Armored Saint - Raising Fear (1987)

Another truly underrated band - the first batch of Armored Saint records should be owned by everyone who calls themself a headbnager. 'Raising Fear' is the bands fourth opus if you include the self-titled raging demo. John Bush of course went on to join Anthrax but it's in Armored Saint that he really shines. These guys are a full-on, white knuckle ride of a heavy metal band, the kind of act who never let their fans down, constantly churning out balls out metal. Randomly pick out any of the eleven tracks on offer and you won't be disappointed - the title cut features a killer riff from Dave Prichard (R.I.P.), this metal is up there with Priest, Maiden, but they never got the success they so rightly deserved. Just check out the dynamics of 'Saturday Night Special' and the epic 'Isolation,' a power metal classic. Armored Saint are simply a smoking hot metal band, and no review can really do their fiery brand of metal any justice, so track down the records and rock out.
8/10