Heavy Metal warriors Armored Saint are back with their first album in close to a decade, so Metal Chaos couldn't miss the opportunity to founding member, writer, bassist and producer Joey Vera about the might return of the Saint!

Nice to have you guys back (officially), was there a particular moment when you guys thought that now was the right time to resurrect Armored Saint as a writing, recording & touring entity? What has been the reaction to the bands reformation?

First I should correct you. We have not made any attempt to resurrect our career as a “touring” entity. Since 2000 when we got together to make the > Revelation record, we decided to get back together to make music and do shows when we could find the time, and only if we thought it would be fun. The idea of us going out and touring, playing clubs, trying to sell records, is not very appealing to us. We only get together when we feel like we have the time, and can really enjoy it. So, to answer your question further, John and I decided to write some songs together in Spring 2008, and the purpose was to do it just for fun. It wasn’t until after we wrote about 4-5 songs that we thought it would be a good idea to make a new Saint record. After 10 years since our last record, the reaction has been amazing that we have made a new record.

It comes from a Hispanic term which is “viva la raza!” which means “long live the race”. It’s a heritage pride thing. We come from a section of Los Angeles where the majority of the population is Hispanic so this is part of our fabric. But John wrote the words to reflect a more general view. “The race” is more about the human race.

John and you are credited with doing the lion’s share of the writing, what is the creative process within the band that takes a song from the initial idea to being a recorded finished product?

I would write a song and demo it, complete with all instruments, overdubs, drums and solos. Then I give it to John and he writes the melodies and lyrics. Then he would come over to my studio and we’d record his vocals and if needed we adjust the arrangement of other aspects in the music. Then, I mix the demo and give it to the other guys. They learn the tune as is. In the studio this time, we used the demo sessions as a template and the drums were played to the existing tracks which were then later replaced.

Mostly I’m influenced by the music I grew up listening to. Music from the mid to late 70’s. I didn’t want to force myself to too much to try and make songs something that they were not, they wrote themselves and I let them be. The words are close to John in that some of them are very personal and some are more observational.

Stylistically where do you feel the album fits in the bands discography and do you think the traditional Armored Saint fan will be satisfied?

This is something I did not want to worry about. I just wanted us to write good songs without trying too hard. Just write good tunes that we would like to listen to. Somehow in the end it will sound like a piece that belongs in our catalog (hopefully) and hopefully the die hard fans dig it.

The album was recorded in Tranzformer studios and produced by yourself. How long did the recording take and what sort of challenges did it create to have a band member also produce the record?

We recorded and mixed in 5 weeks. The challenge was that there were a lot of tracks to deal with. Lots of layers and parts. One of the ways we worked around this was that many of the tracks from the demo sessions were used because they were played well and sounded good. Having myself written all of the music and made these elaborate demos during the writing process, I had a very clear vision of what the end product should be like. So, having me there driving the ship is a very efficient way to work.

I understand that the majority of the recording was done with analog equipment and mixed on 1 inch tape. What was the thinking behind using this traditional means of recording the album?

Actually, it is the traditional way! The new way is to use the computer as your main tool which is much cheaper and you can spend more time on getting it perfect. But we had an opportunity to use an analog studio for a cheap price. So, we though it would be a good marriage for our “old school” influenced songs and it would give the whole picture something that represents us well right now.

‘Left Hook From Right Field’ is the first single from the album. Any video plans to support the release and what made this the right song to launch ahead of the album?

The song is just one of those songs that most people gravitate to on a first listen. The label chose it. We are talking about doing a video right now actually.

The album comes with a very un-Armored Saint type cover with not a single knight in sight! How did the concept come about and what is the thinking behind the design?

We just wanted something really simple and classy, not too busy. We had a hand in the main concept and photography but the layout is something I gave to the art department and said “run with it”. The whole package is simple but really cool. I hope to think we have more layers to us than just a knight in armor.

It was presented as an option and we jumped on it. It’s important to us to have some awareness of where we come from, where we are now and the future. You’ll be seeing more of this type of packaging.

As I said before, we have no desire to “tour”. Most of us have families, some of us day jobs. It’s hard to make it worth while. We may do some short runs here and there and maybe a festival or two. But no long tour. If something came up and made complete sense, then maybe we’d think about it.

Jeff Duncan is a very solid player and also is our comic relief. Phil Sandoval shoots from the hip and keeps things loose. Gonzo is crazy. John is the voice of Saint. I am the den mother.

Given the tradition that surrounds the name Armored Saint, did you / do you ever feel the weight of expectation when it comes time to writing & releasing new material?

We did in the early part of the writing but we quickly shed that. We had to make a record for ourselves first. Be honest and they will listen. The problem with much of our career has been the fact that we over thought our music making. This time, we just wanted to write good songs, whether the outside world agrees or not, just write good songs for us.

Well it’s quite different now. There’s much of it that I like but most of it is just not that good. The main problem for me is that 30 years ago, there was only about X amounts of people who considered themselves musicians, and now there are one thousand times as many people. Too many bands and not enough of them are taking the time to be creative.

I have to mention that we feel very fortunate to have this opportunity to make music and play shows when we can find time. And after all this time it takes us in between making records and playing shows, we still have fans and a label, the press etc, who still wants to come hear what we’re doing, it’s just amazing. We could never ask for any more. Thank you.