1979 : The Beginnings
Vocalist scott reagers, guitarist daVe chandler, bassist mark adams and drummer armando acosta from los angeles got together to form a band called TYRANT. soon after this they decided to change their name to SAINT VITUS which is a) a medieVal boy saint and patron for the dancers and young dogs, and b) a song ("Saint Vitus Dance") from the english rock gods BLACK SABBATH. despite the fact, that they where friends with a lot of southern california hardcorebands, they didn´t take that music as their main influence. also the original Vitus-sound had a slight hardcore feel, it was much more based on 70s style doom rock played by bands such as SABBATH or PENTAGRAM. extreme slow drumming, simple, but highly effectiVe power chords and weird solos from guitarist chandler seemed to be the best way to musically support their dark and gloomy lyrics.


1984 : The First Album
After playing a few shows in the near surrounding, SAINT VITUS released their mind-blowing, self-titled debut on sst records. the label was founded by black flag guitar player and personal friend greg ginn. "Saint Vitus" contained classics like "white magic / black magic" or the atmospheric anthem "burial at sea".


1985 : The Walking Dead / Hallows Victim
The band released the "The Walking Dead" ep followed by their second album "Hallow´s Victim". The bands creatiVity was enormous, but that didn´t change the fact, that SAINT VITUS hardly got no response from people across the usa. the gigs they played were Very badly Visited (wino told us that at some shows there weren´t eVen 50 people in the crowd), and the music press also didn´t recognize them much. a problem that should accompany the band for their whole career.


1986 : Wino Took OVer / Born Too Late
The first line up change in the band was the replacement of the original Vocalist scott reagers with the ex-obsessed main man and guitar player scott "wino" weinrich. with their new front man the band went on to record another outstanding record called "Born Too Late", still on sst records. the title track should become the creed for a lot of doom metal-fans and was one of the biggest highlights of a Vitus gig.


1987 : Thirsty And Miserable
Another ep ironically called "Thirsty And Miserable" was released. It contained three tracks, all taken from "Born Too Late".


1988 : Mournful Cries
The second album with wino on Vocals came out. "Mournful Cries" should be the last Vitus release on sst records, and helped to recruit a small but Very enthusiastic fan base in europe. sadly the usa still wasn´t Very interested in such classics as "shooting gallery" or "the troll".



www.saint-Vitus.de.Vu