ARMORED SAINT's JOEY VERA: 'We Never Really Were A Part Of Any Scene'

In a recent interview with Neil Jones of TotalRock, ARMORED SAINT bassist Joey Vera was asked if it is doing the group a "disservice" to just pigeonhole him and his bandmates as a "heavy metal" act. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Sometimes it is. And that's kind of been, dare I say, plaguing us since day one, because we were never really... The funny thing about our band is we never really were a part of any scene… We were partially part of the thrash scene, but it was probably because of our connection with METALLICA in '84, in '85, when we toured with them several times in the States. And then we got lumped in with the hair bands because we were from Los Angeles during the early to mid-'80s. But again, we had nothing to do with that either. So we were sort of stuck in the middle, like, 'Well, I wanna be like UFO and THIN LIZZY," and, 'What does that mean?' And at that time, no one wanted to hear that. You had to belong somewhere. So it's been a bit of a — I wouldn't call it a problem or a thorn in our side or anything like that, but it is something that's maybe confused people along the way, and probably still does to this day. But you know what? I'm well aware of this, and I'm willing to go down that path because we just wanna write music for ourselves first. And if that's how it is, so be it. But I wanna be proud of the music that we write, and we are. Good comes with the bad. Some people get it. Some people don't. What are you gonna do?"

After Jones noted that ARMORED SAINT has been "blessed" to have a singer like John Bush who "sounds literally like nobody else", Vera concurred. "Absolutely. That's without a doubt," the bassist said. "I always sing John's praises because he is the voice of ARMORED SAINT. And no one else could fill those shoes — like, not even close. And he's one of those unique singers that he just has that thing, that gift that Bon Scott has or Ronnie James Dio had or Rob Halford, singers that just are so — when you hear them, you know who that is instantly. Very distinctive."

Joey continued: "I knew this for a long time, but I didn't really start to write for him until around 2010 when we made [the] 'La Raza' [album], and I realized that… Both him and I, we grew up, we've known each other since we were six years old, seven years old. So we have a very long history, and [ARMORED SAINT drummer] Gonzo [Sandoval] as well. We grew up together. We went through puberty together. Maybe that's too much information, but [laughs] we went through everything together. Our first concerts, our first bands, our first club shows, our first big arena shows. We've done it all. And I realized that I should be writing for him for that reason. And he comes from blues rock, hard rock. That's what he grew up on. His favorite bands and singers are from that era, and that's how he sings. So I need to give him a clean palette so that he can work as best possible, so he shines out best in those scenarios. So I became really conscious of that around 2010. And I have to say one other thing about him. He didn't always do this, but he started taking care of his voice about 10, 15 years ago. He started to realize lifestyle changes were necessary. We were all getting a little older. Well, we're still getting older. And so he was smart enough to realize, 'This is my instrument, and I really gotta take care of it if I wanna have any longevity in this career.' He loves singing. He loves performing. But he needs to make some changes in his life in order to do that. So he made those changes, and I'm really proud of him, 'cause it's not easy hanging around with other people, having a beer after the show or whatnot. A he found a regimen that works for him, and it shows. He sounds almost, I would say, better than he ever has, which is insane."

As previously reported, ARMORED SAINT will join METAL CHURCH for a North American co-headlining tour this fall. "The Metal Saint Tour 2026" will commence on November 2 in San Juan Capistrano, California and run through November 21 in Agoura Hills, California. Additional support will be provided by LIVEKILL.

"Emotion Factory Reset", ARMORED SAINT's ninth studio album since 1984's "March Of The Saint", was released in May via Metal Blade Records. The LP was described in a press release as "a resurrection of sorts, a tearing down and a rebuilding in eleven songs of diverse musicality and lyrical themes." Produced, as were the previous four albums, by bassist Joey 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.

"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.