It’s the most tasty, old-school, metal album of the year. Armored Saint’s ‘Punching the Sky’ isn’t just a great metal album. It’s a statement from the 35 year metal veterans that there is no slowing down in song writing or production. A top to bottom album. ‘Punching the Sky’ delivers on all fronts: song writing, feel, production, technicality and strength. There have been many great record out this year. But ‘Punching the Sky’ ranks at my top candidate for metal/hard rock album of the year.
There are very few metal bands that haven’t lost a beat since their inception. Armored Saint is one of those bands. Even after losing original lead guitarist Dave Prichard to leukemia in 1990. Their formula is simple: write the best damn hard rock/heavy metal they can. Riff after riff after riff. Killer bass melodies. A smorgasbord of funky, hard driving and traditional drum beats. And, of course, John Bush’s timeless vocals. It’s really rare that a frontman sounds exactly the same as he did 35 years ago. But Bush pulls it off at 56 years of age.
‘Punching the Sky’ is a straight down record. Not one weak track all the way through. From the opening ‘Standing on the Shoulders of Giants’ to the closing ‘Never You Fret,’ it’s all there. And it never sounds tired or outdated. The album is entirely fresh. The lead single, ‘End of the Attention Span’ is relevant and kick ass. The type of track that Metallica would drool over in jealousy. The next track ‘Bubble,’ is a hair raisingly quality song. I’m not sure if there’s another track that fits 2020 more perfectly. ‘Bark, No Bite’ is the Saint channeling their inner Thin Lizzy to the max. Another Joey Vera, knock out, bass line. Accompanied perfectly with Sandoval and Duncan’s guitar harmonies. It’s a track that makes you want to hit the road full speed. While ‘Do Wrong to None’ brings in the heavy, nearly Pantera style.
‘My Jurisdiction’ is yet another killer riff and all around track. The album is pretty much like that all the way through. ‘Never You Fret’ and ‘Missile to Gun’ gain in on the speed. But the strongest track is the center song, ‘Lone Wolf.’ It’s just a timeless, insanely catchy guitar riff. Coupled with a totally bad ass groove and strong, sing along chorus. Another excellent, relevant track about 2020. It’s just baller. Like the album. Honestly, this record solidifies my ranking of Armored Saint as the second most underrated band of all time. Obviously, there’s other albums that come into play with that ranking. But Armored Saint have been immensely consistent since their reformation in 1999. While many of their peers have fallen by the wayside (Lizzy Bordin), are riding their 80’s glory days (Poison) or have changed their sound so much they’re unrecognizable (Bon Jovi); Armored Saint have stayed true to who they are. And it’s paid off in excellent material. Not only that, but the Saint seem to get better and better. ‘Punching the Sky’ might be their best album.
For me, ‘Punching the Sky’ is the prime candidate for metal/hard rock album of 2020. Full of quality, honesty, integrity and all around bad asserey. There have been many great releases this year. But ‘Punching the Sky’ is simply on another level of consistency and excellence.
