R.I.P. Armando Acosta of Saint Vitus, 1952-2010
Blabbermouth.net is reporting a statement from Saint Vitus on the passing of original drummer Armando Acosta, who joined the band in 1979 and has had to sit out much of this latest reunion owing to health issues. Acosta, 58, was replaced by Blood of the Sun‘s Henry Vasquez in 2009, and passed away on Thanksgiving, Nov. 25. The band’s statement is reproduced below:
It is with great regret that we announce a great loss to the world of heavy 
metal with the passing of former Saint Vitus drummer Armando Acosta.
Armando‘s last show with Saint Vitus was April 29, 2009 in Stuttgart, Germany.
Armando had been struggling with health issues over the years but came back into the Vitus fold for one last hurrah by headlining Roadburn in 2009 and playing a handful of European dates directly after the festival.
Henry Vasquez replaced Armando Acosta in 2009, making his debut on the main stage at Hellfest.
The December 2010 Saint Vitus tour will be dedicated to our old friend, Armando Acosta.
R.I.P., brother!!!
The Obelisk sends heartfelt condolences to Acosta‘s friends and family, and to doomers the world over, who know the magnitude of his contribution to heavy metal. He will be missed.
Tags: California, Gods, Sad shit, Saint Vitus
RIP. After reading “Get In The Van”, i’d realized how completely off the beaten path that St. Vitus were. I was too young in the mid 80′s to have heard of them then, and I most likely wouldn’t have got what they were doing, anyways. Initially, my perception of the band when i’d heard of them in the 90′s was just of probably a regular metal band due to the 90′s releases and maybe the labels that they were on, but it had blew me away when I learned that they were on SST. At that time in the early/ mid/ late 80′s, there was just no real avenues for them–in terms of similar bands, peers, touring connections. You wonder how many shitty dive bars they played and how many tours that they slept in vans or on floors with little money…..making what Acosta did that much more admirable and earning of respect. You also wonder how the stoner rock landscape would be without them……maybe it would still be here, but maybe in a far reduced capacity.