REVIEW OF ARMORED SAINT'S 'RAISING FEAR' + 10 QUESTIONS WITH JOEY VERA

SAINTS ALIVE! ARMORED SAINT- RAISING FEAR- A CLASSIC METAL ALBUM.

Did you ever get one of those CDs that you had on vinyl – for those too young, that the big black CDs yer da has! It took me ages to get a copy on cd. From the mean streets of East L.A. the saint arose. The Armored one.

From the opening salvo of the title track you know you’re in for something special. The band are on stunning form with this being the swansong for Dave Pritchard on guitar who sadly passed away. This is one of those tracks that will jump into your head out of blue and you have to go and listen to the whole album. And it’s still as stunning as it was 16 years ago when I first heard it. Following hot on the heels of the title track is a cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Saturday night special’. I’m not a Skynyrd fan, but this version sits perfectly with the rest of the material on the cd.

Good solid riffing heralds out on a limb, it has to be said this is an album free of pretence; this is metal but it ain’t metal up its own ass, no airs or graces just a solid as you like chunk of metal. Things then mellow a bit for ‘isolation’

‘Chemical euphoria’ deals with Drug use, it doesn’t glorify it, and at a time when the L.A. scene looked like a bunch of girls singing about rose’s thorns and other nonsense its still refreshing to listen back to something that was different from the output of the ‘average’ metal band not only from that time, but from the L.A. scene, then again the ‘Saint were never average.

‘Crises of life’ takes us into the direction that Anthrax journeyed to in the post Belladonna releases and could easily fit onto an Anthrax cd. Before it mellows out with a ‘jazzy’ interlude then spirals into a great solo, this is fuckin’ A1 stuff. An instrumental by Dave Pritchard segues into ‘The Legacy’ a song about the Biblical flood that caught everyone except Noah & his missus.

‘Human vulture’ follows dealing with vampirism. This is one that gets the head going and again has been a big influence on Anthrax’s later material. Chunky, solid metal. You can’t argue with this cause it’ll come round your house and break your windows.

Book of blood , and Gonzo on drums finally lets loose, I always felt he needed to let rip a bit more on this cd, but then again less is more coupled with some great bass playing by Joey Vera, who shines on this cd leads us to ‘terror’ which scarily is as relevant today as it was in 87 when this was originally We close the cd with ‘underdogs’ maybe its how the Saint felt at that time, but in the long run their music is still as relevant as ever, and that puts them ahead of the pack.

When I contacted Joey for to ask would he do the 10 questions, I was on his website and he has some copies of his debut solo release- from 1994 available again, called ‘thousand faces’ it’s a great slab of rock with a twist of kings x amongst others. I’ve had a copy for some time, and it was a great incentive to pull this gem out and get it blasting again. Check him out
www.joeyvera.com

Its times like this I sit with a huge smile, I’ve just been in contact with someone who’s music made a huge impact on me in my teens, and still does today. The man Joey Vera, the bands Armored Saint, Anthrax & Fates Warning,

Joey took some time to answer a few questions for www.imarocker.com

Q. How are you, where are you?
A: I'm fine and in Los Angeles

Q. What's currently happening in Joey Vera's world?
A: Currently I'm nursing a pretty bad gash on my left pinky finger.
Ran a wood chisel through it while fixing a door. I’m off the bass for a few weeks for sure. Other than that, I've started writing and recording for my second solo record. I hope to get it done by the end of the year, barring any further injuries.

Q.What has been the best concert by one of your peers you ever attended?
A: That's a gray line that's hard to cross by claiming who my peers are. But I've seen some really emotional shows by King's X I have to admit. I'm a huge fan.

Q. What was the first song you ever wrote/performed?
A: I was in a band in High School with John Bush, Gonzo and Phil Sandoval and we played at a talent show and performed an original song called Typical. Ironic eh?

Q. Do you remember the first place/ time you stepped on stage to play?
What happened?
A: First time was in Junior High during a lunch concert Tickets were 50 cents and quite a bargain me thinks. I just remember feeling really nervous and excited. Then when we came out, all of the girls were sitting up in the front and they started screaming like we were the Beatles or something. That was it. I was hooked for life. We opened with Smoke on the Water of course.

Q. What performer are you in awe of? Why?
A: Any performer who has been doing it for 30 years and still going. I hope I can have the tolerance for a very long career in music.

Q. What would be the high point & low point of your career?
A: I've had many highs from when I was playing arenas in the early eighties to doing recording sessions with musicians like DJ Bonebrake from X. Low's are too many that I wish to forget. Doing a gig in front of 10 people is pretty humbling.

Q. What is you favourite city/town to have a show in & Why?
A: There really are many but I'd have to say I favor places like South America and certain European countries because the places that don't often get shows are really appreciative when you come to play there. The crowds are just starved and they show it which makes for incredible concerts.

Q. If you could do something else what would it be?
A: Sail around the world.

Q.What colour is the sky in your world?
A: In the morning it’s dark and cloudy, by mid day it's clear and bright blue, at night fish fly in the sky.

SAV

Visit Joey Vera's site HERE

Visit Armored Saint's site HERE