is a
Los Angeles based
Heavy Metal band.
The band was formed in
1982 by singer
John Bush , guitarists
Dave Pritchard and
Phil Sandoval , bassist
Joey Vera and drummer Gonzo (the brother of Phil Sandoval). 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 ''. Armored Saint never achieved much success with Chrysalis and in
1989 returned to the Metal Blade stable.
Soon after the release of Armored Saint's first live album ''
Saints Will Conquer '' in
1989 , guitarist Dave Pritchard was diagnosed with
Leukemia . Pritchard and the rest of the band decided to return to the studio and begin work on their next album. Before it could be completed Dave Pritchard died. After a brief hiatus, the band recruited
Jeff Duncan to replace Pritchard and returned to the studio to finish the record. The following year ''
Symbol Of Salvation '' was released to widespread critical and commercial success.
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.
In
1999 , while Anthrax was temporarily on hiatus due to various issues, John Bush got together with Joey 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 and a small club tour opening for
Dio followed.
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 was 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, but as of early 2006 the band has no plans to reform. A one-off show with the last Saint lineup did take place in 2005, but nothing more has come of it.
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 Through Red Times''.
