JOHN BUSH: ARMORED SAINT's Writing And Recording Process Today 'Is Not That Different From What We Did In The '80s'

In a new interview with Mind Behind The Music, the podcast hosted by John White, an American guitarist and composer from Albany, New York, ARMORED SAINT singer John Bush spoke about the band's upcoming full-length album, "Emotion Factory Reset", which will arrive on May 22 via Metal Blade Records. ARMORED SAINT's ninth studio album since 1984's "March Of The Saint" contains 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).

Asked how he and his ARMORED SAINT bandmates used the recording tools that are available right now that make the process much more convenient but managed to prevent the music from becoming sterile, John said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, what we do is we do have a template that we use. Even no matter how the song gets finished, arranged, as far as the arrangement and stuff, we end up making demos, and then we work from the demo, which is not that different from what we did even in the '80s. In the '80s, it was just on a Fostex four-track. You're always scared if that cassette got tangled up, 'cause then you basically lose your main copy of the song. But it's not that different. We used to make cool, elaborate demos, as much as we could, in the '80s, and now we just do it a little bit more sophisticated, using Pro Tools. But Joey has a really cool system, and he has a great home studio, and he makes these really great elaborate demos that sound awesome, that are fun to work with. So, I'll go back and work on the vocals and take ideas from wherever they come from — other guys, others, whatever it is. And then write lyrics, and then I'll go to his house and sing. And then from those demos, we try to maintain a lot of the vocals from those versions, because I'm in the mindset that sometimes some of those vocal performances, the first ones that you do, are sometimes the best ones. Surely, sometimes you hear things and go, 'Okay, let's change that. I think it could be better.' And then you redo things. Or sometimes we are trying to get it done in a hurry, and then you think, 'Okay, well, that's just out of tune,' and it is making you, like, go, 'Ugh,' when you hear it. 'So let's correct that,' 'cause otherwise it's out of tune. But we keep a lot of those demos. And then what will happen is that then Joey will send it to Gonzo [Sandoval, ARMORED SAINT drummer], and Gonzo will kind of play to the demo. Of course, he'll create his own thing from it, and his own chops, but we'll use that template, especially as a click, 'cause it's just easier to create from that. But everybody comes in, everybody kind of contributes their parts, their guitar playing. Joey goes back sometimes and redoes the bass. And then we'll just kind of grow from that original template."

Bush continued: "The last thing we wanna do is use it in a way where it can feel like it's not breathing, and [it doesn't] feel like a whole band is performing. So, yes, it is different from how stuff was done in the '80s, but there was always layering, even in the '80s. You do a drum track, and then you put the bass on, and then you put the guitars. Probably the '80s was really the beginning of bands doing things separately. Look, I mean, we went to the Motown museum, and it was great, in there, in Detroit, where you literally see baffles in one room, where there's drums, a baffle, the bass, the guitar, the singing, and everyone's in there performing live. And so many of those songs were actually recorded that way, which is just incredible, really. But it's just not really done like that, and it hasn't for a long time. But again, if you could use these methods but still do it in a way where the music feels connected and everybody is doing their thing. I think that's the key thing. And it's a struggle more than ever, but I think that's a really important thing. You have this technology, but you don't wanna overuse it. And that's probably beyond music. I mean, that's gonna be something that we're challenged with as people in various ways, through A.I. — you name it."

"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.

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

"Emotion Factory Reset" track listing:

01. Close To The Bone
02. Every Man-Any Man
03. Not On Your Life
04. Hit A Moonshot
05. Buckeye
06. Compromise
07. It's A Buzzkill
08. Throwing Caution To The Wind
09. Ladders And Slides
10. Bottom Feeder
11. Epilogue

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.

ARMORED SAINT is:

John Bush - Vocals
Joey Vera - Bass
Jeff Duncan - Guitars
Gonzo Sandoval - Drums
Phil Sandoval - Guitars

Photo by Travis Shinn