Metal Rules caught up with Armored Saint bassist Joey Vera, who discussed the band's forthcoming album Punching The Sky, how the new album was inspired by the fans support from last tour, how the band stretched themselves for this CD, when he thinks the band found their voice and unique style, what fans can expect from their live streaming show on October 10th, and more.

Q: The songs on this CD are quite diverse, like the melodic 'No Bark, No Bite', the haunting broodiness of 'Unfair', and straight-up metal on 'Standing on the Shoulders of Giants'. Tell me about the importance of providing those different dimensions to your CD.

Vera: "It comes naturally to us. It is no secret that a lot of bands have inspired us, and we like to bring that into the fold as much as we can without getting too bizarre or too far outside the box. Some of our favorite bands growing up in the '70s who made diverse records were Bowie, Thin Lizzy, and Queen. It’s been like an experiment on the past several records to bring different elements into the picture. When I look back on our catalog and career, we have diversity on almost every record. Each one is a little different, and some are more diverse than others. There are different styles of songs, so it’s not the same song over and over. It wasn’t intentional where we said to each other, 'Let’s make a diverse record!' [Laughing] We are always trying to stretch our wings, and maybe we stretched ourselves a bit further this time around as the songs unfolded."

Q: Being influenced by so many bands when you started out, when do you think Armored Saint founds its own unique voice and style?

Vera: "It took quite some time to realize that. The pinnacle moment for me was in 2010 when we put out La Raza.  At that point, I looked back and realized that we have been doing our own thing the whole time. In our early days, we struggled with some identity crisis issues when heavy metal was a new musical genre in the early '80s. When it began to splinter off into the sub-genres like thrash, hair metal, and glam metal, we felt as if we didn’t fit in. Once we got pressure from our record label and management to fit into something; or lack of a better word, commercialize ourselves, we started to have some self-doubt, which affected our songwriting. When we got dropped from Chrysalis Records, we started to climb out of that while writing and looking to find a new record label. It was during that time we wrote Symbol Of Salvation. There is some great diverse music on that CD. It stood on its own, but then the band broke up (laughing), and then you have 12 years of not doing anything. Around La Raza, we felt we were okay with this approach, and we will continue to write quality music. We were no longer going to be looking over our shoulder to keep up with anybody. A lot of fans appreciate it as being honest, and that is all we are trying to do."

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On Saturday, October 10 at 1 PM, PST/4 PM, EST/10 PM, CET, Armored Saint will host a live record release show online for their upcoming album, Punching The Sky. Set to take place at the Whisky A Go Go in Hollywood, CA, Armored Saint will be performing a full set, including four new songs from Punching The Sky. Additionally, the band will be answering select questions from fans who submit them via a post on their Facebook page.

Tickets, plus exclusive event merch bundles are available here. Fans who purchase a ticket can access the footage and bundles until November 9. See below for all ticket-bundle options:

- ticket plus signed CD of Punching the Sky [$30 (USA only)]
- ticket plus exclusive event tee and signed CD [$65 (USA only)]
- ticket plus exclusive event tee [$55 (USA shipping), $65.00 (Europe shipping)]

Armored Saint comments: "We are very excited about our new record 'Punching the Sky', and we'd be pleased if you'd join us in this virtual show to help celebrate the release date. In these strange times where none of us can go to see live music anymore, this is the closest thing we can do about that. We will be on stage, cranking it out as we always do. We will certainly be missing seeing all of you in the venue, but we hope you'll Rock Out with us in the comfort of your own homes!"

On October 23, Armored Saint will release their eighth full-length, Punching The Sky, via Metal Blade Records. For a first preview of the album, a video for the new single, "End Of The Attention Span" (directed by Robert Graves // ashadowbeyond.com), can be seen below.

Bassist Joey Vera comments: "We've teamed up with video director Robert Graves for our first single, 'End Of The Attention Span'. Robert got the lyrical content right away and together we delved into society's ongoing fascination with electronic devices and the insidious disconnect it creates. The irony is that most of us feel connected together through our phone and computer screens, but the reality is that we have created a wedge between ourselves. Our human interactions have been infected with an intense need for information. We're always 'looking' for more. The end result is a very damaged attention span."

