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6 ноя 2025

JOHN BUSH Says ARMORED SAINT's Upcoming Album Is 'A Continuation Of What We've Done' But 'Also Different At The Same Time'
 In a new interview with Mark Strigl, ARMORED SAINT singer John Bush spoke about the progress of the recording sessions for the band's long-awaited ninth studio album, due next spring through Metal Blade Records. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, it's coming out on Metal Blade. I think we have a date tentatively at April 6th. I'm not at liberty to mention the name [of the album] yet, although we should be [announcing it soon], 'cause we're almost ready to finish all the mixes. But, yeah, it's sounding killer. Jay Ruston's mixing it, who mixed the last two records, and he's just awesome. And it's sounding killer; it's sounding great."
Regarding the musical direction of the new ARMORED SAINT material, John said: "It's a little continuation of what we've done over the last few records — [2020's] 'Punching The Sky' and [2015's] 'Win Hands Down' — but it also sounds kind of different at the same time. So, I think it's a big step as far as our songwriting and kind of the sophistication of ARMORED SAINT's hard rock, heavy metal, but sounding different, but still sounding like SAINT at the same time. But [it's] a record that sounds like it's coming out in '26, not a record that is coming out in '85, which I love 1985 — 'Delirious Nomad', our second album [came out in 1985]. It's our [40th] anniversary [of 'Delirious Nomad'] right now, and so we're playing a bunch of songs on this tour from that record. But, again, I don't want to… As much as you look back and I'm down with that, 'cause we all do, and there's a nostalgic connection and I love that, I still want it to sound like a record that sounds like now. So that's always the little bit of the puzzle that you have to form there and the slight dilemma — like, how do we make it sound modern without sounding like another modern band? 'Cause we don't wanna sound like anyone else other than ourselves, but we don't wanna say, like, we're just going back, and going, 'What did we do then? Okay, let's do that.' We don't wanna do that. So it's a combination of looking forward and a little bit of the history."
This past September, John told Chel Evah of Art Paparazza & Chel Shock Photography about what will be a six-year gap between "Punching The Sky" and ARMORED SAINT's next album: "It's a long time coming, but I blame COVID, because it pushed everyone back a little bit, 'cause 'Punching The Sky' came out in 2020. Plus we've toured a lot in the last couple years. So, to do some writing in conjunction with touring, it's not easy. Everyone aspires to write on the road, but it's difficult. But we have a bunch of great tunes. We're really excited. The record sounds awesome. And I'm real fired up and I can't wait to go out in '26 and play a bunch of new tunes."
Bush previously talked about ARMORED SAINT's upcoming LP earlier in September in an interview with Pete Pardo of Sea Of Tranquility. He said at the time: "We went out and toured a lot [in support of 'Punching The Sky']. So, we were able to do that, and did a couple of more tours, and we were really not planning on it. But getting out there and playing was great. And we actually sold so many records and CDs on the road, it was crazy. We actually re-charted because we sold so many records out there. So, kudos to all the fanbase who bought records and CDs and shirts, of course. But it kind of did push things back a little bit. We don't work that quick as it is, quite frankly, but I always said it for years: the quality of the tunes is contrary to the amount, because that's the fact for us. But the new record will be out next year. And I think it's great. It's gonna just kind of build on everything we've been doing."
Circling back to ARMORED SAINT's increased touring activity and how it affected the making of the band's new album, John said: "We toured a lot. We actually put out four videos on the last record. So we've been on the public side maybe more than ever. And really I say this and it's really kind of the truth is ARMORED SAINT's probably bigger than we've ever been. Maybe there was a stretch in 1984 that we were maybe more popular, but honestly we're probably bigger than we ever were. So, we're just riding it. And the new record will be great, and I think people will dig it. And it really kind of shows sophistication in the songwriting, and we really believe in that. We try to kind of bring in all our different influences and styles and use some different instrumentation and take chances with arrangement a little bit. And I'm really proud of it. I think the songwriting is just — yeah, it's built on everything we've done. The origins of the band, our hard rock heavy metal band, but we really kind of feel like we just keep pushing the boundaries. And it's always gonna sound like SAINT. And this one does too. But I don't know. That's my pitch. I mean, of course it comes down to what the fans think."
After Pardo noted that ARMORED SAINT's musical output has been remarkably "consistent" over the group's four-decade career, Bush concurred. "When your band's been around as long as we have, and that goes for all the bands who have a four-decade career, is that usually new music means the opportunity to go take a piss or go get a couple of beers," he said. "But I really feel like people really think our last couple records have been great. And I think for us to keep building on that and keep writing new material that sounds very legit, I think is important. And not everybody can say that. Everybody kind of says it, but how much do you really believe it? And I really believe [it in our case]. I mean, again, it comes down to what the press and what the fanbase says, and they're the ones that make the final decision, really, on it. But at the end of the day, they've been saying ARMORED SAINT's making really great, modern music, so I'm stoked."
This past September, the band joined W.A.S.P. for a trio of U.K. shows before returning to the States to support legendary guitarist Michael Schenker on his "My Years With UFO" U.S. tour. ARMORED SAINT celebrated the 40th anniversary of its second album, "Delirious Nomad", with a five-song micro set of songs from the record throughout the tour.
Last November, ARMORED SAINT bassist Joey Vera told Metal Kaoz about the musical and lyrical direction of the band's new material: "Every record we've made has been a little bit different than the one prior to it, and this one will be the same case where it will be a little different than 'Punching'. But our number one thing is just writing really great songs. We're not so concerned about trying to outdo the last record or do as good as it is or do the same thing. I always think that it's cool to just see where you are at that moment. And these songs that we've written, just like the last three or four records we've made, they all represent a particular time and place for us. So this these batch of songs, they're a reflection of where we are at a time and place right now. We're in post-COVID, we're coming back out of it, back into the world, and different things are influencing me personally than they were in 2014 when I was writing for [2015's] 'Win Hands Down'. So all those things are at play again. I'm trying to take a few chances as well on this, which we always try to do a little bit."
In June 2024, ARMORED SAINT released a rendition of "One Chain (Don't Make No Prison)". 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).
"One Chain (Don't Make No Prison)" was produced by Vera, mixed by Jay Ruston and mastered by Maor Applebaum.
ARMORED SAINT released the "Symbol Of Salvation Live" CD/DVD in 2021 via Metal Blade Records. The release came in celebration of the seminal album's 30th anniversary. "Symbol Of Salvation Live" was a combination live album and video of the band playing the album in its entirety at New York City's famed Gramercy Theatre during its 2018 tour.
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 Stephanie Cabral
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