Bass player Joey Vera, vocalist John Bush, and drummer Gonzo formed a band during their high school years that solidified their friendship and passion for hard rock music. That band evolved into ARMORED SAINT who, with the addition of guitarist Dave Pritchard, played in the early 1980s LA club scene alongside such acts as METALLICA and WASP. ARMORED SAINT separated themselves from their fellow LA rockers by embracing the ‘warrior’ gimmick made popular by bands like MANOWAR and VIRGIN STEELE. With their constantly improving musical skills and patented ‘look’, Chrysalis records signed the band for several albums. Success was imminent for the band when tragedy struck—guitarist Dave Pritchard was diagnosed with leukemia. Shortly after, Pritchard died and it looked like the band was doomed as well. ARMORED SAINT was on the verge of calling it quits and eventually decided to record another album as a tribute to their late friend. Utilizing Pritchard’s own compositions, they added guitarists Phil Sandoval and Jeff Duncan (ex-ODIN), and recorded their best selling album yet, SYMBOL OF SALVATION. While the band went on hiatus, ANTHRAX recruited John Bush to fill the shoes of their ousted frontman Joey Belladonna, and FATES WARNING asked Joey Vera to join their band. So while each individual went on to bigger and better things, they each had a love for the music and camaraderie of ARMORED SAINT. So in 1998, the band reformed and crafted their comeback album, REVELATIONS. This group has a truly interesting history which is literally full of triumph and tragedy. Never has a rock band been so worthy of a home video such as A TRIP THRU RED TIMES to document for posterity their ups and downs. Though previously available years ago on VHS, Metal Blade Records has remastered and re-released this documentary with plenty of extras to tempt ARMORED SAINT fans into throwing out their old video cassette version.

The A TRIP THRU RED TIMES documentary was produced in 1992. It features a slew of fan bootleg footage and pro shot live performances interspersed with interviews by the SYMBOL OF SALVATION era line-up. A TRIP THRU RED TIMES is intended not only a document of ARMORED SAINT’s history and musical progression, but as a heart-felt tribute to late guitarist Dave Pritchard as well. The band looks back fondly on Dave and his contributions to the success of ARMORED SAINT, and the viewer gets to witness Dave in action on stage and learn about the personality of this overlooked guitar hero. It’s enough to nearly bring tears to your eyes (seriously). A TRIP THRU RED TIMES kicks off with a good looking bootleg rendition of A Lesson Well Learned, taped at Billy Barty’s Roller Rink circa 1985. Another ARMORED SAINT staple, March of the Saint, is presented by a startlingly well-shot hand held camera. Next up is ARMORED SAINT’s only 1980’s era music video, Can U Deliver. The group used this music video to set the tone for their style and musical approach, with the MAD MAX meets EXCALIBUR imagery to match their massive metal riffing. The following three songs, Aftermath, Raising Fear, and Nervous Man are more audience-shot bootleg material that showcases ARMORED SAINT’s musical dexterity and song writing prowess. The next two musical performances (and perhaps the band’s best two songs) are Human Vulture and Chemical Euphoria, captured professionally on videotape from their 1987 Hell on Wheels tour. The final three songs, Stricken by Fate, Book of Blood, and Long Before I Die are more single camera performances varying in quality from decent to downright poor. Even the blurred, out-of-focus video segments on A TRIP THOUGH RED TIMES can’t diminish the talent, drive, and intensity of ARMORED SAINT.

The video quality of A TRIP THRU RED TIMES varies significantly since the source elements range from professionally shot performances, to polished music videos, to shaky hand-held camera views. The pro shot live footage such as Human Vulture, Isolation, and Chemical Euphoria look astoundingly fresh even though the footage is nearly 15 years old. Image depth, black levels, and flesh tones are perfectly matched for these clips. Ditto for the music videos Can U Deliver, Last Train Home, and Reign of Fire. As you would imagine, the audience shot bootleg footage ranges from fair to very poor. Metal Blade’s authoring specialists polished up the hand held camera segments the best they could, but considering that the source elements for these clips are time-worn VHS tapes, you can imagine even the high-resolution capacity of DVD can only do so much for these performances. Some are dark and murky; others are vastly out-of-focus. However, much of this flawed bootleg footage has raw charm and charisma that heavy metal is all about. Ironically, the newly shot interview segment is poorly mastered with artifacting and other various digital anomalies affecting the image.

The area where this DVD truly shines is the audio presentation. You have the option of playing A TRIP THRU RED TIMES in either Dolby Digital 2.0 or 5.1. Though both options are crisp and distortion free, the Dolby Digital 5.1 is clearly superior choice. This new 5.1 remastering makes even the bootleg footage sound incredible! Granted, it doesn’t match the balanced harmonics of the music videos and pro-shot stuff, but considering the bootleg material they used as an audio source, this soundtrack is nothing less than spectacular. Dave Pritchard’s guitar work is the focus here, cutting through the arrangements of bass master Joey Vera and drummer Gonzo. John Bush’s unique vocal presence is enhanced in the mix, allowing even first time listeners to marvel at John’s presentation and lyrical exposition of the band. My only gripe with the soundmix is that the low end of the bootleg footage is rather thin sometimes, rendering the bass and drums somewhat tinny. One other major gripe we have is that even though A TRIP THRU RED TMES is remastered in 5.1 surround sound, the bonus material is not. That means the music videos and other extras are in DD 2.0 only. I would have loved to hear the additional tracks in DD 5.1.

Metal Blade packs the DVD full of supplemental material guaranteed to make ARMORED SAINT fans drool. From the Bonus Materials menu, you can view the requisite Web Links, Biographies, Photo Galleries, and Discography. You can also access six bonus videos including:

• Reign of Fire (promo)
• Last Train Home (promo)
• Isolation (killer live version; pro-shot from 1987 Hell on Wheels Tour)
• Feel Me Tonight (live from Billy Barty’s Roller Rink, 1985)
• Your Never Alone (live 1989; poor quality camcorder footage)
• Madhouse (1987 Hell on Wheels Tour)

There is also a recent 2002 interview with John Bush, Gonzo, Joey Vera, Jeff Duncan, and Phil Sandoval. ARMORED SAINT is a band whose been best friends since high school, and their camaraderie come shining through in their interview. How refreshing to have a rock group with no ego and no internal problems. Yes, the band has been through some truly red times, but none of the tragedies and challenges have come from within. They love metal, each other, and their fans. Because of these qualities, ARMORED SAINT will be recording and touring for a very long time. In this hour long interview, the band discuss their origins, getting discovered by Metal Blade, getting signed by Chrysalis, and reveal the circumstances behinds each ARMORED SAINT record up until SYMBOL OF SALVATION. They go into detail about how and why they dropped their ‘warrior’ gimmick. They fondly remember Dave Pritchard, and discuss many road stories that even the staunchest ARMORED SAINT fans probably are not aware of.

ARMORED SAINT: A TRIP THRU RED TIMES is a blessing to the fans of this great band, and the metal scene in general. With the current re-emergence of IRON MAIDEN & JUDAS PRIEST, and the European power metal scene, the legacy of ARMORED SAINT is sure to make waves. Metal Blade has remastered the audio and video portion of this DVD, and included every single music video they’ve ever done. Also, A TRIP THRU RED TIMES contains some rare performances not found on any of their records, including Stricken by Fate, Lesson Well Learned, Feel Me Tonight, and Your Never Alone. Between the documentary tone of A TRIP THRU RED TIMES and the hour long interview, you’ll have access to more information about this band than ever before. One other thing I neglected to tell you is that Metal Blade runs a trailer for the next ARMORED SAINT DVD release coming later in 2003!