Current Armored Saint frontman and former Anthrax singer John Bush has opened up about the realities of the songwriting process, noting that every musician is inevitably shaped by the music they consume.
During a recent appearance on “The Plowzone Radio Show“, the veteran vocalist explained that while copying other artists is a natural part of creative development, the true challenge lies in transforming those foundational elements into a distinct artistic identity. To highlight his point, he brought up a perspective shared by a legendary rock frontman.
“Even [The Rolling Stones frontman] Mick Jagger, he made the comment one time, ‘Nothing’s new under the sun.’ Something like that. And he’s in The Stones. But they would copy a lot of people, for sure,” he explained in part.
Bush expanded on how songwriters can pull from their favorite creators and successfully repurpose those ideas through their own unique musical lens.
“I think the key, my opinion, is take a lot of influences,” he continued. “Take a lot of them, and from different sources, different types of music. It doesn’t even have to be music. It could be something artistic, whatever. Take it all, and then churn it in your stomach, and then when you regurgitate — not to be too visual about it — but then hopefully that, with your personality of who you are, will give it uniqueness. So I think that, to me, is what you strive for.”
The singer emphasized that the most effective way to avoid blatant imitation is to diversify one’s listening habits, gathering inspiration from genres completely outside of heavy metal or hard rock.
“You’re always doing that — you are borrowing. You imitate, you steal,” Bush added. “Everyone does a little bit. And copy. So you are doing that. It’s very true, all of that. So it’s just about — the last thing you wanna do is be blatant about things, ’cause then you’re stealing from somebody. And I think that by listening to lots of stuff… ‘Cause, say you’re a heavy metal musician, but all you listen to is metal, somehow, some way you’re just going to just naturally probably really imitate all that stuff. So if you in some R&B or some jazz or some bluegrass or maybe some African, indigenous music, and pull that in, all of that, and listen and then let that all kind of stew into you, then maybe you won’t be as blatant with it. So I think that’s the key.”
To close his thoughts, he offered a straightforward piece of advice directed at the next generation of aspiring songwriters.
“If some people ask me what would I suggest to a budding musician, that’s what I say, is, ‘Just make sure you listen to lots of music.’ You wanna play metal? Great. But listen to lots of music. It’s really imperative,” he concluded.
These insights arrive shortly after the release of Armored Saint‘s latest studio record. The group launched their new full-length album, Emotion Factory Reset, on May 22, 2026, via Metal Blade Records.
Armored Saint will join Metal Church for a North American co-headlining tour this Fall. “The Metal Saint Tour 2026” will commence on November 2nd in San Juan Capistrano, California and runs through November 21st in Agoura Hills, California. Additional support will be provided by LiveKill.
Last December, John Bush hit the stage for three special U.S. concerts to perform material from his decade-long run as the frontman of Anthrax.
For the live dates, Bush was backed by his Category 7 bandmates, guitarists Phil Demmel and Mike Orlando, alongside drummer Jason Bittner, with his lifelong Armored Saint collaborator Joey Vera stepping in on bass due to a scheduling conflict for Category 7 bassist Jack Gibson. The shows featured a unique format where Category 7 opened the night before returning as the backing band for the Anthrax material.
