Armored Saint is an American
heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1982. Since 1990, the band has consisted of
John Bush on lead vocals,
Joey Vera
Joey Vera (born April 24, 1963) is an American bassist who is known as a member of the heavy metal band Armored Saint and progressive metal band Fates Warning. During 2004 and early 2005, he toured with Anthrax as a fill-in for Frank Bello, who ...
on bass,
Jeff Duncan on rhythm guitar and the Sandoval brothers (Gonzo and Phil) on drums and lead guitar, respectively. Of the current lineup, Bush and Vera are the two constant members. To date, the band has released eight studio albums, one EP, two live albums and one compilation album.
As one of the leaders of the Los Angeles heavy metal scene, Armored Saint achieved moderate success during the 1980s with their 1983
self-titled EP and first three studio albums: ''
March of the Saint
''March of the Saint'' is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released in 1984 by Chrysalis Records and recorded with producer Michael James Jackson who previously worked for Kiss. The debut album yielded ...
'' (1984), ''
Delirious Nomad
''Delirious Nomad'' is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released in 1985 via Chrysalis Records and recorded with producer Max Norman who previously worked for Ozzy Osbourne. While recording the album ...
'' (1985) and ''
Raising Fear
''Raising Fear'' is the third studio album by the American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released in 1987 via Chrysalis Records. The band recorded the album as a four-piece as guitarist Phil Sandoval had left Armored Saint during the ...
'' (1987).
[Armored Saint - chart history](_blank)
billboard.com Prior to the release of their fourth studio album ''
Symbol of Salvation
''Symbol of Salvation'' is the fourth album by American heavy metal band Armored Saint, released in 1991 on Metal Blade Records. It was their first release with guitarist Jeff Duncan and their last album before going on an extended hiatus that w ...
'' (1991), the band was plagued by extended inactivity, due to record company issues and the death of their original guitarist
Dave Prichard
Armored Saint is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1982. Since 1990, the band has consisted of John Bush on lead vocals, Joey Vera on bass, Jeff Duncan on rhythm guitar and the Sandoval brothers (Gonzo and Phi ...
, who died of leukemia in 1990. Armored Saint eventually broke up when Bush joined
Anthrax
Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...
in 1992 to replace
Joey Belladonna
Joey Belladonna (born Joseph Bellardini; October 13, 1960) is an American singer, best known as the vocalist for thrash metal band Anthrax. He is also the vocalist and drummer of the cover band Chief Big Way. Belladonna has six Grammy Award nom ...
, but reunited in 1999, and has continued to tour and record since then.
History
Early career (1982–1989)
Armored Saint was formed in 1982 by brothers Gonzalo "Gonzo" Sandoval on drums and Felipe "Phil" Sandoval on rhythm guitar, from
Woodrow Wilson High School (Los Angeles)
Woodrow Wilson High School is a Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) high school in the Northeast region of Los Angeles, California, United States.Landsberg, Mitchell.County gives Los Angeles International Charter High School a second chanc ...
, along with lead singer
John Bush, bassist
Joey Vera
Joey Vera (born April 24, 1963) is an American bassist who is known as a member of the heavy metal band Armored Saint and progressive metal band Fates Warning. During 2004 and early 2005, he toured with Anthrax as a fill-in for Frank Bello, who ...
, also Woodrow Wilson High School alumni, and lead guitarist
Dave Prichard
Armored Saint is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1982. Since 1990, the band has consisted of John Bush on lead vocals, Joey Vera on bass, Jeff Duncan on rhythm guitar and the Sandoval brothers (Gonzo and Phi ...
from nearby
South Pasadena High School
South Pasadena High School (SPHS or "South Pas") is the one public high school serving grades 9-12 in the city of South Pasadena, California. With the South Pasadena Middle School and three elementary schools (Arroyo Vista, Marengo, and Monterey ...
. The Sandovals, Vera and Bush had originally played together during high school in a short lived rock band called "Royal Decree"). Gonzo Sandoval claims to have conceived the band name "Armored Saint," after watching the movie ''
Excalibur
Excalibur () is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in th ...
'', at a local movie theater parking lot in
Monterey Park, California
Monterey Park is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately from the Downtown Los Angeles civic center. The city's motto is "Pride in the past, Faith in the future". Mo ...
. In 1983 John Bush was invited by drummer
Lars Ulrich
Lars Ulrich (; ; born 26 December 1963) is a Danish musician best known as the drummer and co-founder of American heavy metal band Metallica. The son and grandson respectively of tennis players Torben and Einer Ulrich, he played tennis in his ...
to audition as singer for
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
following the release of their debut album, ''
Kill 'Em All
''Kill 'Em All'' is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on July 25, 1983, through the independent label Megaforce Records. Metallica began by playing shows in local clubs in Los Angeles. They recorded several ...
