Armored Saint was formed in 1982 by brothers Phil and Gonzo Sandoval, and guitarist David Prichard, while attending Woodrow Wilson High School. Next to join were singer John Bush and bassist Joey Vera. Gonzo Sandoval came up with the name after getting stoned with the other band members and seeing the film "Excalibur" at a theater in Monterey Park. Armored Saint recorded a five song demo that landed the song "Lesson Well Learned" on the compilation album "Metal Massacre II". Three of these demo songs were then used for the band's self-titled EP on Metal Blade Records in 1983. The group then signed with Chrysalis Records in 1984.
Armored Saint released their debut album "March of the Saint" in 1984 followed by 1985's "Delirious Nomad". The debut album yielded a minor MTV hit with "Can U Deliver?". After the release of "Delirious Nomad", Phil Sandoval left the group. Their third album, "Raising Fear", was recorded by the remaining four members. Unhappy with their lack of success on the Chrysalis label, Armored Saint returned to Metal Blade in 1989. Soon after the release of their first live album "Saints Will Conquer". Later that same year the band added Jeff Duncan formerly of the L.A. club band Odin as second guitarist.
While writing and recording rough four-track demos for their next studio album, Dave Prichard was diagnosed with leukemia. Prichard succumbed to the disease before recording sessions for "Symbol of Salvation" began. After a brief hiatus, Phil Sandoval returned to the band to replace Prichard. The following year, "Symbol of Salvation" was released to widespread critical success. It was dedicated to the spirit and memory of Dave Prichard, whose solo on the demo recording of the song "Tainted Past" was used on the album.
Following the successful "Symbol of Salvation" tour, John Bush was offered the position of lead vocalist in the very successful thrash band Anthrax. Unsure of Armored Saint's future, Bush accepted the job. The remaining members declined to continue, 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.
Gonzo and Phil Sandoval formed a new band called Life After Death, a song oriented rock outfit influenced greatly by the legendary band Thin Lizzy.
In 1999, with Anthrax on temporary hiatus, John Bush and Joey Vera decided to reform Armored Saint. The entire "Symbol Of Salvation" lineup returned to the studio and in 2000 the album "Revelation" was released. It included the band's first song with Spanish lyrics, "No Me Digas". A small club tour opened for Dio and Lynch Mob followed.
The following year, the band released "Nod To The Old School", a collection of rarities, demos and outtakes (many from the Prichard years), plus a few new tracks.Soon after, John Bush returned to the studio with Anthrax, and Armored Saint was on indefinite hiatus.
in 2004, Joey Vera re-joined Bush in Anthrax on a temporary basis, replacing bassist Frank Bello. In early 2005, Anthrax's Scott Ian announced that their classic "Among The Living"-era lineup was reforming, leaving the membership of Bush and Vera in question. Bush stated his involvement with Anthrax was over, and Dan Nelson took over vocal duties in the band in 2007. This move gave new hope to many that Armored Saint would soon again record. A one-off show with the "Revelation" lineup took place in 2005 and in 2006 the band embarked on a new tour.
As part of their 20th anniversary, Metal Blade Records released a special edition of "Symbol Of Salvation". Also reissued was the band's long out of print live video, "A Trip Thru Red Times".
In Fall 2009, the band returned to the studio to record a new album called "La Raza" which was released in March 2010.
On February 11, 2013, Vera officially announced that the band had begun working on their seventh studio album. The album, titled Win Hands Down, was released on June 2, 2015. Win Hands Down debuted at number 183 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. The album also reached number 33 on the German Top 100 albums charts.
On February 24, 2017, Armored Saint released their first live album in 29 years, Carpe Noctum.
On May 23, 2019, Armored Saint announced that they had begun writing and demoing songs for their eighth studio album. The resulting album, titled Punching the Sky, was released on October 23, 2020. Metal Hammer named it the 33rd-best metal album of 2020.
In October 2020, Armored Saint released a teaser trailer to their documentary "Armored Saint: The Movie" which includes appearances from such as James Hetfield from Metallica and Scott Ian from Anthrax.
In a July 2023 interview, Bush confirmed that he and Vera have "started writing some songs a little bit" for the next Armored Saint album.
