Holy Saint were a Christian heavy metal band from Rochester, NY, USA. They formed in 1986, released a demo the year after, and a full-length album in 1990. During the 90's they changed their name to Zoe Sozo, and then later Judgement Day. But they never released anything else, before disappearing completely.

HOLY SAINT (1990, 2005) RETROSPECT

Holy Saint were one of many Christian metal bands that never got the attention they deserved. Hailing out of Rochester, New York, these guys played melodic heavy metal with a message. With a very bold lyrical approach Holy Saint had very much in common with fellow Christian pioneers, such as Stryper, Whitecross and Barren Cross. But musically they are even closer to secular acts such as Dokken, Ratt and Mötley Crüe. In other words, this is guitar-driven heavy metal, with lots of hooks and catchy choruses. The dazzling leads, the pummeling bass, and the high octane vocals are all too typical of the genre. This self titled album was released in 1990, 3 years after the bands demo. Only 1 of the songs from this demo "survived", namely "Christ Is The Answer". The production is a little raw, but I guess these guys didn't exactly have a budget for this. Still the music is very good, and it's a shame that talent like this never got further than releasing 1 obscure album. But I guess they were a little to late, as the 90's and the grunge wave killed the mainstream chances for most melodic metal as it were. The band did rename themselves, first to the incredibly lame Zoe Sozo, then later to Judgement Day. Then they drifted into obscurity, before Retrospect Records reissued their debut album on CD in 205. This is the version I own.

Rock trivia: Scott Waters, vocalist for Ultimatum, and owner of the No Life 'Til Metal website designed Holy Saint's band logo.

Killer tracks: Crying Out, Love Never Fails, Walking A Fine Line, Christ Is The Answer