Armored Saint
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| Armored Saint | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Genre(s) | Heavy Metal Thrash Metal |
| Years active | 1982-1992 1999-Present |
| Label(s) | Metal Blade Records (Current Label) Chrysalis Records |
| Website | www.armoredsaint.com |
| Members | |
| John Bush Phil Sandoval Joey Vera Jeff Duncan Gonzo Sandoval |
|
| Former members | |
| Dave Pritchard | |
Armored Saint is a Los Angeles, United States, based heavy metal band.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Early career
The band was formed in 1982 by singer John Bush, guitarists Dave Prichard and Phil Sandoval, bassist Joey Vera and drummer Gonzalo "Gonzo" Sandoval (b. 12 October 1963) (Phil's brother). They came up with the name after getting stoned and going to the movie Arthur. Armored Saint released a three-song EP on Metal Blade Records in 1983 before signing with Chrysalis Records.
Armored Saint released three albums with Chrysalis, 1984's full length debut March of the Saint, 1985's Delirious Nomad and 1987's Raising Fear. Phil Sandoval played on Delirious Nomad, but then left the band, and Raising Fear was recorded by the remaining four members of the band. Armored Saint never achieved much success with Chrysalis and in 1989 returned to the Metal Blade stable. The debut album yielded a minor MTV hit with "Can U Deliver?"
Soon after the release of Armored Saint's first live album Saints Will Conquer in 1989, the band decided to replace Phil Sandoval, recruiting Jeff Duncan formerly of the L.A. club band Odin as second guitarist. The band had begun writing and recording rough four-track demos for their next album when guitarist Dave Prichard was diagnosed with the leukemia that would end his life before the recording sessions of Symbol of Salvation. After a brief hiatus, Phil Sandoval returned to the band to replace Pritchard, and Armored Saint returned to the recording studio. The following year Symbol of Salvation was released to widespread critical and commercial success. It was dedicated to the spirit and memory of Dave Prichard, whose solo performance on the four-track demo recording of the song 'Tainted Past' was used on the studio recording. During the early days of both bands, John Bush was invited to audition for Metallica, who also courted Joey Vera after the death of their bassist Cliff Burton. Following the successful Symbol of Salvation tour, John Bush was offered the lead singer position in the thrash metal band Anthrax. Unsure of Armored Saint's future, Bush accepted the job. The remaining members decided to call it quits and Armored Saint was officially disbanded.
After Armored Saint disbanded, Joey Vera kept busy playing with such bands as Fates Warning, Lizzy Borden and Chroma Key. He released a solo album in 1994 and started a successful second career as a producer and engineer.
[edit] Reunion and Future
In 1999, while Anthrax was temporarily on hiatus due to various issues, John Bush got together with Joey "Whitefish" Vera and together they decided to reform Armored Saint. The entire Symbol of Salvation lineup returned to the studio and in 2000, Revelation was released. A small club tour opening for Dio followed. The album was a delusional resurrection of the classic sound of Armored Saint. It features the band's first song with Spanish lyrics and a track partly written by Dave Prichard, and Joey Vera plays guitar on several tracks.
The following year, the band released Nod to the Old School, a collection of rarities, demos and outtakes (many from the Pritchard years), plus a few new tracks were released. Soon after, John Bush returned to the studio with Anthrax and Armored Saint was once again placed on hiatus.
In 2004 Joey Vera joined Anthrax as a temporary member to replace Frank Bello. Early in 2005, Anthrax's Scott Ian announced that their most famous lineup was reformed leaving the membership of Vera and Bush somewhat undetermined. Bush has stated his involvement with Anthrax is over, although Ian does not appear to be sure. This move gave hope to many that Armored Saint would once again start recording. A one-off show with the Revelation lineup took place in 2005, and in 2006 the band embarked upon a new tour.
As part of their 20th anniversary and continuing celebrations, Metal Blade released a special edition of Symbol of Salvation plus reissued the band's long out of print live video A Trip Thru Red Times.
Armored Saint will once again reunite in July of 2008 for the Rocklahoma Festival in Pryor OK.
[edit] Miscellaneous
It was revealed in an outtake from the documentary film "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster" that in 1982 Armored Saint and Metallica were at a party and Phil Sandoval got into an altercation with Lars Ulrich. Phil pushed Lars to the ground, after which Dave Mustaine, who was still a member of Metallica at that time, got involved and ended up breaking Phil's leg. Dave recounts that to this day when he sees Phil he feels bad for him, but that he was just trying to protect Lars.
In 1992, Armored Saint appeared in the film "Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth." They are performing the song Hanging Judge in the club that Terry Farrel's character visits.
[edit] Discography
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Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (April 2007) |
[edit] Albums
| Year | Title | Label | Other information |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Metal Massacre II | Metal Blade | Compilation featuring "Lesson Well Learned" |
| 1983 | Armored Saint (EP) | Metal Blade | 3 song EP |
| 1984 | March of the Saint | Chrysalis | |
| 1985 | Delirious Nomad | Chrysalis | |
| 1987 | Raising Fear | Chrysalis | |
| 1988 | Saints Will Conquer | Metal Blade | Live album |
| 1988 | The Decline Of Western Civilization Part II (soundtrack) | OMPS | Soundtrack to the movie of the same title. Featuring "You Can Run..." |
| 1991 | Symbol of Salvation | Metal Blade | Reissued in 2003 with 3 disc Deluxe version |
| 1996 | Metalmeister | Metal Blade | Compilation featuring "Creepy Feelings" |
| 2000 | Revelation | Metal Blade | |
| 2001 | Nod to the Old School | Metal Blade | A few new tracks plus rarities, demos and live material |
[edit] Videos/DVDs
| Year | Title | Label | Other information |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | A Trip Thru Red Times | Chrysalis | Live bootleg video. Re-released by Metal Blade in 2004 |
| 1992 | Hellraiser III | ||
| 2004 | Lessons Not Well Learned | Metal Blade |
