Armored Saint came up in Los Angeles in the early 1980s, toured with Metallica and signed to a major label, and bassist Joey Vera says that for more than four decades nobody has quite known where to file them.
Asked by Neil Jones of “TotalRock” whether calling Armored Saint simply a heavy metal band undersells them, Vera said the problem goes back to the start.
“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?” he explained (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
The Metallica link he mentions went beyond shared bills. Metallica had approached singer John Bush about fronting them in their early days, an offer he turned down to stay with Armored Saint. He later spent 13 years as the singer of Anthrax, from 1992 to 2005.
When Jones said the band had been lucky to have a singer who sounds like nobody else, Vera agreed without hesitation.
“Absolutely. That’s without a doubt. 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,” he said.
He told it took him years to write with that in mind, and explained what changed.
“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,” he continued. “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 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.”
La Raza, released on March 16, 2010, was Armored Saint‘s first album after an eight-year break, and Vera has produced every record the band has made since.
That run continues with Emotion Factory Reset, the band’s ninth studio album, released in May through Metal Blade Records. Vera produced it and Jay Ruston mixed it. It was recorded across five studios, among them 606 Studios, with cover art by DDKing.
The band take it on the road in November, co-headlining “The Metal Saint Tour 2026” with Metal Church, who are touring their own new album, Dead To Rights, with a lineup that now includes former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson. Livekill open every show.
Armored Saint are John Bush on vocals, Joey Vera on bass, Phil Sandoval and Jeff Duncan on guitars, and Gonzo Sandoval on drums.
