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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mi0001411274.jpg]]
2 [[caption-width-right:350:The original lineup, from left to right: Mark Adams, Dave Chandler, Scott Reagers and Armando Acosta.]]
3
4->''"They say my songs are much too slow..."''
5-->-- ''Born Too Late''
6
7Hailing from Los Angeles, California, Saint Vitus are one of the most well-known and respected bands in the DoomMetal genre, alongside Music/{{Pentagram}}, Music/WitchfinderGeneral, and Music/{{Candlemass}}. The band originally formed in 1978 as Tyrant with Scott Reagers (vocals), Dave Chandler (guitar), Mark Adams (bass), and Armando Acosta (drums) and released two demos under this name before changing their name in 1980 to Saint Vitus, after the Music/BlackSabbath song "St. Vitus Dance". This incarnation of Saint Vitus would go on to tour with bands like Music/BlackFlag (whose guitarist, Greg Ginn, would later sign them to his record label, [=SST=]) and release two albums and an EP before Scott left the band in 1986, to be replaced by Scott "[[StageNames Wino]]" Weinrich, the frontman of The Obsessed (who had only released a 7" at the time). The band released ''Born Too Late'' - widely considered to be among the best works Saint Vitus has released - in 1986, followed by two more studio albums before Wino left in 1991 to reform The Obsessed. Vitus picked up singer Christian "Chritus" Linderson from Count Raven; he would only record one album with the band before leaving and being replaced by the band's original singer. The band recorded and released "Die Healing" in 1995 before the members split up and went on to different projects.
8
9In 2003, Saint Vitus reunited with Scott Weinrich for a single show in Chicago to fan approval. Six years later, the ''Born Too Late'' lineup reunited for a few tours, however original drummer Armando Acosta left during a European tour due to health issues; he died in late 2010.
10
11Saint Vitus continues to record and play to this day, having released ''Lillie: F-65'' in 2012, and during 2014, the band celebrated their 35th anniversary by performing ''Born Too Late'' in its entirety on a worldwide tour.
12
13In 2015, original singer Scott Reagers returned to the band for a few select shows, before re-joining the band full time. The band has announced a second SelfTitledAlbum for a May 2019 release.
14
15Current lineup:
16* Dave Chandler - lead guitar
17* Pat Bruders - bass
18* Scott Reagers - vocals
19* Henry Vasquez - drums
20
21Past members:
22* Armando Acosta – drums (deceased, 2010)
23* Scott "Wino" Weinrich – vocals
24* Christian "Chritus" Linderson - vocals
25* Mark Adams - bass (deceased, 2023)
26
27Studio albums:
28* ''Saint Vitus'', 1984
29* ''Hallow's Victim'', 1985
30* ''Born Too Late'', 1986
31* ''Mournful Cries'', 1988
32* ''V'', 1990
33* ''[=COD=]'', 1992
34* ''Die Healing'', 1995
35* ''Lillie: F-65'', 2012
36* ''Saint Vitus'', 2019
37
38!!This band provides the following trope examples:
39
40* TheAlcoholic: "Dying Inside". Scott Weinrich also counted, unfortunately.
41* BookEnds: Played straight and averted. Saint Vitus began and ended with the same lineup...at least, until the band reunited for a single gig in 2003, and then reunited again to tour and record in 2009.
42* CallBack: [[https://youtu.be/bFwpXdIHWso "Return Of The Zombie"]], from their seventh album ''Die Healing'', is one to a song from their first self-titled album, [[https://youtu.be/RGBwetqTSSA "Zombie Hunger"]].
43* CoverVersion: Vitus famously covered "Thirsty and Miserable" by Music/BlackFlag. The band added a guitar solo and slowed it down to the point where it was almost twice the length of the original song.
44* EpicRocking: Well, ''duh'' - coming from a doom metal band, this is expected. For a more specific example, the only song on ''Born Too Late'' that clocks in at less than five minutes is "Clear Windowpane".
45* FunWithAcronyms: "H.A.A.G."[[note]]"Hell Ain't A Game"[[/note]].
46* GenreShift: Saint Vitus showed their punk influences on their second album, ''Hallow's Victim''. Its [[https://youtu.be/NxKU-emAPFw title track]] and [[https://youtu.be/W45a7qOB0i4 "White Stallions"]] have little to do with their usual Doom.
47* LargeHam: Scott Reagers was this, at least compared to Wino, who has a much more subdued and down-to-earth delivery.
48* LastSecondWordSwap: Sort of, from "H.A.A.G." - in a variation that subverts what is expected to be said:
49--> "Are you shivering limbs intact? Do you care where you'll impact?
50--> Falling in a bottomless pit, is there no end to this moronic wit?"
51* MeaningfulName: "V" is the fifth Saint Vitus album.
52** On a more depressing note, the band's second singer Scott "Wino" Weinrich has been known for his struggles with speed (anecdotes from people he knew back in the day claim that due to his usage, the switchblade he carried on him corroded from being in contact with the substance so much) and alcohol, which came to light and stunned many fans recently when he was arrested and deported from Norway for having ''eleven grams of methamphetamine'' on his person.
53* MoodWhiplash: "Clear Windowpane" from ''Born Too Late'' is a rather fast-paced ode to "windowpane" acid[[note]]Windowpane refers to either a gel tab or a blotter with four hits of LSD soaked into it and divided up like a windowpane; if the gel tab is clear, it's generally considered to be pure acid.[[/note]] which describes the various hallucinations caused by the titular clear windowpane in a rather upbeat way. This is immediately followed by "Dying Inside", a slower, morose song lamenting how the narrator's life has been absolutely ''demolished'' by his drinking habit ("I feel twice as old as I am [...] I'm losing all my friends and lovers"), how he knows that even when it makes him sick, he's incapable of controlling his habit, despite trying "time and time again", and how he's been abandoned by everyone around him. ''Ouch''.
54* MushroomSamba: "Clear Windowpane".
55* OffTheWagon: [[https://youtu.be/MzjR03a5A0o "Just Another Notch"]], which features guitarist Dave Chandler on vocals.
56* OneSteveLimit: Averted with the first two singers of the band - Scott Reagers was replaced by Scott Weinrich. Can be considered a SubvertedTrope if one considers that Weinrich is more frequently known (and signs his autographs) as "Wino".
57* SelfTitledAlbum: Their 1984 debut, and their 2019 album.
58* TakeThat: [[https://youtu.be/lKU2xZLVPlU "Prayer For The (M)asses"]] is one to faux satanism in Metal.
59--> "You wear your crosses upside down, it shows that you're a fool!"
60* TheStoner: The band is very open about their marijuana use/endorsement, with multiple fans having their stories about smoking with members of the band or passing them joints (or seeing this being done) while playing.
61* TropeCodifier: For DoomMetal as a whole, along with Music/TroubleBand and Music/{{Candlemass}}.
62** UrExample: For the Stoner Rock/Metal subgenre, arguably.

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