There are very few bands who continue to persevere simply for the pursuit to artistically create. Some of these bands have overcome tragic personal losses, market evolutions, label turnovers & uncertain futures; more so, this truth becomes more consequential after decades in the industry when many bands can choose to simply 'survive' by standing on an established catalogue. Obviously, the bands that continue to, not only write (& be creative), but continue to adhere to a high standard of quality are the bands that are reputable, respected and admired; THAT has ALWAYS been the stigma of one of LA's MOST revered bands in Armored Saint,….& with their 8th full-length studio release, ‘Punching The Sky’ proved just that! Despite being released in 2020 the record never got its due out in the public domain due to the pandemic, which brought the band at the tail end of a 10-week tour to Austin, Texas where I had the opportunity to sit down with LEGENDARY bassist, Joey Vera, to chat about it ALL. SO, in the interview below you will see us discuss the following: their recent run with Queensryche, ‘Punching the Sky’, recording (& the recording process), a NEW cover single (& NEW record), the significance of the ‘Symbol of Salvation’ release, the documentary, ‘Band of Brothers’, a 40+ year career & valuable lessons learned. I want to send gratitude to Joey for ALWAYS being so gracious & genuine & for giving the RMW cameras his best. To the fans – I HOPE you ENJOY this one. Regards, ~ El Mero Metal