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The band was formed in 1979 under the name Tyrant, with Scott Reagers (vocals), Dave Chandler (guitar), Mark Adams (bass), and Armando Acosta (drums), but soon changed their name to Saint Vitus after the song "[[Black Sabbath Vol. 4|St. Vitus' Dance]]" by [[Black Sabbath]]. Their main influences were Black Sabbath and [[Black Flag (band)|Black Flag]], the latter of which Saint Vitus toured with during the 1980s. Black Flag would also sign Saint Vitus to their own record label, [[SST Records]], who would end up releasing 4 LPs and 2 EPs by the band.
The band was formed in 1979 under the name Tyrant, with Scott Reagers (vocals), Dave Chandler (guitar), Mark Adams (bass), and Armando Acosta (drums), but soon changed their name to Saint Vitus after the song "[[Black Sabbath Vol. 4|St. Vitus' Dance]]" by [[Black Sabbath]]. Their main influences were Black Sabbath and [[Black Flag (band)|Black Flag]], the latter of which Saint Vitus toured with during the 1980s. Black Flag would also sign Saint Vitus to their own record label, [[SST Records]], who would end up releasing 4 LPs and 2 EPs by the band.


Under this line-up, Saint Vitus recorded 2 albums (''[[Saint Vitus (album)|Saint Vitus]]'' & ''[[Hallow's Victim]]'') and an EP (''[[The Walking Dead (EP)|The Walking Dead]]''). Reagers left the band in early 1986, and was replaced by [[The Obsessed]] frontman [[Scott Weinrich|Scott "Wino" Weinrich]] (at this time, [[The Obsessed]] had only released one 7"). Reagers' final performances featured songs from the upcoming album ''[[Born Too Late]]'', such as 'The Warstarter' and 'Hell Ain't A Game', as many of these were written whilst he was still in the band.
Under this line-up, Saint Vitus recorded 2 albums (''[[Saint Vitus (album)|Saint Vitus]]'' & ''[[Hallow's Victim]]'') and an EP (''[[The Walking Dead (EP)|The Walking Dead]]''). Reagers left the band in early 1986, and was replaced by [[The Obsessed]] frontman [[Scott Weinrich|Scott "Wino" Weinrich]] (at this time, [[The Obsessed]] had only released one 7"). Reagers' final performances featured songs from the upcoming album ''[[Born Too Late]]'', such as 'The War Starter' and 'Hell Ain't A Game', as many of these were written whilst he was still in the band.


===Weinrich-era (1986–1991)===
===Weinrich-era (1986–1991)===

Revision as of 03:00, 9 November 2010

Saint Vitus

Saint Vitus are a highly influential American doom metal band from Los Angeles. They have been regarded as one of the first bands of the genre, starting out as early as the late 1970s, along with Pentagram, Witchfinder General, Trouble and Candlemass. For most of their career, the band comprised vocalist Scott Weinrich, bassist Mark Adams, guitarist Dave Chandler and drummer Armando Acosta. After breaking up in 1996, Saint Vitus briefly reunited for a tour in 2003, and are back together again as of 2008.

Biography

Formation and first two albums (1979–1985)

The band was formed in 1979 under the name Tyrant, with Scott Reagers (vocals), Dave Chandler (guitar), Mark Adams (bass), and Armando Acosta (drums), but soon changed their name to Saint Vitus after the song "St. Vitus' Dance" by Black Sabbath. Their main influences were Black Sabbath and Black Flag, the latter of which Saint Vitus toured with during the 1980s. Black Flag would also sign Saint Vitus to their own record label, SST Records, who would end up releasing 4 LPs and 2 EPs by the band.

Under this line-up, Saint Vitus recorded 2 albums (Saint Vitus & Hallow's Victim) and an EP (The Walking Dead). Reagers left the band in early 1986, and was replaced by The Obsessed frontman Scott "Wino" Weinrich (at this time, The Obsessed had only released one 7"). Reagers' final performances featured songs from the upcoming album Born Too Late, such as 'The War Starter' and 'Hell Ain't A Game', as many of these were written whilst he was still in the band.

Weinrich-era (1986–1991)

Wino recorded three studio albums (Born Too Late, Mournful Cries & V), a live album (Live), and an EP (Thirsty and Miserable, featuring the Black Flag cover of the same name) with Vitus. Weinrich left Saint Vitus in 1991 to reform The Obsessed after Vitus's label, Hellhound Records, released an album of older Obsessed recordings.

C.O.D., Die Healing and breakup (1992–2002)

Following Weinrich's departure, the band found former Count Raven singer Christian Lindersson as a replacement after a short search. He would record only one album, C.O.D., and tour Europe and America with the band until 1993 before being replaced by original vocalist Scott Reagers for their final album Die Healing, regarded by the band and in underground doom circles to be their finest work [1]. Saint Vitus played dates in America and Europe following the album's release. After the completion of the tour, Saint Vitus decided to call it a day in 1996.

Chandler went on to form the punk/doom band Debris Inc., with Ron Holzner of Trouble in the early 2000's. They released their self titled album via Rise Above Records in 2005. Acosta stayed busy with a band called Dirty Red, Adams no longer played music, and Reagers also left the music scene. After The Obsessed broke up in the mid-90's, Wino moved back to Maryland and formed Shine/Spirit Caravan and once again toured Europe and the US until the bands break up in the early 2000's. His next band, The Hidden Hand, followed a similar path before breaking up in the mid-2000's. Wino also briefly joined Place of Skulls, featuring former Pentagram/Death Row guitarist Victor Griffin, for the album 'With Vision' released in 2003.

Reunion(s) (2003–present)

On July 1, 2003, the classic Born Too Late line-up (Weinrich, Chandler, Adams, Acosta) played a gig at Double Door in Chicago.[2] The performance was recorded and released on a DVD that is distributed through Chandler's current band, Debris, Inc..

In 2008, it was announced that Saint Vitus were reuniting again for a tour in 2009. The band headlined Friday's April 24 date at the 2009 Roadburn Festival.[3] at the 013 venue in Tilburg, Netherlands and then went on to play three gigs in Germany. The lineup for this reunion was the same as the 2003 reunion. Drummer Armando Acosta, who had been with the band since its inception over thirty years ago, left the band before the European tour of 2009 had been completed.

Dave Chandler has cited health concerns as the reason for Armando's replacement.[4] He has since been replaced by Henry Vasquez of the band Blood Of The Sun [5]. When asked about the possibility of Armando rejoining the band, Dave stated:

I don’t think so. He said a lot of stuff that was on the internet that was bad. There’s a big wall between me and him right now and I don’t want to deal with it. Henry’s the better drummer anyway. I’m real comfortable with Henry. He’s kickass the way it should be.[6]

Chandler has also stated that there has been talk about Saint Vitus recording new material, but so far, there are no concrete plans.[7] However, according to frontman Scott "Wino" Weinrich, "we're writing some stuff right now. Everybody's pretty busy. I know I've been busy. The Wino band is pretty much on hiatus right now. So it looks like we'll be doing some recording in the near future. The bottom line is we would like to do a new record. There's talk about it. We've already been floating around a couple ideas. So yeah, somewhere down the line there will be a new Vitus record in the cards."[8] If a new album is released, it would be the band's first since 1995's Die Healing and its first release with vocalist Wino Weinrich since 1989's V.

In March 2010, Wino revealed to the German edition of Metal Hammer magazine that Saint Vitus are without a record label, and have only written one new song so far, but that a full-length studio effort from the group will likely surface within the next 12 months, making it possible that it will be released in 2011.[9]

Late 2009 through 2010 also saw the majority of Saint Vitus' back catalog come back into print. SST Records reissued vinyl versions of all the group's records except for the first album, which was reissued on CD. The label also released "Hallow's Victim" and "The Walking Dead" on CD, having never previously been available in the format. Buried By Time and Dust Records also did a limited vinyl issue of "Die Healing" (the first time that album had been available on vinyl) with a CD reissue expected to follow [10].

Band members

  • Wino Weinrich – lead vocals (1986–1991, 2003, 2008–present)
  • Dave Chandler – lead guitar (1979–1996, 2003, 2008–present)
  • Mark Adams – bass (1979–1996, 2003, 2008–present)
  • Henry Vasquez – drums, percussion (2009–present)

Former members

  • Scott Reagers – lead vocals (1979–1986, 1994–1996)
  • Christian Lindersson – lead vocals (1991–1994)
  • Armando Acosta – drums, percussion (1979–1996, 2003, 2008–2009)

Timeline

  • Note: Saint Vitus were inactive during the period 1997-2002, and 2004-2007.

Discography

Albums

Singles/EPs

Live Albums/Compilations/Reissues

Videos/DVDs

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ Rock Detector Saint Vitus page
  3. ^ Saint Vitus Confirmed For Holland's Roadburn Festival
  4. ^ http://theobelisk.net/obelisk/2010/02/01/saintfuckingvitus-2/
  5. ^ http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=13693193&blogId=488383767
  6. ^ http://theobelisk.net/obelisk/2010/02/01/saintfuckingvitus-2/
  7. ^ http://theobelisk.net/obelisk/2010/02/01/saintfuckingvitus-2/
  8. ^ http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=134648
  9. ^ http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.Net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=137393
  10. ^ http://hammersmashedsound.blogspot.com/2010/01/saint-vitus-interview-with-dave.html
  11. ^ http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=134648


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