Armored Saint cooks up a solid mix of traditional metal with "La Raza"

The folks at Metal Blade were kind enough to send me a copy of the latest Armored Saint CD, La Raza. So what do I think of it?

Well it is classic Armored Saint at heart. Bush sounds as solid as ever and Vera and the gang put together a catchy and definitely safe album that will please fans.

There are actually a lot of mid-paced to slower tunes peppered throughout, so the record maintains a solid mix in tempo. Although after repeated listens it still feels like there is something missing and I'm not sure why. But I call it like I see it.

Longtime fans can do no wrong by picking up La Raza (it really is a solid traditional metal CD) and if you are unfamiliar with the history of the Saint, I'd recommend starting with the excellent March of the Saint before picking this one up.

P.S. I stumbled across this video of vocalist John Bush and bassist Joey Vera of Armored Saint cooking up some pasta sauce and (briefly) discussing the latest album La Raza which will be released on March 16.



UPDATE: Cooking with Armored Saint Part Deux, available now.

John Bush Should Stay In Armored Saint

As much as I love Anthrax, I still don't think anything outside of "Sound of White Noise" or "We've Come For You All" can even touch the Armored Saint stuff with Bush on vocals.

Just to prove my point, below is demo of a new Saint track called "Loose Cannon" to be released on the band's forthcoming album due out in early 2010 (the group is entering the studio in October).

Rock Is Not Going Wild in Northwood, Iowa.

I briefly mentioned the Rock Gone Wild festival on the blog a few months back, mainly because it had some solid acts, including Saxon (who rarely tour the US), Twisted Sister and Armored Saint.

However, now I am writing about it again to say that the concert (which WAS a little over priced) is now canceled due to a last minute statement from Diamond Jo Casino which said that they could no longer hold the festival.

Maybe it will be rescheduled, but the event has already moved locations once, so who knows if management will want to take the time and money to move it again.

Click on the image below for a list of bands that would have been playing if Rock Gone Wild actually took place.

UPDATE: Slipknot's planned festival on September 9, 2009, in Des Moines, Iowa? Yeah, that's canceled too. What is going on here?!

Armored Saint: Marching On

The thrash knights in Armored Saint are well into the recording process, with nine songs finished for the new album featuring John Bush(Armored Saint, ex-Anthrax) on vocals.

No title revealed for the CD, but it will come out through Metal Blade sometime later in the year/early next year.

Armored Saint will be taking over the stage at the 4-day Rock Gone Wild Music Festival on Sunday (the last day of the event. Other bands set to appear include Saxon, Primal Fear, Dokken and more.

The concert's a little pricey at $175 for two tickets, but seeing Saxon and Armored Saint would be very cool.