An innovative and idiosyncratic Detroit-based punk collective, the Armed emerged in 2009 with an explosive and mercurial sound steeped in noise rock, hardcore, garage punk, electronicore, and pop. Fiercely D.I.Y. and protective of their identities, not to mention prone to outlandish media stunts, performance art pieces, and general media misdirection, the band independently issued three full-length efforts and a handful of EPs before unleashing their acclaimed fourth LP, Ultrapop, in 2021. They followed up on the success of the release in 2023 with the potent and star-studded Perfect Saviors.

Commencing in 2009 with These Are Lights, which was produced by Converge's Kurt Ballou, who is a frequent collaborator, the Armed went on a tear, issuing a string of shape-shifting EPs that featured a rotating cast of players and guest contributors, including Dillinger Escape Plan drummer Chris Pennie. Baptists' Nick Yacyshyn sat behind the kit for Untitled, the band's unrelenting 2015 sophomore effort. A concert LP, Unanticipated, appeared in 2016, followed by the studio effort Only Love in 2018, which utilized the skills of Converge drummer Ben Koller. In 2020 the band contributed the track "Night City Aliens" to the Cyberpunk 2077 soundtrack, and in 2021 they issued their most lauded outing to date, the forward-thinking heavy pop opus Ultrapop. The band conscripted Julien Baker, ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, Illuminati Hotties' Sarah Tudzin, and Jane's Addiction's Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins, to help flesh out 2023's maximalist hardcore pop effort Perfect Saviors. ~ James Christopher Monger