John Bush: Vocals

Joey Vera: Bass

Phil Sandoval: Guitar

Jeff Duncan: Guitar

Gonzo Sandoval: Drums

“Each Armored Saint record, to me, is like a new skin for the band, a different chapter. I don’t think we’ve ever repeated ourselves,” states bassist Joey Vera. “Every album has been pretty different from the previous one, a snapshot in time. In 2026, Emotion Factory Reset is where our heads are at.”

“When we start coming up with songs, I always say we can do whatever we want,” vocalist John Bush says. “Use all our influences through the years, diverse music that we listen to and love, and let that seep in and bring something new out of us. It leads to something more adventurous.”

Emotion Factory Reset, the lineup’s ninth full-length studio album since 1984’s March of the Saint, bears out his words. The LP is a resurrection of sorts, a tearing down and a rebuilding in 11 songs of diverse musicality and lyrical themes. Produced, as were the previous four albums, by bassist Joey Vera and mixed by Jay Ruston (Anthrax, Stone Sour) Emotion Factory Reset finds the quintet challenging themselves. Songs like “Close to the Bone,” the new single, “Hit A Moonshot” and “Every Man-Any Man” has the Saint honoring their past as one of the most-respected and recognizable bands in heavy music while making forward-thinking music  that’s rooted in the present.

“Hit A Moonshot” is a band favorite. A “moonshot” can be a baseball term, and Bush, an avid sports fan, was also thinking about the parallels between sports and entertainment. As well as “people who are kings at what they do, hence the Camelot phrase,” the singer says. “People who just come through, whenever you least expect it. They just keep succeeding.”

The collaborative nature of EFR led to the album title, a phrase from Phil Sandoval. “To me, ‘Emotion Factory Reset’ means to reset yourself back to clarity. Take a pause and breathe before you respond or react. You can’t control outside events, but you can control your mind,” the guitarist says. “How you interpret things is what hurts you, not the event itself.”

His brother Gonzo adds, “the world is going through a technological upswing/awakening. I look at our planet as the factory and in the most positive way we need to realign, reimagine reset for our better selves.”

Band Quotes:

“How is it that some people have the knack and the luck to land on their feet no matter what situation they get themselves in? It’s pretty annoying, and impressive! Ferocious riff, cool tempo changes, scorching leads, huge chorus with lots of backing vocals. We loved Queen and The Sweet! Cool breakdown with an epic ending. Once again, it sounds just like Armored Saint.” – John Bush / ARMORED SAINT

“The intro riff is an echo of a memory from age 17 when I was in a garage band in Los Angeles. After I came up with this new version, the familiarity of it revealed itself once I stood back and listened. The riff is very different from the original one but there’s no doubt the feel and vibe has stuck with me ever since then. I added a half-time feel to the chorus to steer the arrangement away from predictability. It feels like Classic Saint to me.”

 – Joey Vera / ARMORED SAINT