PA holds 1,800 — a theater-sized room for two acts that have been building metal catalogs since Reagan’s first term. Doors at 6:00 p.m., show at 7:00 p.m. All ages; 21+ with ID to consume alcohol. More shows in the Hudson Valley.
Tickets
General admission: $35 advance, $40 day of show. Reserved balcony (members only): $40 advance, $45 day of show. VIP Box: $575 (members) / $625 (general). Skybox: $750 (members) / $800 (general). On sale September 25, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. Tickets purchased after 5:00 p.m. on show day must be bought at the venue. Buy tickets