page_title: Armored Saint
section_title: Reunion (1999–present)
hierarchical_section_title: Armored Saint / History / Reunion (1999–present)
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: 'Rock Hard Festival 2018; Amphitheater Gelsenkirchen': 'Armored Saint'
context_page_description: Armored Saint is an American heavy metal band, formed in 1982 in Los Angeles, California. Since 1990, the band has consisted of John Bush on lead vocals, Joey Vera on bass, Jeff Duncan on rhythm guitar and the Sandoval brothers, Gonzo and Phil on drums and lead guitar, respectively. Of the current lineup, Bush and Vera are the two constant members. To date, they have released seven studio albums, one EP, two live albums and one compilation album.
  As one of the leaders of the Los Angeles heavy metal scene, Armored Saint achieved moderate success during the 1980s with their 1983 self-titled EP and first three studio albums: March of the Saint, Delirious Nomad and Raising Fear. Prior to the release of their fourth studio album Symbol of Salvation, the band was plagued by extended inactivity, due to record company issues and the death of their original guitarist Dave Prichard, who died of leukemia in 1990. Armored Saint eventually broke up when Bush joined Anthrax in 1992 to replace Joey Belladonna, but reunited in 1999, and has continued to tour and record since then.
context_section_description: 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, Written by Gonzo Sandoval & John Bush  "No Me Digas". A small club tour opening 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 once again placed on indefinite hiatus.
  In 2004, Vera rejoined Bush in Anthrax on a temporary basis, filling in for bassist Frank Bello. Early in 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.
  This move gave hope to many that Armored Saint would once 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 released a 3-CD special edition of Symbol of Salvation in 2003. This contains the original CD, a second CD of demos of the songs plus the first part of an interview of the band members by Metal Blade founder Brian Slagel. The third CD contains the second half of that interview. Also reissued was the band's long out of print live video A Trip Thru Red Times.
  The band released their sixth album titled La Raza on March 16, 2010.
  On December 7, 2011, the band was invited to play 1 of 4 shows @ the 30th Anniversary of Metallica. The show was at the Legendary Fillmore in Beautiful San Francisco California.
  On February 11, 2013, Vera officially announced via Facebook and Twitter 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 #183 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. The album sold double what their previous effort, La Raza, sold upon its release in 2010. The album also reached #33 on the German Top 100 albums charts.
  On February 24, 2017, Armored Saint released their first live album in 29 years, Carpe Noctum.
  When asked in March 2017 about the follow-up to Win Hands Down, Bush stated, "We haven't really collectively started working on anything. Sure, all the guys are accumulating some stuff in their minds. I have a lot of lyrical ideas written down, but we haven't started writing any songs yet. Armored Saint, sometimes, we don't move at the quickest pace. I think it would be a good idea if we wanted to make a new record to move on it a little quicker. I've said numerous times I'd rather have the quality of the material than feeling pressured to put out something in a certain amount of time be the primary motivation for it. That being said, we're no spring chickens, I ain't going to lie. Trying to wait ten years, five years for a new record, it's probably a little bit too long. If we do make a new record and if we can try to make the material be as high quality as Win Hands Down, then it would be cool to be able to get something out sooner than later. That being said, we haven't worked on anything yet."
  On May 23, 2019, Armored Saint announced on their Instagram page that they had begun writing and demoing songs for their eighth studio album. The band began recording the album that December and completed mixing it in April of the following year for a late 2020 release. The resulting album, titled Punching the Sky, will be released on October 23, 2020.
caption: Armored Saint performing at Hard Rock Festival 2018, Germany
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