It’s been 9 years since the last ARMORED SAINT last release 'Nod To The Old School' and with vocalist John Bush being considerably long out of the mess into which Anthrax turned during the last years, some of us had been secretly praying that the Saints would become a real functioning band again. No more. Bush is part of Anthrax again and it’s highly unlikely that we will get any proper ARMORED SAINT tours in the near future. Pity because the new album 'La Raza' is solid from beginning to end. Basically it’s a no filler album, but of course there are some standout tunes like 'Loose Cannon' 'Left Hook From Right Field' and 'Black Feet'. Those who expect it to be kind of continuation of the previous release would be probably a little bit disappointed to learn that 'La Raza' is actually closer to the 'Symbol Of Salvation' era. For me that was good news. After a listen or two I started to get really excited about the songs. Besides that you have a very classic mix. Vocals are very much in the front, while the brilliant guitar work falls over the rhythm section just seamlessly. Due to producing skills of Joey Vera, we have a great sounding American metal album which perfectly fits the 2000s. 'La Raza' is one of those albums you can’t dissolve into its consistent parts. Like in older times, you need to listen the whole lot to get the picture. It’s a little bit of a drawback for some people who have already developed that disgusting habit of “shuffling” and “skipping” songs, but then, hey, metal has never been about hit singles, you know? Here the running order of the songs really matters. Don’t expect the new ARMORED SAINT release to become your 2010 favorite too. Despite the quality of the music, there are some recognizable flaws in there. First, the first three tracks have some unnecessarily long introductions which really makes you wish to skip them (I have developed the same disgusting habit, you see) and second, here and there you’ll encounter some experiments (like in 'Black Feet' and 'Bandit Country') which fall into the “odd” category, at least in my book. If you can pass those, then you can deal with 'La Raza'. Happy listening!