Formed in 1982 in Los Angeles California, they quickly became one of the top draws on the LA club circuit playing a style of traditional English heavy metal with an American twist. They put out and EP (extended play) on Metal Blade Records (one of the first releases on the label) that quickly got the attention of the major labels. Unfortunately, as it would turn out, they signed with Chrysalis Records. Not known for their Metal roster, the band thought that since they were the only real Heavy Metal act on the label they would get special promotion.. they were wrong. After spending way too much money producing their first record, 1984’s ‘March Of The Saint’ and a Mad Max inspired video for ‘Can U Deliver’, their full length debut record only sold modestly. Chrysalis never knew what to do with them, and after 2 more strong albums that performed under commercial expectations, 1985’s ‘Delirious Nomad’ and 1987’s ‘Raising Fear’, they were dropped. They went back to their home on Metal Blade Records. After releasing a stopgap live EP, 1988’s ‘Saints Will Conquer’ they started writing what many consider to be not just their best album, but one of the finest Metal albums of all time; 1991’s ‘Symbol Of Salvation’. But before they could record it, tragedy struck as founding guitar player Dave Prichard passed away in 1990 of Leukemia. He was replaced by friend of the band, guitarist Jeff Duncan. Even though they had received the most critical acclaim they’d ever had, the death of their friend weighed heavily and when metal heavyweights Anthrax made vocalist John Bush an offer to fill their vacant vocalist spot, the draw of being in a much more commercially successful band was too great and Armored Saint effectively ended. While Anthrax was on a break in 1999, the ‘Symbol Of Salvation’ lineup reformed, recorded and toured behind their comeback record; 2000’s ‘Revelation’. The following year a rare track compilation record, ‘A Nod To The Old School’ followed. With Anthrax back in action, the Saint was on the shelf again. In 2005, the ‘Among The Living’ era lineup of Anthrax reformed for a reunion tour. At this time, John Bush said his involvement with Anthrax was over. Armored Saint toured again in 2006 and then in 2010 released an album of all new material called ‘La Raza’, followed by ‘Win Hands Down’ in 2015. Another live album, ‘Carpe Noctum’ followed in 2017. Bringing us to present day. Despite the pandemic postponing new albums from many bands, Armored Saint decided to soldier on and release theirs anyway. ‘Punching The Sky’ is another Traditional Metal masterpiece. Every single Armored Saint record is excellent and John Bush is one of the most consistently great vocalists in Rock/Metal history. I’ve seen him perform live on four different occasions (once with Anthrax and three times with Armored Saint) and he’s hit one bad note over a total of those four shows. You honestly can’t go wrong picking up any of their releases and ‘Punching The Sky’ is no exception. Like their last handful of albums it was produced by bassist Joey Vera. The sound and mix are great, all the instruments are clear and up front and despite getting older, John Bush is still at the top of his vocal game delivering another impressive performance. They’ve always had a knack for writing catchy melodies and choruses, and the first single, “Standing On the Shoulders Of Giants” is another in a long line of great sing along choruses. There are mid-tempo and slower rockers that keep the album interesting that all have great riffs and solos. Another fantastic effort from the Saint. Highly recommended.