ARMORED SAINT Has Made Music Video For New Cover Song: 'I Can't Really Talk About It Quite Yet', Says JOHN BUSH

In a new interview with Radioactive MikeZ, host of the 96.7 KCAL-FM program "Wired In The Empire", ARMORED SAINT singer John Bush was asked about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's follow-up to 2020's "Punching The Sky" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We've been writing songs. We have about six songs done. We made a video recently for a song that's gonna be kind of like a single. I can't really talk about it quite yet, but we made a really cool video that's gonna be really out of the box for us. It's a cover song, I'll tell you that. And that's gonna be surfacing in a couple months. And it was just something to kind of keep our name out there and keep people thinking about ARMORED SAINT. Obviously, they will be because we're gonna be doing this tour [with QUEENSRŸCHE starting in late March]. And there was a lot of places that we actually did not play on the 'Punching The Sky' record, because that record came out in 2020 during COVID. So, in a sense, I know it's not new 'cause it's four years old almost, but the reality is that for some people that they haven't heard 'End Of The Attention Span' live, they haven't heard 'Standing on The Shoulders Of Giants' live. So it's gonna be really fun to go out there and play those songs. And they're really killer live. They sound awesome."

Earlier in the month, ARMORED SAINT bassist Joey Vera told George Dionne of KNAC.COM that he and his bandmates were "in the middle of writing. So I would say we're — I don't know — seven songs in," he explained. "And we've been writing in between all this other stuff and trying to get that done. So we are working towards a new record, ideally sometime in '25. It's realistic. So, we're still forging forward and the writing is always going forward. So, we shall see how that progresses. The touring thing kind of takes us away from it. It's hard for us to continue to write when we're touring. But you never know. Maybe we'll make use of our downtime, 'cause we will have a lot of it."

Bush told The Chill Dude On A Couch about the ARMORED SAINT songwriting process: "We write something and then we'll try to make this really good-sounding demo. I'll go and sing. I actually try to sing it like I'm singing a record, and we've kept a lot of the original vocals. This goes back to the way we wrote songs back to [2000's] 'Revelation' even. 'Cause sometimes I think you sing something that maybe you'll never sing exactly the same, and so that nuance in your voice or who knows what, your inflection, you can try to mimic it, but maybe you never will mimic it exactly that way. Same with a guitar lead — a certain bend, it may not be exactly how you play it again. So I think those are key things that you try to keep when you're making demos, and that's what we do. So I've gotta get back to doing some work. And we've got more work to do, that's for sure. We certainly don't work at a fast pace; everyone knows that about SAINT. We could try to put a little urgency into this and try to kind of move on it a little quicker without sacrificing quality. I think that's a good idea."

ARMORED SAINT was inducted into the Metal Hall Of Fame last July at the legendary Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California. The event was hosted by 95.5 KLOS DJ Marci Wiser, and featured performances by WEAPONS OF ANEW, Sergio Michel and DECONSTRUCT, surprise guest appearances and an all-star jam.

Ten months ago, ARMORED SAINT's long-awaited documentary, Armored Saint: Band Of Brothers", had its world premiere in the band's hometown at the Harmony Gold Theatre in Hollywood, California.

Armored Saint: Band Of Brothers" celebrates the 40-year career of ARMORED SAINT and the 50-year friendship the bandmembers have shared from school in El Sereno, a Los Angeles suburb.

Many friends of the band have given interviews, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich from METALLICA tell tales of their early days touring, Scott Ian of ANTHRAX talks about seeing ARMORED SAINT in 1985, QUEENSRŸCHE members Eddie Jackson and Todd La Torre talk about the shared history. Key music industry figures and producers, A&R men, roadies, record label executives and family share thoughts and stories about the band's 40-year history.

ARMORED SAINT's eighth full-length album, "Punching The Sky", came out in October 2020 via Metal Blade Records.

ARMORED SAINT released the "Symbol Of Salvation Live" CD/DVD in 2021 via Metal Blade Records. The release came in celebration of the seminal album's 30th anniversary. "Symbol Of Salvation Live" was a combination live album and video of the band playing the album in its entirety at New York City's famed Gramercy Theatre during its 2018 tour.

Photo by Stephanie Cabral