Reign of Fire
Armored Saint Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Archaic science
Master plan
Hear the war cry
Watch the crow fly
When your body's set
It never fails
Then you hear the tale of tales
Bound and gagged
You're in a reign of fire
Spells and magic
In the reign of fire
Complacency with all
A strong need to bathe in gall
Hear the war cry
Watch the crow fly
When your body's set
It never fails
Then you hear the tale of tales
Bound and gagged
You're in the reign of fire
Spells and magic
In the reign of fire
Feel the hexes
In the reign of fire
Find what sex is
In the reign of fire
I sold my soul
To give to you
I sold my soul L
Let me pull you through
Never fails
It never fails
Feel the hexes
In the reign of fire
Find what sex is
In the reign of fire
The lyrics to Armored Saint's song "Reign of Fire" speak of a world consumed by chaos and destruction, where science and magic coexist and people are bound and gagged in a reign of fire. The opening line "Fantasize exploding hands" could be interpreted as a desire for power and destruction, while the phrase "archaic science" suggests that the world might have regressed to a pre-technological era. The line "Master plan" could imply that the chaos in the song is not accidental, but rather the result of someone's intentional planning.
The repeated lines "Hear the war cry, watch the crow fly" could suggest that the chaos in the world is the result of a war, with the crow being a symbol of death and destruction. The lines "When your body's set, it never fails" and "then you hear the tale of tales" could be interpreted as indicating that there are certain physical or metaphysical factors that are causing the chaos, and that there is a deeper story behind it all.
Overall, the lyrics to "Reign of Fire" paint a bleak picture of a world consumed by chaos, with hints of magic, war, and intentional planning behind it all.
Line by Line Meaning
Fantasize exploding hands
Imagine the power to cause destruction and chaos with just your hands
Archaic science
Ancient knowledge and techniques used for warfare
Master plan
A carefully crafted strategy for domination
Hear the war cry
The call to arms and battle from the enemy
Watch the crow fly
An ominous sign of death and destruction to come
When your body's set
When your mind and soul are prepared for the coming battle
It never fails
The confidence that your skills and abilities will not let you down
Then you hear the tale of tales
The legendary stories of past battles and victories
Bound and gagged
Trapped and silenced, unable to fight back
You're in a reign of fire
You are caught in a war where destruction and chaos reign
Spells and magic
Otherworldly powers used in the war
Complacency with all
A lack of concern or action towards the impending danger
A strong need to bathe in gall
An intense desire for revenge and retribution
Feel the hexes
Experience the curses and evil spells used in battle
Find what sex is
Discover the primal nature of physical intimacy in a dangerous and chaotic environment
I sold my soul
I gave up everything for the cause of victory in the war
To give to you
To offer my sacrifice and service to the leader of the cause
Let me pull you through
Allow me to lead you to victory
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DAVID EARL PRICHARD, GONZALO SANDOVAL, JOHN ROBERT BUSH, JOSEPH JOHN VERA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Draven Quinn
Lyrics:
Fantasize exploding hands
Archaic science master plan
Hear the war cry watch the crow fly
When your body’s set It never fails
Then you hear the tale of tales
Bound and gagged You’re in a reign of fire
Spells and magic In the reign of fire
Complacency with all A strong need to bathe in gall
Hear the war cry Watch the crow fly
When your body’s set It never fails
Then you hear the tales of tales
Bound and gagged You’re in the reign of fire
Spells and magic In the reign of fire
Feel the hexes In the reign of fire
Find what sex is In the reign of fire
I sold my soul To give to you
I sold my soul let me pull you through
Never fails It never fails
Feel the hexes In the reign of fire
Find what sex is In the reign of fire.
David Torres
John Bush has to be one of the most underrated metal vocalists ever
TheVashy
Heaps better than Belladonna
prepper and son
That is not metal
Amuz3d2Deth
I put him right up there with DIO, Halford, and Dickenson!
prepper and son
@Amuz3d2Deth I've never even heard of this guy makes me think of armor chili
rbagel55
I love the way John Bush sings. He's got a metal voice with some balls and projection
Steve Warris
+rbagel55 i am wrong maybe but i think metallica wanted him as a lead vocalist.
rbagel55
No you are right, James Hetfield mentioned that in a interview
Reggae Fan
Sings a lot like Ronnie James Dio.
Strideo1
I agree. His performance is agressive and emphatic without going into the sandpaper on your ears territory.