'', as frontman
James Hetfield
James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, co-founder and a main songwriter of heavy metal band Metallica. He is mainly known for his intricate rhythm playing, but occasionall ...
was not confident in his own singing abilities and wanted to focus on playing guitar. However, Bush turned down the offer as he wanted to remain in Armored Saint.
Armored Saint recorded a five-song demo that landed the song "Lesson Well Learned" on the compilation album ''
Metal Massacre II
''Metal Massacre'' is a series of compilation albums released through Metal Blade Records. It is famous for "shedding light" on bands such as The Obsessed, Trouble, Overkill, Metal Church, Metallica, Slayer, Virgin Steele, Hellhammer, Voivod, ...
''.
Three of these demo songs were then used for the band's self-titled EP on
Metal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distrib ...
in 1983. The group then signed with
Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records () is a British record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ellis-Wright Ag ...
in 1984.
Armored Saint released their debut album ''
March of the Saint
''March of the Saint'' is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released in 1984 by Chrysalis Records and recorded with producer Michael James Jackson who previously worked for Kiss. The debut album yielded ...
'' in 1984.
The debut album yielded a minor
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
hit with "Can U Deliver?". During the recording of their second album, ''
Delirious Nomad
''Delirious Nomad'' is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released in 1985 via Chrysalis Records and recorded with producer Max Norman who previously worked for Ozzy Osbourne. While recording the album ...
'', rhythm guitarist Phil Sandoval left the group.
Their third album, ''
Raising Fear
''Raising Fear'' is the third studio album by the American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released in 1987 via Chrysalis Records. The band recorded the album as a four-piece as guitarist Phil Sandoval had left Armored Saint during the ...
'', was recorded by the remaining four members.
In 1986 during the recording sessions for the album, Metallica contacted Joey Vera to replace bassist
Cliff Burton
Clifford Lee Burton (February 10, 1962 – September 27, 1986) was an American musician who was the bassist for heavy metal band Metallica from 1982 until his death in 1986. He performed on ''Kill 'Em All'' (1983), '' Ride the Lightning'' (1984 ...
after his untimely death. Vera turned down this offer as he wanted to stay in Armored Saint, and Burton was eventually replaced by
Jason Newsted
Jason Curtis Newsted (born March 4, 1963) is an American musician who was the bassist of heavy metal band Metallica from 1986 to 2001. He first performed with thrash metal band Flotsam and Jetsam from 1981 to 1986 before joining Metallica to su ...
of
Flotsam and Jetsam
In maritime law, flotsam'','' jetsam'','' lagan'','' and derelict are specific kinds of shipwreck. The words have specific nautical meanings, with legal consequences in the law of admiralty and marine salvage. A shipwreck is defined as the r ...
.
Throughout the 1980s, Armored Saint toured, or played selected shows, with many acts such as
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...
,
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
,
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...
,
Whitesnake
Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own entit ...
,
Ted Nugent
Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American rock musician and activist. He initially gained fame as the lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of The Amboy Dukes, a band formed in 1963 that played psychedelic rock an ...
,
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...
,
Saxon
The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic
*
*
*
*
peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
,
Ratt
Ratt is an American glam metal band formed in San Diego, California, in the 1970s, that had significant commercial success in the 1980s, with their albums having been certified as gold, platinum, and multi-platinum by the RIAA. The group is bes ...
,
Testament,
Exodus
Exodus or the Exodus may refer to:
Religion
* Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible
* The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan
Historical events
* Ex ...
,
W.A.S.P.,
Dio,
Accept
Accept may refer to:
* Acceptance, a person's assent to the reality of a situation etc.
* Accept (band), a German heavy metal band
** ''Accept'' (Accept album), their debut album from 1979
* ''Accept'' (Chicken Shack album), 1970
* ACCEPT (or ...
,
Fates Warning
Fates Warning is an American progressive metal band, formed in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1982 by vocalist John Arch, guitarists Jim Matheos and Victor Arduini, bassist Joe DiBiase, and drummer Steve Zimmerman. There have been numerous lineup ...
,
Y&T,
Grim Reaper
Death is frequently imagined as a personified force. In some mythologies, a character known as the Grim Reaper (usually depicted as a berobed skeleton wielding a scythe) causes the victim's death by coming to collect that person's soul. Other b ...
