March of the Saint

Armored Saint were able to carve out a spot for themselves in the mid-1980s as one of the top heavy metal acts in the United States and were able to resonate with a lot of different scenes. They might have been from Los Angeles but they separated themselves from the hair metal scene that was dominating that west coast and they weren’t quite thrash metal or NWOBHM despite displaying qualities of all of those scenes. No, they were somewhere in the middle of it all: they had plenty of galloping riffs, vocalist John Bush had ability to strain his vocal chords to higher octaves when necessary like many hair band singers, and there was still a rough edge to the music that just wasn’t quite as pronounced as in thrash. It’s a well rounded formula though and it made for some premiere heavy metal.

The opening track ‘March of the Saint’ is exactly what I think of when I think of 80’s heavy metal: fast-paced and energetic riffing with a delightfully sing-along chorus and exemplary guitar work. It’s probably the fastest paced song on the album and sets things off with a bang, a very memorable opener. Only ‘Madhouse’ really matches its intensity as ‘Can U Deliver’ leans more towards that glam sound with its mid paced catchiness and ‘Take a Turn’ is a ballad with a lot of melody and emotive guitar work. The second half of the album is full of catchy choruses as well, most notably in songs like ‘Mutiny on the World’ and ‘Envy’. The guitar work from Dave Prichard and Phil Sandoval remains strong throughout; not sure if one dominates over the other on the leads but they work together harmoniously nonetheless.

The production values shine as well here with a nice warm guitar sound, very natural sounding and balanced in the mix. Gonzo Sandoval’s (Phil’s brother) drumming and Joey Vera’s bass are also given ample room; the drums are nice and organic and a bit faster paced than most traditional metal bands at the time, I think part of what links them to the thrash scene even if it’s more distant. Vera’s bass is the perfect volume in the mix for me, it gives a nice retro vibe which I tend to miss after too much exposure to highly polished instruments in more modern releases.

John Bush would of course have a short stint in Anthrax which is how I originally discovered him, and I’m pleased to say that when my Dad suggested I go listen to Armored Saint for more John Bush, I was satisfied with how little his voice had changed or aged in the near decade that separates this debut from Sound of White Noise (1993). Bush seems most at home with his mid range, somewhat gruff delivery but he can absolutely stretch for some higher pitched screams as well which are used sparingly. He’s an incredibly charismatic lead singer, like a less intense, more melodic version of James Hetfield whom he was once offered to take over for in Metallica so that Hetfield could focus on guitar. While I have no doubt that Bush would have suited Metallica well, I think he sounds right at home in Armored Saint with just the right amount of melody and aggression in his delivery.

It’s a shame that Armored Saint never quite reached the heights of their peers like Metal Church, Savatage, or even Metallica and Judas Priest by extension because they had the songwriting chops and the musicianship to stand out. With the right amount of melody infused into their energetic brand of heavy music you might expect them to have taken off a bit more, especially with a string of strong releases into the early 90’s and a fully intact, near original lineup nowadays. For what it’s worth, they’ll always garner respect from old school metal-heads and hopefully continue to be rediscovered as a below-surface level classic act by the later generations.