This week it’s back to 1984 and the debut album from California’s Armored Saint. They were a band without a scene to really “fit in” with, but they would go on to claim their own territory in the overflowing landscape of 1980’s heavy metal.

Armored Saint – March Of The Saint

Released September 26, 2984 via Chrysalis Records

My Favorite Tracks – March Of The Saint, Glory Bound, Can U Deliver

Armored Saint formed in 1982 in the US music epicenter of Los Angeles. They released a self-titled EP in 1983 and then quickly turned around to record their debut full-length. The band was nearly struck with member poaching just as they were getting off the ground, as singer John Bush was offered the vocalist position in Metallica. Bush turned that role down to focus on Armored Saint, creating one of heavy metal’s biggest “what if” moments.

The band on the debut comprised of Bush, Dave Prichard and Phil Sandoval on guitars, Joey Vera on bass and Gonzo Sandovol on drums. They had played together in various forms through their school years and this band naturally formed out of those prior relationships.

The album was produced by Michael James Jackson, who was fresh off a turn at the helm of the Kiss albums Creatures Of The Night and Lick ‘Em Up. It was not to be a match made in heaven, as Jackson was indifferent about heavy metal and the record label was micromanaging the band’s sound to create a polished offering that they thought would appeal to the masses. Joey Vera relays in this 2006 interview with Full In Bloom that the recording process of the debut left Saint disillusioned about the album’s mix and heavily in debt due to excess time spent in the studio. Vera said in the interview that the band was still in debt from that record all those years later.

While the recording process and the business end of music left Armored Saint worse for the wear, there still is an album of music to discuss here. In practical terms, this band were the heaviest thing coming out of Los Angeles, as thrash was mainly a Bay Area construct. Armored Saint didn’t really fit any of the burgeoning subgenres – they were far too heavy for hair metal and not fast enough for thrash. This could be described as US power metal, as that sound could fit a number of bands. Overall, Armored Saint were just plain old heavy metal, though.

Today’s album comprises 10 tracks at 38 minutes of runtime. The album was given a 2006 reissue by Rock Candy with a few demo bonus tracks added on but today I’ll focus on the original offering.

March Of The Saint

The opener offers a tie-in to the band’s name and is a decently paced roller that offers some nice melodic guitar accents to keep things interesting. The band’s true strength is revealed early as John Bush offers a full-throated, powerful delivery that stands apart from the all-out scream that many metal singers were going for at the time. The lyrics serve up a “war and metal” analogy that was par for the course in heavy metal at the time but it’s executed nicely here.

Can U Deliver

The next song did get a single release and also got a fair bit of traction on MTV. A quick look at its Spotify played count indicates over 8 million streams, dwarfing the six figure counts of all other songs on the album. This song did catch on, that’s for sure.

This song does sound like it straddles a line between metal and sleaze rock. The music itself is crisp and solid, though the production is a bit thin. The song is about being out on the prowl for a one night stand, though the lyrics are fairly vague and don’t descend into self parody.

Mad House

This one is a good banger of a track that’s maybe again a bit hampered by production but the song still comes through. It’s all about going to that place everyone knows is crazy and having a good time. It should not be confused with the 1985 song Madhouse by Anthrax, of course, though John Bush would later have the opportunity to sing that one too.

Take A Turn

Here’s a ballad or perhaps ballad-like offering. The song does add enough drive and pace to keep it out of total ballad territory. It’s a hook-up song, all about “taking a turn with me.” It’s again kind of vague and the lyrics aren’t immature or silly. The song’s execution keeps it from being something that could derail the album’s momentum.

Seducer

It’s another “sex” song as the title clearly indicates. Again the song works in the context of the album with Armored Saint’s able playing and John Bush’s visceral delivery. It seems like a song written to fit into the 1980’s scene but Armored Saint retain their identity on it rather than going all the way with the attempt to “fit in.”

Mutiny On The World

We exit the realm of hooking up for a bit and dive into one of metal’s tried and true archetypes, that of rebellion. The verses lay a bit quiet and let John Bush snarl through them. It’s a remarkable track that again would have benefited from a beefed-up production.

Glory Hunter

The next track really shines and feels like a truly realized and fleshed-out concept. It’s a dark tale of battle against native tribes set to music that certainly slots in well in that US power metal slot with some shades of the old familiar NWOBHM. It’s a bit of a shame the band weren’t allowed to operate more on this theme.

Stricken By Fate

The song is a tale of lovers broken apart and the wish for vindication or even revenge. The music is totally on point and keeps the album feeling cohesive. Some really cool guitar work on this one too.

Envy

Another kind of scorned lover track, this one sees the narrator looking at his partner moving on with someone else and the envy associated with that. It’s done pretty well musically and it’s a bit more of a mature and complex look at feelings that are often expressed simplistically in music.

False Alarm

The album closes on a pretty heavy jam that kicks the pace up a few notches. There isn’t much going on with the lyrics, it feels like a group of words thrown together to be able to use “false alarm” as a chorus. But the song hits the right spot even without a plot.

March Of The Saint is quite a triumph in that Armored Saint were able to forge a sound and identity even with being pushed by producer and record label to record songs that fit with the music of the time. The album remains cohesive and and gets through with all of the tracks feeling like they fit, nothing comes off as filler here.

The album was not a huge success commercially, though it did sell 125,000 copies in its first year of release and gain some buzz with Can U Deliver getting MTV play. Armored Saint would often find themselves with some hard luck in terms of trying to make it, but on the other hand they did get their name out there and are one of the more respected institutions in US heavy metal.

It would be a long and winding road for the band, who would suffer the loss of guitarist Dave Prichard to cancer in 1989, then go inactive in 1992 when John Bush took the open Anthrax singer job. Saint would regroup through the 2000’s and press on with albums and touring and also retaining their core line-up sans Prichard.

But in the framework of 1984, Armored Saint were a new force on the scene. They might have suffered a bit from not having a “scene” to be a part of when things were going either hair or thrash, but they were able to establish their own identity and set themselves on the path to becoming one of America’s classic metal acts.