Armored Saint: El Rey Theatre - Los Angeles, CA - 5/22/24
Armored Saint is a heavy metal band from Los Angeles formed in 1982 by brothers Phil (guitar) and Gonzo (drums) Sandoval. Since then, they have released eight studio albums with the latest being Punching the Sky which was released in 2020. Armored Saint was on a big tour with Queensryche and, at the end of the tour, did a headlining show of their own in their hometown of Los Angeles. Los Angeles is the perfect place to end their long tour as they had some of their most dedicated fans in attendance that would get a full Armored Saint set filled with classics and newer tracks. Even on a Wednesday, heavy metal fans filled the venue, and it was set to be a wild night.
The lights went out and the packed venue cheered with excitement as Armored Saint made their way to the stage and started their show with “End of the Attention Span,” a track from the latest album. Armored Saint rocked it from the start. Up next were two classics which were “Raising Fear” and “Tribal Dance.” The audience was a mixture of people rocking out and singing along. One of the biggest responses the band got was when they played “March of the Saint” which is perhaps their most popular song and gets everyone to sing along and raise their horns. Vocalist John Bush took a quick break to talk about the band as well as introduce everyone in the band and even their crew who had been hard at work for over a month. More of their setlist included “The Pillar,” “Win Hands Down” and “Can U Deliver.” No matter what song was played, they were all played with precision and there was never a dull moment in their performance. The last song of the show was “Reign of Fire,” and it was a banger of a song to end their set. Armored Saint thanked the audience, then left the stage. The fans weren’t eager to go home just yet and stuck around. After a brief break, Armored Saint came back out to treat the audience to some encores. The first encore was their popular song, “Chemical Euphoria.” The fans showed their appreciation by continuing to rock out to the music. The grand finale song of the night was their usual ending song, “Mad House.” Not only does it rock and make you raise your horns, but it has a very catchy chorus that you just can’t help but sing along. Armored Saint wrapped up their show, bowed to their audience, then left the stage once more. Once again, a great show by these heavy metal legends who show no signs of slowing down. They even just released a new song titled “One Chain (Don’t Make No Prison)” that was just released earlier this month. That means a new album is on the horizon and more Armored Saint is always a good thing.
