Hanging in the Balance

On why he left Metal Church in 1995, Mike Howe stated in an interview in 2017: "I left Metal Church because of managerial and record company and outside pressures that were putting Metal Church in a position that was not to my liking. They were ruining the band for me business-wise. Small examples like the record cover of 'Hanging In The Balance', which was something that I did not approve of and something I did not like at all. And so… [Laughs] It's okay if you like it, but for me, it was not something that I liked. Things like that, the way it was recorded and mixed and the pressures put on me and to push me in ways that I didn't want to be pushed, so things like that. It came to a head to where this is not the band I envisioned and Kurdt envisions and we're basically being bullied around by a management company that doesn't understand us. They think they know better than us. I was like, 'This is it. I'm getting off the ship before it goes down.' ==Track listing==

;Metal Church • Mike Howe – vocals • Craig Wells – lead guitar • John Marshall – rhythm guitar • Duke Erickson – bass • Kirk Arrington – drums ;Additional musicians • Kurdt Vanderhoof – additional guitars • Jerry Cantrell – lead guitar on "Gods of Second Chance" • Randy Hansen – lead guitar on "Conductor" • Joan Jett, Allison Wolfe, Kathleen Hanna – backing vocals on "Little Boy" ;Production • Thom Panunzio – producer, engineer, mixing at The Hit Factory, New York • Kenny Laguna – producer • Paul O'Neill – producer on tracks 1, 5, 6, 10, musical director, arrangements with Kurdt Vanderhoof and Metal Church • Adam Kasper, Chuck Johnson, Glen Robinson, John Aiosa, Lee Anthony, Thom Cadley – assistant engineers • Greg Calbi – mastering at Sterling Sound, New York ==Charts==