Born Too Late

Born Too Late
Studio album by Saint Vitus
Released	October 9 1986
Recorded	1986 at Total Access Recording in Redondo Beach, California
Genre	Doom Metal
Length	34:36
Label	SST Records
Producer	Joe Carducci, Saint Vitus
Saint Vitus chronology
The Walking Dead (1985)	Born Too Late (1986)	Thirsty and Miserable (1987)

Born Too Late is the third studio album by California doom metal band Saint Vitus. Released in 1986 via SST Records and the first Vitus album with Scott Weinrich it has since been regarded as an all-time classic doom metal album.

Background

The development of Born Too Late dates back to 1985 with Reagers penning a song with Chandler entitled "Born Too Late" and performing new songs with Vitus on a tour of the United States. Personal issues and getting stranded at a rest stop left Reagers wanting to leave the band, his final show with the band in Indianapolis that year. Before that the band had performed at the DC Space and met Scott Weinrich. Knowing of The Obsessed, Reagers asked Wino personally if he'd be interested in replacing him as the vocalist. Wino would eventually move to California to join Saint Vitus after the dissolution of his own band. Some rumors among forums and music circles circulated that the entire album was recorded with Reagers at one point in demo form but nothing has ever surfaced and with all of the original Vitus masters being destroyed in Hurricane Katrina it's not known if these alleged recordings even exist.

Working odd jobs to make ends meet the band would eventually record at Redondo Springs with Joe Carducci, staying at the studio for three days straight working on the album. One song had lyrics written by a friend of the band when the band had a couple songs at the moment "they didn't know what to do with". Eventually the band would perform their first show with Wino at the Palm Springs Community Center (With D.R.I. and Across The River). Born Too Late would be released in 1986 as the band began touring the USA and Europe more frequently to a growing, less hostile audience.

Also of note is the design of the album cover was unintentional and a goof on the end of SST, as explained in the Decibel Hall of Fame induction in March 2010: The album cover itself was intended to have the cross in the window take up the entirety of the cover but a miscommunication in pressing led to the end result to the dismay of the band.

The 1990 CD release also comes with the EP Thirsty and Miserable as bonus tracks.

Tracklist

All songs written by Dave Chandler except where noted.

• 1. Born Too Late (Chandler, Reagers) (6:52)
• 2. Clear Windowpane (3:14)
• 3. Dying Inside (7:23)
• 4. H.A.A.G. (Chandler, Robert Gonzales) (5:02)
• 5. The Lost Feeling (5:22)
• 6. The War Starter (6:43)

Personnel

• Wino - Vocals
• Dave Chandler - Guitar
• Mark Adams - Bass
• Armando Acosta - Drums
• Joe Carducci - Producer
• Mike Lardie - Engineer
• Jim Mancuso - Engineer
• Naomi Peterson - Photography