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Armored Saint > Armored Saint > 2012, 12" vinyl, Metal Blade Records (Limited edition, 2 colors, Reissue) > Reviews > Tony Denis
Armored Saint - Armored Saint

Planting the seeds for a great band - 80%

Tony Denis, December 10th, 2016
Written based on this version: 2012, 12" vinyl, Metal Blade Records (Limited edition, 2 colors, Reissue)

Here's a neat analogy: think of American heavy metal as a great big garden. The big four are separated as a flowerbed, with Metallica as roses, Megadeth as tulips, Anthrax as begonias and Slayer as columbines. Various thrash and death metal bands that are big enough are fruit and vegetable trees, and the most underrated, local or semi-popular ones. A few caretakers pop up to tend, ranging from the occasional blues musician to a jotted up Ted Nugent running around and firing his guns in the air, stomping the occasional plant here and there. Armored Saint was just a little potato plant, growing right in a small corner, with a Metal Church tomato plant next to it. The potatoes would get bigger, and would be happily sold to the public. In this case, the first potato had to be this EP.

For a first EP to a growing record label at the time, this was a pretty decent debut. Dated, but it's effective. Where there are only three tracks, they're all memorable in their own rights, and some would evolve into what they're known today. The first track, Lesson Well Learned, goes right up into your face. While not super thrashy or heavy, it goes to show the energy of the track itself alone. The second, False Alarm, shows slightly different composition but it is not without it's charm, and is slightly more faster paced than what is currently presented on March of the Saint. The last track, On the Way, is more melodic in it's vocals and composition, and is a departure from the sheer energy, but still remains regardless. All three tracks are solid in their own right. The composition from Dave Pritchard's guitar solos in all three tracks works like a fucking charm, and it shows through the fast pacing of Lesson Well Learned and the groove of On the Way. You can also feel John Bush's voice ripple through, and while not as gravelly as it is today, if you want to hear what they sounded like at first then look no further.

Perhaps, my biggest gripe with the EP, was the dating of the tracks' sound quality. It's old, but it's more of a nitpick on my end. Regardless, this little potato of an EP is a welcoming entry to a great, yet sadly underrated band, and is the tip of the Saint iceberg one must conquer, and hoo boy, there's going to be plenty more.