,
Malice,
King Diamond
Kim Bendix Petersen (born 14 June 1956), better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Danish rock musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his powerful and wide-ranging countertenor singing voice, in particular his far-reaching falsetto s ...
,
Great White
Great White is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1977. The band peaked with several albums during the mid-to-late 1980s, including the platinum-selling records '' Once Bitten'' (1987) and '' ...Twice Shy'' (1989), and those albums ...
,
Stryper
Stryper is an American Christian metal band from Orange County, California. The group's lineup consists of Michael Sweet (lead vocals, guitar), Oz Fox (guitar), Perry Richardson (bass guitar), and Robert Sweet (drums).
Formed in 1983 as Roxx ...
,
Leatherwolf
Leatherwolf is an American heavy metal band that formed in Huntington Beach, California in 1981. They split up in 1992, but reunited in 1999. The group is also nicknamed the "Triple Axe Attack" for pioneering the use of a 3-guitar line-up in he ...
,
Lizzy Borden,
Savatage
Savatage () was an American heavy metal band founded by brothers Jon and Criss Oliva in 1979 in Tarpon Springs, Florida. The band was first called Avatar, but, shortly before the release of their debut album ''Sirens'' (1983), they changed thei ...
,
Helloween
Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. Its first lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Kai Hansen, bassist Markus Grosskopf, guitarist Michael Weik ...
and
Danzig.
By the end of the decade, however, the band was unhappy with their lack of success on the
Chrysalis
A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...
label, and returned to
Metal Blade
Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distrib ...
.
Soon after the release of their first live album ''
Saints Will Conquer
''Saints Will Conquer'' is the first live album by American heavy metal band Armored Saint recorded during the '' Raising Fear'' tour. It was recorded on October 9, 1987, at the Agora Ballroom in ClevelandSaints Will Conquor CD inlay and release ...
'' and a short-lived lineup that included Alan Barlam (then-guitarist for
Hellion), Armored Saint added
Jeff Duncan, formerly of the L.A. club band Odin, as rhythm guitarist, while Gonzo Sandoval briefly left the band and was replaced by Eddie Livingston as drummer.
Death of Dave Prichard, ''Symbol of Salvation'' and split (1989–1998)
In 1989, while writing and recording rough four-track demos for their next studio album, guitarist
Dave Prichard
Armored Saint is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1982. Since 1990, the band has consisted of John Bush on lead vocals, Joey Vera on bass, Jeff Duncan on rhythm guitar and the Sandoval brothers (Gonzo and Phi ...
was diagnosed with
leukemia
Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...
.
Prichard succumbed to the disease on February 27, 1990, shortly before the recording sessions of ''
Symbol of Salvation
''Symbol of Salvation'' is the fourth album by American heavy metal band Armored Saint, released in 1991 on Metal Blade Records. It was their first release with guitarist Jeff Duncan and their last album before going on an extended hiatus that w ...
'' began.
After a brief hiatus, the Sandoval brothers returned to the band and Phil switched to lead guitar duties to replace Prichard. ''Symbol of Salvation'' was released in 1991 to widespread critical success. It featured two hits "Reign of Fire" and "Last Train Home." The album was dedicated to the spirit and memory of Dave Prichard, whose solo on the demo recording of the song "Tainted Past" was painstakingly and carefully transferred and used on the album. The tour for ''Symbol of Salvation'' was successful; they opened for
Suicidal Tendencies
Suicidal Tendencies is an American crossover thrash band formed in 1980 in Venice in Los Angeles, California by vocalist Mike Muir. Muir is the only remaining original member of the band. Along with D.R.I., Corrosion of Conformity, and Stormtr ...
on their ''
Lights...Camera...Revolution!'' tour and
Savatage
Savatage () was an American heavy metal band founded by brothers Jon and Criss Oliva in 1979 in Tarpon Springs, Florida. The band was first called Avatar, but, shortly before the release of their debut album ''Sirens'' (1983), they changed thei ...
on their ''
Streets
Streets is the plural of street, a type of road.
Streets or The Streets may also refer to: Music
* Streets (band), a rock band fronted by Kansas vocalist Steve Walsh
* ''Streets'' (punk album), a 1977 compilation album of various early UK punk ba ...
'' tour. They also toured with the
Scorpions
Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...
,
Wrathchild America
Wrathchild America was an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Martinsburg, West Virginia, in 1978. Before settling on the Wrathchild America name in 1988, the band had performed under the names Atlantis, Tyrant, and Wrathchil ...
,
Sepultura
Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera,Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. the band was a major force in the groove metal, thra ...
and
Overkill.
