By the time Metal Church released their second studio album, "The Dark", in 1986, they were touring with high-profile acts like Metallica. "The Dark" was a commercial success, helped by the fact that the band's first music video, "Watch the Children Pray", received frequent airplay on MTV. As a result, the album managed to enter the "Billboard" 200, and saw Metal Church support the album with a world tour from October 1986 to July 1987, playing with bands like King Diamond, Celtic Frost, Testament, Overkill, D.R.I., Trouble and, individually, with each of the "" of thrash metal (Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax).