Kev Rowland 1987 saw the band back with their third album, by now solidly a quartet (although Sandoval would return later). The first three albums are normally seen as a set, as this was the last to feature Dave Prichard, who was diagnosed with leukaemia while they were recording demos for the fourth album and passed away before proper sessions commenced. This release is the only one of the three which differs from the original in terms of music, as it features “Crisis Of Life” for the first time on vinyl. One thing it also contains, which I could have done without to be honest, is a cover version of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Saturday Night Special” which has been jammed into NWOBHM and lost all of its soul and gravitas. It may be well played, but the burning question on this must be “why?”.

Although that may be a push in the wrong direction, the rest of the album shows a band very content within their style, and not looking to do anything much different or go into different areas. This is still very much traditional NWOBHM, but with polish and a tightness which only comes from playing together so much. I am not sure how this worked in the live environment given the rhythm guitar is an important aspect of their sound, but given the quality being displayed by everyone I am sure they carried it off. There are numerous songs on this release which demonstrate how their song writing and arrangements had improved over time and while never as essential as other bands from the genre given they had not moved as far from their roots, this is still a fun listen and probably the one which has stood up best to the test of time.

If you have yet to hear the early Armored Saint releases, then I would start with this one and go backwards. Although they have split up a few times over the years they have had the same musicians involved since 1990 with John Bush, Joey Vera and Gonzo Sandoval there since the beginning, Phil Sandoval returning to the fold in 1990 with “newbie” Jeff Duncan joining at the same time. The band show no sign at all of slowing down, and these reissues on vinyl is a great way to hear how it all began.

Kev Rowland 1985 saw the band follow up their debut with the same line-up, although Phil Sandoval left during the recording and only played on a few tracks. The logo on the cover may have stayed the same, but the image being portrayed was very different to that of the knights on the debut, but musically not a great deal had changed, although one can hear the band starting to push themselves and the material was improving. The sound was also much better, due in no small part in moving from Michael James Jackson who produced the debut to Max Norman who had previously worked with Ozzy Osbourne. While still dated when compared against other bands which had come out of the scene, there is no doubt that the band were starting to make strides.

It must have been difficult for them in the LA scene as they would have stood out against many of the local scene, which were more into glam, but at least it did mean they could play with many different styles of bands. One of the standouts on this is “Conqueror” which goes along at a nice pace, there is some massively complex bass while Prichard gives us some really nice solos. Everything comes together on this number, which is not always the case on every song, with Bush showing why he has always been so highly rated as a singer. Whereas the debut did not contain many moments of promise, this has much more, and with their first album behind them and plenty of gigging taking place one can hear the confidence. For me this is an album where it is necessary to look past the artwork and instead listen to the music, and for me this is where Armored Saint start to show what they are capable of, which did not come through on the debut.

Kev Rowland Even though Armored Saint have now been in existence for more than 40 years, and I have of course been aware of the name (primarily due to John Bush, who took time off to sing in Anthrax), I do not think I have previously come across any of their material. With their 40th anniversary in 2022, and Metal Blade reissuing their first three albums on coloured vinyl to celebrate, now is the time to correct that. Formed in 1982 by John Bush (vocals), Dave Prichard (lead guitar), Phil Sandoval (rhythm guitar), Joey Vera (bass) and Gonzo Sandoval (drums), they self-released a demo that year and were soon signed to Metal Blade who put out their first EP in 1983, following that with a deal with Chrysalis for this album in 1984.

One of the advantages of being old in 2023 is that I was 16 in 1979, so was very much involved in the NWOBHM scene, listening to as many new bands as possible and being blown away not only by the variety of metal which was exploding but also the quality. Part of the reason is that some of the bands heading the charge had actually been playing for a few years before the scene caught up with them notably Iron Maiden, Saxon and Raven, while others were playing anywhere and everywhere to build up their songs and stagecraft such as Def Leppard, Samson and so many others. At the time it seemed like the UK was the centre of the world in terms of metal, with the likes of Venom and Angel Witch pushing music into new directions as well. But America? To us in the UK if felt like the States had yet to get with the programme, and to me this album is a fine example.

Released in 1984, it is solid NWOBHM in style, yet is already years out of date and cannot be compared with what was happening in the UK at the time. The scene had moved on, and even back then this must have sounded quite dated and listening to it nearly 40 years on it just does not contain the quality of material one would expect. John Bush is widely known as a great singer, which is why he was asked to join Anthrax, but the songs are quite basic and there is not enough going on in the arrangements to make them consistently interesting. I cannot believe just how disappointed I was in this as I was really looking forward to it as their debut is highly rated, especially for “Can U Deliver” which had quite some success at the time, but for me there is just not enough excitement, and there are times when it reminds me of Tygers of Pan Tang, who were exciting at the time but have not aged well.

Unitron While the early 90's is most notable to me for a slew of grunge, thrash, techno, and hip hop classics, it is also the time of one of my all time favorite classic metal albums, Symbol of Salvation which shows a band at their peak and making the best of the best.

The whole album just goes off, firing all barrels with riffs, and delivering some of the best songwriting and melodic passion. There's a perfect contrast between all out heaviness and beautiful melody, and I find myself humming and singing several of these songs without them being played in a while. Reign of Fire, Dropping Like Flies, Tribal Dance, The Truth Always Hurts, Warzone, Tainted Past, and Spineless are these particular songs (though every song is heavy metal at its peak). Sometimes they go into a melodic thrash edge, like with Spineless or the swaggering groove of Tribal Dance.

John Bush has long been one of my favorite vocalists, and Symbol of Salvation hold what is among his absolute best performances. He's perfect at combining beautiful melodies and forceful badassery, and it's hard not to sing a long to Reign of Fire or scream a long to Tribal Dance. Whether Armored Saint or Anthrax, he's always giving his all and screaming with passion.

In short, this is a fantastic heavy metal album that deserves the same classic status as the likes of Judas Priest and Accept.

Nightfly Armored Saint and me go back a long way. The first album I bought by them was their second, Delirious Nomad when it was released in 1985. On the face of it they should have had a lot more success than they did and I’m not quite sure why they didn’t, as from day one the band have been releasing quality heavy metal. In a career that has seen them split up and reform a few times, their latest run from 2006, Punching The Sky is their eighth studio album. Despite the quality of earlier releases I felt the band reached a career high on 2015’s Win Hands Down, a perfect example of traditional heavy metal with barely a weak moment.

The good news is if you enjoyed Win Hands Down you’re going to also love Punching The Sky. It’s another strong collection of heavy metal full of great songs, melodic but heavy and packed with great riffs and memorable well thought out guitar solos. The bands not so secret weapon has always been the incomparable vocals of John Bush who of course spent time with Anthrax. He’s on fine form as expected here with the right balance of raw power and the ability to carry a tune which he always does magnificently. Of course any fan of Armored Saint knows that the rest of band are fine players and they all put in strong performances here. Like last time around the album is strong as a whole but favourites include the up-tempo End Of The Attention Span and then there’s Lone Wolf which wins the award for catchiest chorus. Then there’s the chugging palm muted riffing of Do Wrong To None alternating between a steady groove and a more up-tempo chorus. In fact the songs on the whole maintain the listeners’ interest with plenty of dynamics, well placed accents and tempo changes, no better demonstrated than on Fly in The Ointment.

Armored Saint have done it again and released an album of classy heavy metal to equal anyone in their field. As a whole it may not quite equal Win Hands Down but that’s more to do with the high bar they set themselves last time than any defects here. It’s not far off though and if they continue to release albums of this quality I’ll be more than happy.