Armor Of God is a six-shooter Melodic Power Metal outfit that formed back in 2011. Armor Of God draws comparisons to bands like Leah, Nightwish, Veritas Infinita, and Venia just to mention a few. Over the past 5 years the band has been active in the central Florida music scene performing with bands like Seven Kingdoms, Sons Of Ragnar, Angels Of Babylon, NZM, Absolon, Skyliner and many others. They also played at some Central Florida Music Festivals like the DeLand Rock & Metal Fest, The Jacksonville and DeLand Original Music Festivals, Daytonapalooza and Delandpalooza. Most recently they opened for legendary metal queen DORO, as well as Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody and Primal Fear.
It's worth noting that more often than not, we are finding that many bands have been formed by their lead guitarist. For instance, the band 'Impellitteri' was formed by none other than guitarist Chris Impellitteri. Then there's guitarist Steve Henderlong who formed the band '39 Stripes'. We also find that Guitarist Niclas Buss is a co-founder with Bassist Emil Stenros who both formed the Finnish band 'Northern Flame'. Then there's the Classic Metalers 'Thee Final Chaptre' which was formed by guitarist Gary Wilson and these are just a few among many. Now joining the ranks with the aforementioned Guitarist formed bands is Orlando, Florida's very own - 'Armor Of God' who was founded by none other than axeman Orlando Vicente.
It's easy to see how the band has developed into the Power Metal band that they are due to the many different influences that have helped shape Orlando's musical tastes. This includes a vast variety of 80’s and 90’s rock and metal bands such as Stryper, Whitesnake, Skid Row, Europe, Savatage, Megadeth, Helloween, Iron Maiden, Nighwish, Rhapsody, Gamma Ray, and Angra, amongst many others.
The band takes the idea for their moniker directly from scriptures as seen here:
"...be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so you can take your stand against the devil`s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the power of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kind of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord`s people." - Ephesians 6:10-18
"...be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so you can take your stand against the devil`s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the power of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kind of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord`s people." - Ephesians 6:10-18
In 2015 Armor Of God stepped onto the Metal scene with the release of their full-length debut album 'Dark Face Of Greed'. This release finds the band in top form with a solid debut album from start to finish with no skippers. This 2015 release has been played on domestic shows such as ‘The Covenant Metal Show’ based in Arizona, ‘Metal Pulse Radio’, and many other Internet radio stations. It has also generated international interest as well - airing on ‘Adrenalina Metal’ from Argentina.
Whether it was intentional or unintentional, when it comes to the vocal work throughout this release, one will find that vocally this sounds like a European band. Playing a big part in this is the many deliveries from our duo female vocalists- Karla Danielle( La Cooperativa) & Diana Murillo who both move from operatic vocal styles to sweet innocent sounding deliveries to sassy punctual vocals. Rounding out the band's European sound is male vocalist/Guitarist Orlando Vicente who seems to have a Finnish accent not unlike vocalist Joel Hekkalafor of Finland's finest-'Oratorio'. I questioned Orlando, via email: Your from Orlando but do you have any Finnish in you? Orlando responded, "Haha, that's the 1st time I hear that, but I love it! :-) I do love most Finnish metal! I know my grandpa was from Spain."
Last but not least, Guitarist-Rimond Slaathaug adds the final touches to the vocal department with some timely growls.
Last but not least, Guitarist-Rimond Slaathaug adds the final touches to the vocal department with some timely growls.
Guitars are melodic and heavy and are brought to us by Orlando Vicente & Rimond Slaathaug. One thing that's sure is that the guitar work is nothing short of phenomenal complete with full on Power Metal assaults to sick Thrash noodling techniques and everything in between. Those who love to hear the axe scream with well executed guitar riffs will find a Metal feast to be had here.
The percussion department is managed by Bassist-Luis Martinez & Drummer- Henry Leonardo. Martinez keeps things real with some heavy bass lines giving us a fuller heavier sound while Leonardo unleashes a storm from behind the kit complete with plenty of time changes, hammer pounding Techniques and blast-beats powerful enough to demo a house.
"The Rage Of The Angels"
It was the 13^th hour
The winter wind would chase away
It was the ground that shock
To take away the sick insanity
Out of the western sky with might
You see the sword in his hand
No one can stop it now
Here justice will be served
Listen as the prophet said
Time has revealed what was read
The Rage of the angels
Repent from your sins
The nighttime is coming
You better believe
The moon has turned to blood
The stars have fallen from the sky
And you can see the oceans
Rising up to desperate cries
But everything’s not lost
The secret’s been revealed my friend
Two thousand years ago
The holy words were said
By what the Messiah said
Fulfilling words are today
The Rage of the angels
Repent from your sins
The nighttime is coming
You better believe
Obeying high orders
From the highest priest
The rage of the angels
You better believe
It was the 13^th hour
The winter wind would chase away
It was the ground that shock
To take away the sick insanity
Out of the western sky with might
You see the sword in his hand
No one can stop it now
Here justice will be served
Listen as the prophet said
Time has revealed what was read
The Rage of the angels
Repent from your sins
The nighttime is coming
You better believe
The moon has turned to blood
The stars have fallen from the sky
And you can see the oceans
Rising up to desperate cries
But everything’s not lost
The secret’s been revealed my friend
Two thousand years ago
The holy words were said
By what the Messiah said
Fulfilling words are today
The Rage of the angels
Repent from your sins
The nighttime is coming
You better believe
Obeying high orders
From the highest priest
The rage of the angels
You better believe
With their 2015 debut release, Armor Of God has proven that they can be strong contenders in the growing Metal scene. Hopefully in the near future, we will see a follow-up album to this debut release.
If your Metal taste has gotten soft then maybe you should just pass this one bye. However, for those hungry for more hard hitting head banging guitar slinging Metal then pick up your copy of 'Dark Face Of Greed' by 'Armor Of God' and prepare for battle.
If your Metal taste has gotten soft then maybe you should just pass this one bye. However, for those hungry for more hard hitting head banging guitar slinging Metal then pick up your copy of 'Dark Face Of Greed' by 'Armor Of God' and prepare for battle.
Purchases can be made at any or the following links:
Google Play:
play.google.com/store/music/album?id=Bptlnjzcnsydzqppmo4nkbkuhqq&tid=song-Tg4xvlm755voe4edz3crbklqno4&hl=en
play.google.com/store/music/album?id=Bptlnjzcnsydzqppmo4nkbkuhqq&tid=song-Tg4xvlm755voe4edz3crbklqno4&hl=en
CD Baby:
www.cdbaby.com/cd/armorofgod32
www.cdbaby.com/cd/armorofgod32
Musicians:
Karla Danielle-Lead Vocals
Diana Murillo-Lead Vocals
Orlando Vicente-Guitars, Vocals
Rimond Slaathaug-Guitars, Growls
Luis Martinez-Bass
Henry Leonardo-Drums
Karla Danielle-Lead Vocals
Diana Murillo-Lead Vocals
Orlando Vicente-Guitars, Vocals
Rimond Slaathaug-Guitars, Growls
Luis Martinez-Bass
Henry Leonardo-Drums