Pre-order Punching The Sky here in the following formats:

- digipak-CD
- ltd. digibook-CD/DVD (incl. 3 bonus tracks)
- 180g black vinyl (EU exclusive)
- clear purple / white marbled vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 500 copies)
- dark violet marbled vinyl w/ 7" & patch (Kings Road exclusive - limited to 300 copies)
- signal orange marbled vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 200 copies)
- white w/ purple & red splatter vinyl (EMP exclusive - limited to 200 copies)
- purple / red melt vinyl (Kings Road exclusive - limited to 100 copies)
- deep purple marbled vinyl (US exclusive)
- lavender marbled vinyl w/ 7" & patch (US exclusive)

Leaders and stalwarts of the American heavy metal scene since the early 80s, Armored Saint's Punching The Sky sees them returning hard. A diverse, attitude-drenched collection, it's everything the band's faithful have come to expect from them while pushing their signature sound forward.

"The goal is to write really good music. I know I'm stating the obvious here but that's about the size of our agenda," says bassist Joey Vera. "We've been able to shed a lot of expectations that sometimes plague a band like ours that has been around a long time, and we've recently moved into a comfort zone with just being ourselves. We have this kind of freedom now that we didn't really have early in our career, and we can take some chances and make the kind of music that we want to hear. This record is a reflection of where we are at, right now."

Exploding to life with the crunchy, rousing "Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants" and not letting up until the closing ruthless riff of "Never You Fret", the record is possessed of an urgency and vigor which very much places it in the right now, but could only be the work of Vera, guitarists Phil Sandoval and Jeff Duncan, drummer Gonzo Sandoval and vocalist John Bush.

"When you're a band that began four decades ago, you really have to push yourself harder than ever when it comes to making a new record," states Bush. "The last thing you ever want is for it to appear as though you were going through the motions or that you're just putting a product out to do some touring. The records are immortal. They'll be here long after us. Every one needs to count in its own individual way."

With Vera acting as producer, he recruited the same engineering team that worked on Win Hands Down with drums recorded by Josh Newell at El Dorado Studios in Burbank, CA, guitars tracked by Bill Metoyer at Skullseven studios in North Hollywood, CA, and vocals, bass and additional recordings by the bassist at his studio.

"I like working with people that I trust and have a good personal rapport with. That same reason is why I hired Jay Ruston (Anthrax, Amon Amarth, Stonesour) to mix the record. It's important to be able to work with people who understand what the end goal is."

The process of realizing the album was a lot of hard work, Vera admitting he took on too many of the tasks himself, but he states that overall it was a good experience and everyone brought their A-game to the table and the right attitude for getting things done.

"At the end of the mixing stage, I always have a hard time walking away from the project we've been working on for so long. It's hard to let it go. The end result is good though. Everyone played and sang their asses off and it shows."

The record also features a few guest musicians further expanding its sonic palette, the whole thing kicking off with the sound of Uilleann Pipes, Vera finding player Patrick D'Arcy in LA and recruiting him to the cause. Guns 'N' Roses keyboardist Dizzy Reed also contributes, Vera giving both him and D'Arcy some general directions and letting them loose, both of them delivering strong performances. The band's own Gonzo Sandoval plays an American Indian flute on "Never You Fret" - a first for Armored Saint and their drummer. Also Jacob Ayala, the son of a childhood friend who is a drum major in high school, added some marching snare on one of the tracks, which really stands out.

With the band's place in the metal scene firmly reestablished with Punching The Sky, they are staring down their four decade anniversary, which Vera reflects on.

"Part of me feels like I can't believe we've been doing this for that long. It's kind of incredible. So I feel pretty damn lucky really, that we've been able to have the support from fans and our record company for all these years. Without this support, we really couldn't do any of this. So this is the big part of what has kept us going, and when I stop and look around, I am humbled that we've had this opportunity to make music and tour for such a long time. That's what our initial goal was back when we were just 18 years old."

Punching The Sky tracklisting:

"Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants"
"End Of The Attention Span"
"Bubble"
"My Jurisdiction"
"Do Wrong To None"
"Lone Wolf"
"Missile To Gun"
"Fly In The Ointment"
"Bark, No Bite"
"Unfair"
"Never You Fret"

"End Of The Attention Span" video: