[1] Prior to the release of their fourth studio album Symbol of Salvation (1991), the band was plagued by extended inactivity, due to record company issues and the death of their original guitarist Dave Prichard, who died of leukemia in 1990.

Armored Saint eventually broke up when Bush joined Anthrax in 1992 to replace Joey Belladonna, but reunited in 1999, and has continued to tour and record since then.

(Phil, Gonzo, John and Joey had originally played together during high school in a short lived rock band called "Royal Decree"); Gonzo Sandoval claims to have conceived the band name "Armored Saint", after watching the movie Excalibur at a local movie theater parking lot in Monterey Park, California.

In 1983 John Bush was invited by drummer Lars Ulrich to audition as singer for Metallica following the release of their debut album, Kill 'Em All, as frontman James Hetfield was not confident in his own singing abilities and wanted to focus on playing guitar.

[2] Armored Saint recorded a five-song demo that landed the song "Lesson Well Learned" on the compilation album Metal Massacre II.

[3] In 1986 during the recording sessions for the album, Metallica contacted Joey Vera to replace bassist Cliff Burton after his untimely death.

Vera turned down this offer as he wanted to stay in Armored Saint, and Burton was eventually replaced by Jason Newsted of Flotsam and Jetsam.

Throughout the 1980s, Armored Saint toured, or played selected shows, with many acts such as Judas Priest, Metallica, Aerosmith, Whitesnake, Ted Nugent, Alice Cooper, Saxon, Ratt, Testament, Exodus, W.A.S.P., Dio, Accept, Fates Warning, Y&T, Grim Reaper, Malice, King Diamond, Great White, Stryper, Leatherwolf, Lizzy Borden, Savatage, Helloween and Danzig.

[3] Soon after the release of their first live album Saints Will Conquer and a short-lived lineup that included Alan Barlam (then-guitarist for Hellion), Armored Saint added Jeff Duncan, formerly of the L.A. club band Odin, as guitarist, while Gonzo Sandoval briefly left the band and was replaced by Eddie Livingston.

[3] In 1989, while writing and recording rough four-track demos for their next studio album, guitarist Dave Prichard was diagnosed with leukemia.

[4][5][6][8] In 1992, the band contributed the song "Hanging Judge" to the Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth soundtrack, as well as made a brief appearance in the film.

[3] After Armored Saint disbanded, Joey Vera kept busy playing with such bands as Fates Warning, Lizzy Borden and Chroma Key.

Early in 2005, Anthrax's Scott Ian announced that their classic Among the Living-era lineup was reforming, leaving the membership of Bush and Vera in question.

On February 11, 2013, Vera officially announced via Facebook and Twitter that the band had begun working on their seventh studio album.

"[13] On May 23, 2019, Armored Saint announced on their Instagram page that they had begun writing and demoing songs for their eighth studio album.

In a July 2023 interview, Bush confirmed that he and Vera have "started writing some songs a little bit" for the next Armored Saint album.