Armored Saint: A Trip Thru Red Times

Rating:
Summary: A farewell tribute . . .
Review: Formed in the early 80's, Armored Saint has had a rocky history, however the most radical and tragic event to befall the heavy metal band, was the death of guitarist Dave Prichard from leukemia in 1990. A Trip Thru Red Times is the band's tribute to the red haired Prichard, a talented musician and good friend.

Included on the DVD are various clips of live performances featuring Prichard, a collection of videos, the band's discography, a photo gallery, and an extensive interview with the group conducted in 2002. The interview runs for over an hour, and delves deeply into the band's past, and covers in detail obscure events in the Saint's history. Included are the backstories behind the recording of their albums, comments on the music biz, and tales from the road. This remembrance is a source of great insight for hardcore fans.

Originally issued on VHS, the DVD version contains videos of four additional live performances, plus two music videos from 1991's Symbol of Salvation release. The original VHS feature runs for about 54 minutes. With the interview and additional tracks, the DVD release contains over 2 hours of material. This is probably the best collection of what is available from the Prichard era. As the live material makes up only about half of the contents, and the audio and video quality of some of the clips is not very good, those looking for a quality concert video are likely to be disappointed. It is painfully evident that the band did not receive adequate support from its label in those early days. While that was unfortunate, things may be looking better, as a DVD release covering the band from 1991 and beyond is planned, as is a CD with new studio material. Hopefully these will be released soon.

Armored Saint began as one of the few American bands playing heavy Euro-style metal. Overcoming the tragic loss of Dave Prichard and other obstacles, the Saints have continued to "march on" though the years, producing powerful crunching metal. Fans of the genre are strongly encouraged to become familiar with their musical catalog. However probably only more dedicated fans of the band will find this DVD release worth checking out.