On the latest episode of the 80's Glam metalcast, host Metal Mike chats with Armored Saint vocalist John Bush. He discusses the band's new album Punching The Sky, the upcoming “Symbol of Salvation” Live DVD, and looks back on his time with Anthrax.

On Armored Saint's activity during the pandemic 

Bush: "We were lucky enough to put out Punching The Sky, which came out last October, that we are very proud of. We haven’t done any shows obviously, nobody has. We have also been working on the live recordings of the tour where we played Symbol of Salvation in its entirety back in 2019. We are going to put out a DVD and live record of that. It's supposed to come out in October of this year." 

On how Armored Saint never really fit in

Bush: "We’ve never been a one dimensional band. We sometimes fall into this area of getting slightly lost. We were never a full on thrash metal band. Were a little different than that and that crowd didn’t completely embrace us. Even though we came from the L.A. scene and played with bands like Black N' Blue, Great White, and W.A.S.P., we weren’t really a full glam band either. We were never really part of either scene and sometimes it worked against us. Armored Saint’s road was always a bit of a weird jagged one." 

On Symbol of Salvation

Bush: "We are really proud of Symbol. It was the cornerstone of our career. There was a lot that went into the writing and recording of that album. When we were playing the whole thing live we realized how great it is. It’s really diverse. It’s weird to think that the album came out 30 years ago. It doesn’t seem that long ago. It’s stood the test of time."

On the Sound Of White Noise and his relationship with Anthrax
 
Bush: "It’s a great album with a really cool vibe. It was the '90s and things were changing. The band was taking some chances with the writing. We were embracing the bands that were out at the time like Alice In Chains and Soundgarden. The '90s were cool and I think a lot of people forget that. I just want the records I did with Anthrax to be available. I believe Megaforce is going to putting them back out there at some point. With Anthrax, some people like Joey (Belladonna / vocals) and some people like me - you can have a favorite, but you can still like both! With Black Sabbath, I love Ozzy and I loved Ronnie! I just saw Scott Ian recently and we had a good time hanging out. It’s a good relationship right now with those guys. There was a time where it was a bit distant, but it’s not like that anymore. Joey Belladonna is the face and voice of Anthrax. It’s his gig and I’m not looking to get in there at all. The band is secure the way it is. Anything is possible for a random show or a song or two. I’d be open to that because I love those songs."