Armored Saint
Alcatraz Line up: 2015, 2018, 2024
Armored Saint have been around since 1982. They were off to a reasonable start with their 1984 debut ‘March of the Saint’, their sophomore effort ‘Delirious Nomad’ was a big step up with more mature lyrics, better production and a more consistently heavy sound overall. Just when things really started happening for Armored Saint it all went to hell when guitarist Dave Prichard was diagnosed with leukaemia during the recording of ‘Symbol of Salvation’. The album was arguably their best effort to date but when John Bush was offered the lead singer gig in Anthrax, they still decided to call it a day. With Anthrax on hiatus in 1999, Bush resuscitated Armored Saint, resulting in ‘Revelation’ (1999) and they’ve toured and recorded consistently ever since. Fast-forward to ‘Win Hands Down’ (2015) and the Saint is still churning out the kind of classic hard rock nuggets you’d expect and even after more than three decades, John Bush is still a vocal powerhouse. Can they deliver? Check out ‘Symbol of Salvation: Live’, recorded 30+ years after the release of this classic album!