 Metal Church founder Kurdt Vanderhoof reported in 1998 that Howe had retired and was living in Tennessee with his family.On April 30, 2015, Metal Church announced that Mike Howe had rejoined the band.Since then, he has appeared on two more albums with them – "XI" (2016) and "Damned If You Do" (2018) – as well as their 2017 live album "Classic Live".