In 1992, the band contributed the song "Hanging Judge" to the ''
Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth'' soundtrack, as well as made a brief appearance in the film. Several months later, John Bush was offered the position of lead vocalist in the
thrash
Thrash may refer to:
*Thrashing (computer science), where increasing resources are used to do a decreasing amount of work
*Thrash (surname)
*Thrash, mascot of the Atlanta Thrashers
*''Thrash Rally'', a top-down perspective rally racing video game ...
band
Anthrax
Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...
.
Unsure of Armored Saint's future, Bush accepted the job. The Sandoval brothers attempted to audition new members to create a new chapter, yet after many failed attempts, Armored Saint was officially disbanded.
After Armored Saint disbanded, Joey Vera kept busy playing with such bands as
Fates Warning
Fates Warning is an American progressive metal band, formed in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1982 by vocalist John Arch, guitarists Jim Matheos and Victor Arduini, bassist Joe DiBiase, and drummer Steve Zimmerman. There have been numerous lineup ...
,
Lizzy Borden and
Chroma Key
Chroma key compositing, or chroma keying, is a visual-effects and post-production technique for compositing (layering) two images or video streams together based on colour hues ( chroma range). The technique has been used in many fields to ...
. He released a solo album in 1994 and started a successful second career as a producer and engineer. The Sandoval brothers formed Life After Death. Life after Death released a self entitled record on the now defunct John Sutherland record label Indivision, and released the record on the now defunct European label Rising Sun, and Jeff Duncan formed DC4 with brothers Shawn and Matt, and former
Dio guitarist
Rowan Robertson
Rowan Wingate Robertson (born 22 November 1971) is an English rock guitarist who currently performs in the Las Vegas production show ''Raiding the Rock Vault'' and plays for Bang Tango. He also plays for DC4. Robertson also played guitar for AM ...
.
Reunion (1999–present)
In 1999, with Anthrax on temporary hiatus, John Bush and Joey Vera decided to reform Armored Saint. The entire ''Symbol of Salvation'' lineup returned to the studio, and in 2000 the album ''
Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities.
Background
Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...
'' was released. It included the band's first song with Spanish lyrics, Written by Gonzo Sandoval & John Bush "No Me Digas". A small club tour opening for
Dio and
Lynch Mob followed.
The following year, the band released ''
Nod to the Old School
''Nod to the Old School'' is a compilation album by the American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released in 2001 on Metal Blade Records. The album features some new tracks ("Real Swagger" and "Unstable"), live versions of two ''Revelati ...
'', a collection of rarities, demos and outtakes (many from the Prichard years), plus a few new tracks. Soon after, John Bush returned to the studio with Anthrax, and Armored Saint was once again placed on indefinite hiatus.
In 2004, Vera rejoined Bush in Anthrax on a temporary basis, filling in for bassist
Frank Bello
Frank Bello (born July 9, 1965) is an American musician who plays bass for the thrash metal band Anthrax.
Early life
Bello is the nephew of Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante. He had a younger brother Anthony, who was murdered in the Bronx, New Yo ...
. Early in 2005, Anthrax's
Scott Ian
Scott Ian (born Scott Ian Rosenfeld, December 31, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the thrash metal band Anthrax. Ian is the guitarist and a founding member of the crossover thrash band Stormtroo ...
announced that their classic ''
Among the Living
''Among the Living'' is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Anthrax. It was released on March 16, 1987, by Megaforce Records in the US and by Island Records in the rest of the world. The album is dedicated to Cliff Burton of ...
''-era lineup was reforming, leaving the membership of Bush and Vera in question. Bush stated his involvement with Anthrax was over.
This move gave hope to many that Armored Saint would once again record. A one-off show with the ''Revelation'' lineup took place in 2005, and in 2006 the band embarked on a new tour.
As part of their 20th anniversary, Metal Blade released a three-CD special edition of ''
Symbol of Salvation
''Symbol of Salvation'' is the fourth album by American heavy metal band Armored Saint, released in 1991 on Metal Blade Records. It was their first release with guitarist Jeff Duncan and their last album before going on an extended hiatus that w ...
'' in 2003. This contains the original CD, a second CD of demos of the songs plus the first part of an interview of the band members by Metal Blade founder
Brian Slagel
Brian Slagel (born February 14, 1961) is an American music executive. He is the founder and CEO of the independent record label Metal Blade Records. Slagel is known for having initiated the ''Metal Massacre'' series of compilation albums in 1982 ...
. The third CD contains the second half of that interview. Also reissued was the band's long out of print live video ''A Trip Thru Red Times''.
The band released their sixth album titled ''
La Raza
The Spanish expression ('the people' or 'the community'; literal translation: 'the race') has historically been used to refer to the Hispanophone populations (primarily though not always exclusively in the Western Hemisphere), considered as ...
