Truth is when I learned about a new Armored Saint album I had great expectations from this release.After 9 years since their latest release “Nod To The Old School” of 2001, I have been expecting an album that would stand up to their old classic moments and (why not) continue their glorious past.

Unfortunately with the first hearing of the album, the only thing that reminded me of Armored Saint sound was the vocals of John Bush. Besides that and even though I listened to the album many times, in order to be fair and to not jump into hasty conclusions, I can say that I am not  satisfied by this release. Most of the compositions are dull, with luck of nerve and with a different musical direction than what we are used to listen from the band. I don’t know what exactly they were trying to do with this album, but the total outcome is like a mix balancing between hard rock and new rock with some blues influences, while also it tries to win over the heavy metal audiences with few heavier outbursts. The first 4 songs of the album, especially the beginner “Loose Canon” and the second “Head On” are the album’s best tracks, which keep a connection with their qualitative past. The rest of the songs leave us the taste that they lack power, inspiration and change in their structure. The performance of the band members, especially bassist Joey Vera’s and vocalist John Bush’s, is very good, but that alone does not maintain a good result, when the compositions are knocked together with no feeling, low tempo and a lack of specific character. Personally, I would say it is an effort to make a comeback that would gather a bigger possible audience, or at least it seems that way.

As a conclusion, if you love the previous Armored Saint albums and you are waiting for something equal you will be disappointed. It is their most uninteresting and unremarkable release. If you never were especially fond of the band and their style, then maybe there is a chance that you will find “La Raza” interesting.