758. Armored Saint / March of the Saint. 1984. 3.5/5

Armored Saint is another of those wonderful coming-togethers of high school friends who decided that they wanted to create a band, that then went on and actually made a career out of it. They were formed in 1982 by musical brothers, guitarist Phil Sandoval and drummer Gonzo Sandoval, who had attended Woodrow Wilson High School in Los Angeles, and they were joined by fellow alumni from the same school vocalist John Bush and bass guitarist Joey Vera. These four originally played together during high school in a short-lived band called Royal Decree, but as they got serious about their music, they decided they needed some extra oomph, and a new name. The extra oomph came from guitarist Dave Prichard who had attended nearby South Pasadena High School, while the new band name has been attributed to Gonzo, who claims to have conceived the band name Armored Saint after watching the movie “Excalibur”.
The band began to play the same venues where the Bay area bands were beginning to become noticed and started making a name for themselves. In the story that was related in the episode on this podcast dedicated to Metallica's “Kill ‘Em All” album, in 1983 John Bush was invited by drummer Lars Ulrich to audition as singer for Metallica following the release of that album, as at that point in time James Hetfield was suffering from a lack of confidence in his ability to play guitar and sing on stage at the same time. However, Bush turned down the offer at the time, as he wanted to remain with his school days band, hoping that they would soon get their own break. It would have been a remarkably different future for both bands if Bush had indeed agreed to join Metallica.
Armored Saint had recorded a five-song demo, from which the song "Lesson Well Learned" was used on the compilation album “Metal Massacre II”. This exposure, along with their demo tape, enabled the band to be signed by Chrysalis Records, and led to eventually being able to record their debut album on the back of it, called “March of the Saint”.

This has all of the right attributes to be a terrific heavy metal album but does tend to come across as a bit lighter than it should. It is caught somewhere between wanting to be an out-and-out heavy metal album, or one that is heavy but still accessible to the commercial market. Certainly, the production makes it feel this way, which is supported by comments made by John Bush and Joey Vera a few years ago. Vera commented in 2006 with fullinbloom music that “At the end of the record we were very unhappy with the production, the mix, the way we worked and who we worked with. And the producer and manager let us spend over $300,000 on our first record. To this day we are still in debt for that one”
This is fairly obvious in most of the songs, that you reach a point where you really expect it to delve into a heavy riff or riffs, but it continues along at a far more subtle lineage. This only hampers the album for those that are looking for more grunt that is available. No doubt at the time it was released, the fans would have expected something more akin to the debut albums of Metallica and Exodus for example, the bands they had been their peers in that scene at the time.
In some ways this does also allow John Bush's vocals to get a bit lost in the mix, and not fully utilise what is available. Because the music has been produced in a "lighter" fashion than what would be classed as a thrash or metal album, it leaves the vocals at times sounding reedy and unfinished. If the songs had had more grunt to them, it would have allowed the vocals to meld better with the music and help produce a heavier album. If the lines of lyrics didn't finish so often with the vocals in an upward inflection, and instead brought them down to help drag those riffs into a heavier mode, it would have worked even better. There is a basis to be said that rather than the production that this is just the way John Bush approached his vocals at this stage of his career, and that is quite possibly the case. However, one feels that an experienced producer who was looking to get the best out of the band rather than looking for a commercial success out f the recording would have been able to fashion his better with communication and actually producing for the genre the band was settled in.
The opening trio of songs on the album give it a reasonable entry point, showing strong vocals along with the great rhythm of Gonzo and Joey, along with serviceable guitar stretches from Phil and Dave. The opening title track shows a good burst of speed and enthusiasm from the music and the vocals. “Can U Deliver” is balanced by a good dual solo section from the guitars through the middle of the track. “Mad House” picks things up a bit with a faster tempo and more exciting rhythm riff which lifts the song as one of the better on the album. “Take a Turn” has a commercial bent about the music n places, but John’s vocals actually come through harder here than on other songs on the album.
One of the other comparisons that can be made about this album in looking back is that there is a general symmetry and similarity to the way the songs and composed and sung. The rhythm of guitars, bass and drums does tend to get a bit samey through the middle tracks of the album, which is something that some fans will find aggravating while others will barely even notice. This can be said for songs such as “Seducer” and “Mutiny on the World” and “Glory Hunter” for instance. “Stricken by Fate” and “Envy” have a much better guitar presence, and more energy through the whole band as a whole, especially with John hitting harder in his vocals through these songs. The album then comes to its conclusion with the very Sweet Savage-sounding closing track “False Alarm” which finishes off the album in a pleasing style.

I had known of Armored Saint as a band prior to the mid-1990's but had never really pursued them or chased down their music. In the end, it wasn’t until John Bush left the band to join Anthrax in 1992, and then released what I consider to be the amazing “Sound of White Noise” album that I thought that I probably need to check out just what this Armored Saint band had produced. I heard a few things in those pre-internet days, but it still wasn’t until the early 2000’s that I began to be able to collect their early works, including this album. Since that time I have enjoyed their music, while finding that they do not completely satisfy me with their style of metal/hard rock. The potential however can be heard from the start, which “March of the Saint” is.
When I did get a copy of this album, my thoughts were much as I have explained earlier in this episode. All of the bones are here for a terrific heavy metal album, but it doesn’t quite come together that easily. Did the producer water down what the band had written, trying to give the record company an album that it could promote to a certain market? Or is it just the earliest work of a band that had the potential to be big, but was still finding their feet? I’m not sure. And let me be clear about this - this is still a better than average album which I enjoy whenever I put it on, but you can also perceive some of the reasons why the band was unable to break through to superstar status. The album itself is still terrific, but to me it feels as though something is missing, that something has been lost.
I recently bought this on vinyl at our local Kiama Record Fair, and have been playing it again for the past couple of weeks at home – and I assure you that on vinyl it does sound much better. It’s still a good album, but it isn’t a GREAT album. It doesn’t match “Kill ‘Em All” or “Bonded by Blood” as thrash albums of the era, but it still has its moments. Sometimes, you just have to accept that that is enough.