'' on March 16, 2010.
On December 7, 2011, the band was invited to play one of four shows at the 30th anniversary of Metallica. The show took place in San Francisco, California.
On February 11, 2013, Vera officially announced via
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
and
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
that the band had begun working on their seventh studio album. The album, titled ''
Win Hands Down
''Win Hands Down'' is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released on June 2, 2015. The vocals were recorded at Bridge Recording in Los Angeles, guitars and bass were recorded at Travis Dickerson Studios i ...
'', was released on June 2, 2015. ''Win Hands Down'' debuted at number 183 on the Billboard Top 200 chart.
The album sold double what their previous effort, ''La Raza'', sold upon its release in 2010. The album also reached number 33 on the German Top 100 albums charts.
On February 24, 2017, Armored Saint released their first live album in 29 years, ''Carpe Noctum''.
Armored Saint performing at Hard Rock Festival 2018 in Germany
When asked in March 2017 about the follow-up to ''Win Hands Down'', Bush stated, "We haven't really collectively started working on anything. Sure, all the guys are accumulating some stuff in their minds. I have a lot of lyrical ideas written down, but we haven't started writing any songs yet. Armored Saint, sometimes, we don't move at the quickest pace. I think it would be a good idea if we wanted to make a new record to move on it a little quicker. I've said numerous times I'd rather have the quality of the material than feeling pressured to put out something in a certain amount of time be the primary motivation for it. That being said, we're no spring chickens, I ain't going to lie. Trying to wait ten years, five years for a new record, it's probably a little bit too long. If we do make a new record and if we can try to make the material be as high quality as ''Win Hands Down'', then it would be cool to be able to get something out sooner than later. That being said, we haven't worked on anything yet."
On May 23, 2019, Armored Saint announced on their
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
page that they had begun writing and demoing songs for their eighth studio album. The band began recording the album that December and completed mixing it in April of the following year for a late 2020 release. The resulting album, titled ''
Punching the Sky
''Punching the Sky'' is the eighth studio album by American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released on October 23, 2020. The album was produced by Bill Metoyer and bassist Joey Vera, and mixed by Jay Ruston. The track "End of the Atten ...
'', was released on October 23, 2020. ''
Metal Hammer
''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...
'' named it the 33rd-best metal album of 2020.
In October 2020, Armored Saint released a teaser trailer to their documentary "Armored Saint: The Movie" which includes appearances from such as
James Hetfield
James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, co-founder and a main songwriter of heavy metal band Metallica. He is mainly known for his intricate rhythm playing, but occasionall ...
from Metallica and
Scott Ian
Scott Ian (born Scott Ian Rosenfeld, December 31, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the thrash metal band Anthrax. Ian is the guitarist and a founding member of the crossover thrash band Stormtroo ...
from
Anthrax
Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...
.
November 12th 2022, Armored Saint plays live in Cleveland Ohio at The Agora Theater and Ballroom.
[Youtube]
Band members
Current members
*
John Bush – lead vocals (1982–present)
*
Joey Vera
Joey Vera (born April 24, 1963) is an American bassist who is known as a member of the heavy metal band Armored Saint and progressive metal band Fates Warning. During 2004 and early 2005, he toured with Anthrax as a fill-in for Frank Bello, who ...
– bass, backing vocals (1982–present)
*
Jeff Duncan – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1989–present)
*Gonzo Sandoval – drums, backing vocals (1982–1989, 1990–present)
*Phil Sandoval – lead guitar (1990–present), rhythm guitar (1982–1985)
Former members
*Mike Zaputil – bass (1982)
*Mike Williams – bass (1982)
*
Dave Prichard
Armored Saint is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1982. Since 1990, the band has consisted of John Bush on lead vocals, Joey Vera on bass, Jeff Duncan on rhythm guitar and the Sandoval brothers (Gonzo and Phi ...
– lead guitar, backing vocals (1982–1990; his death)
*Eddie Livingston – drums (1989–1990)
*Alan Barlam – rhythm guitar (1989)
Timeline
Discography
Albums
All studio albums listed, unless otherwise noted.
Other appearances
Videos/DVDs
References
External links
Official website*
{{Authority control
Musical groups established in 1982
Musical groups disestablished in 1992
Musical groups reestablished in 1999
Musical groups disestablished in 2003
Musical groups reestablished in 2008
Heavy metal musical groups from California
Musical groups from Los Angeles
Musical quintets
1982 establishments in California
Chrysalis Records artists
Metal Blade Records artists