ARMORED SAINT's JOEY VERA: 'I've Considered Every Single Record A Reset'

In a new interview with Metal Roos, ARMORED SAINT bassist and producer Joey Vera spoke about the band's upcoming full-length album, "Emotion Factory Reset", which is due on May 22 through Metal Blade Records. After the interviewer noted that ARMORED SAINT has only released nine albums since the band's 1982 inception, Vera said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We work a little bit slow — 45 years and only nine records, but 12 of those years we weren't even a band. So you take that out of the equation and it puts a hole in the timeline a little bit. But, yeah, we tend to make records these days, especially since reforming in 1999 — basically reforming then — we don't really have a normal time schedule, like a lot of bands do, with record labels. Record labels, when they sign newer bands, they want you to put a new record out every year and a half or two years or whatever — record, tour, write, record, tour, write. The cycle's a very real thing. And we did that for years when we were younger, but we have this great opportunity that we're on Metal Blade Records where they don't hold the gun to our head like that. And they pretty much let us do what we want, when we want. And there's no real pressure, to be honest with you. So, it takes us five years to make records. But to be fair, [ARMORED SAINT's previous LP, 2020's] 'Punching The Sky' came out during COVID, so that put a stall in our plans a little bit. But once the world started opening up again, we did a lot of touring. We actually did quite a bit of touring between '22 and '25. So for three years we did quite a lot of touring in the States and a little bit in Europe. And, yeah, fitting in writing a record in there also just is time consuming for us. So we kind of work on the snail pace."

Referencing the "Emotion Factory Reset" album title and how it relates to ARMORED SAINT's mindset while going into each new release, Joey said:  "We sort of view each record that we make as a sort of a reset. It's like starting from scratch. So when we sit down to do a new painting, let's say, if there's still paint on the canvas left over from the last painting I finished, I'm gonna scrape that fucker clean and I wanna start fresh. I wanna start with a clean canvas, clean slate. This is a brand new album, totally different than what I did before. I don't want expectations. I don't want any limitations. And so this is the reason for why we even consider this a reset, 'cause I've considered every single record a reset. It's just never crossed my mind that we should call it that."

"Emotion Factory Reset" is a resurrection of sorts for ARMORED SAINT, a tearing down and a rebuilding in eleven songs of diverse musicality and lyrical themes. Produced, as were the previous four albums, by Vera and mixed by Jay Ruston (ANTHRAX, STONE SOUR),the record finds the quintet challenging themselves. Songs like "Close To The Bone", "Hit A Moonshot" and "Every Man-Any Man" have ARMORED SAINT honoring their past as one of the most respected and recognizable bands in heavy music while making forward-thinking music rooted in the present.

The collaborative nature of "Emotion Factory Reset" led to the album title, a phrase from guitarist Phil Sandoval.

"Emotion Factory Reset" was recorded across several studios, including 606 Studios, Secret Hand Studios, Skullseven Studios, Constantine Studios and Bridge Recording, engineered by Oliver Roman, Bill Metoyer, Joey Vera and Jason Constantine. It features cover art by DDKing.

A special European edition of the CD digipak includes the bonus track "One Chain (Don't Make No Prison)", only available digitally until now. The classic track was originally written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter and was first released by PEOPLE in 1970. Additional covers include THE FOUR TOPS (1974),SANTANA (1978) and THE DOOBIE BROTHERS (1989).

ARMORED SAINT's current lineup of singer John Bush, guitarists Phil Sandoval and Jeff Duncan, drummer Gonzo Sandoval and Vera has been together since 1989 — not including a few hiatuses while Bush served as ANTHRAX's lead singer.

At various points in the 1980s, Bush and Vera each had offers to audition for spots with fellow heavy metal giants METALLICA but decided to stay with ARMORED SAINT.

In July 2023, ARMORED SAINT was inducted into the Metal Hall Of Fame at the legendary Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California.

In May 2023, 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.

Photo by Travis Shinn