Sure it's been nine years since Armored Saint last delivered an album to stores, but the band's new effort is less of a reunion than you might think.

Armored Saint last touched down with 1991's "Symbol Of Salvation," and when "Revelation" arrives on Tuesday, March 7, it will showcase how the band's personal ties lingered while its professional ties were on hold.

"What it really came down to was that Joey Vera, the bass player and the chief songwriter and producer of this record, and I are best friends," Armored Saint vocalist John Bush told MTV News. "We've known each other ever since we were eight or nine years old, and we obviously still have this extreme chemistry in writing music together." [RealAudio]

When Bush departed in 1992 to front Anthrax, he and his Armored Saint cohorts

remained on good terms,

and Bush rekindled his creative relationship with Vera in 1998. "He had some ideas and he said, 'Why don't you fool with these just for the fun of it?'" Bush recalled.

But is the world ready for Armored Saint, Version 2.0? Well, the band doesn't really seem to care. "I don't know if the time is right, to tell you the truth, and I don't think this is about that at all," Bush told MTV News. "I think it was really just something to do. 1999 was kind of a down year for Anthrax... I knew if I didn't do anything, I would be extremely bored and extremely broke." [RealAudio]

While Armored Saint was a fixture on "Headbangers' Ball" during the band's heyday, Bush notes that this latest go-round isn't inspired by hopes of cashing in.

"I

think the emphasis

was on having fun and doing it and keeping all expectation levels really low and not put any pressure on it and not having anything associated with being the 'right time' or some big reunion," Bush told MTV News of the project. "F*** all that. Let's have a good time and write some songs, and that's how I've approached it." [RealAudio]

Apparently the approach has paid off, as Bush is having fun so far. Both Bush and Vera will trumpet the result of their most recent union online with a live chat on America Online on Tuesday, the same day "Revelation" hits stores (AOL Keyword: Rock Chat). Bush said that a tour is likely, but Armored Saint's specific tour plans remain undefined.