(Image credit: Stephanie Cabral)

Aromred Saint are one of the most respected and influential bands of the genre for more than four decades! Formed in Los Angeles in 1982, the band has carved a unique path in the American heavy metal scene, combining the sonic prowess of a classic guitar attack, pounding bass and drums with searing vocals.  Their debut album ”March of the Saint” (1984) is a masterpiece in its genre, and on subsequent releases, Armored Saint have kept on challenging themselves and their audience. One of the things this band has always been good at is creating musical experiences that keep the focus and the intensity throughout their albums. Armored Saint are back with their anticipated new full-length release, ‘Emotion Factory Reset’, set for release on May 22nd through Metal Blade Records. The upcoming bands’ tour is a testament to their enduring legacy and passion for music.

We’d like to bring to your attention this interview with Mr Gonzo Sandoval, drummer of the Heavy Metal Icons ARMORED SAINT!

(Image credit: Stephanie Cabral Photography)

♦ INTERVIEW ♦

– Hello, Mr Sandoval, and welcome to Rock Arena! After more than four decades, ARMORED SAINT remains one of the most respected and recognisable bands in the heavy music industry. What does it take to keep the bands’ extremity alive throughout all those years of metal glory?

Gonzo Sandoval: Well, in our case, it was family, that’s how everything began. Above all, we’re friends and brothers, so it’s been tight-knit from the start, and we’ve always tried to keep a sense of humour. When I came up with the name of the band, it’s a funny story… We went to see ‘Excalibur’ (1981), and I was really moved by the movie. I wanted to come up with something like ‘Armored Horse’ or ‘Armored Blade’. But then, as we were walking out of the theatre, I said to myself, ‘Armored Saint sounds perfect!’ When I brought it to the band in the car, I said, ‘Guys, I’ve got a name – Armored Saint’, and for a second, everyone went quiet, then they turned around and said, ‘THAT SUCKS!’. And that’s how it started. Now, Armored Saint, 40-odd years later, we’re still here, and we’re blessed to be in the music industry in 2026 with our new record, ‘Emotion Factory Reset.’

 – You started playing drums at the age of 13. Which bands/musicians inspired you?

Gonzo Sandoval: What inspired me in the beginning was that I started out playing in a symphony — the cello — as a young guy. And, well, the teacher saw that I had something, so I was the youngest guy in the senior orchestra. Which, at that age, feels like, ‘Oh shoot! Why am I here with all these older people?’ But it was the talent he saw, and that’s why he brought me in. I’d be playing the cello at our performances, and then the band would perform, so we’d watch. And I’m like, ‘Do I really want to play the cello?’ Because I really liked the way those drums sounded, you know? So, at one point, I was like, ‘I wanna play drums!’, and that’s where the switch happened. Then I started to focus on what I needed to do to become a drummer.

As far as a favorite drummer, it’s very broad. Obviously, John Bonham is at the top, then Simon Phillips, Buddy Rich, and Dave Weckl; it’s just a wide variety of drummers and styles that I love. It wasn’t always just heavy drums — that’s how I gravitated toward the instrument.

– Let’s talk about the anticipated new album, ‘Emotion Factory Reset’, set for release on May 22nd through Metal Blade Records. What is the idea behind the name and the concept, and what are you saying on this particular album?

Gonzo Sandoval: When we were looking for a name for the record, I think it’s good if it’s derived from either a lyric or a song, something that’s within the record. My brother had submitted a lot of titles and different themes to John and Joey, and they liked ‘Emotion Factory Reset’, which was brought in by my brother. His story about the title and how he came up with it is very different, but my personal take on ‘Emotion Factory Reset’ is, in the biggest way, this: I think emotion is something that humans have, and we are all human, so we all have emotion, good emotions, bad emotions, whatever. But we have emotion. Now, the world is the factory, humans are in the factory, and now we need a reset… There just seems to be a lot of craziness going on, and I won’t even get into that. If humans in the world reset and give it another go in a positive light, I think the world would benefit. So for me, ‘Emotion Factory Reset’ is a worldly record. Other people have different ideas and interpretations, which is fine, but that’s how I see it. The album cover has an armored knight – he’s in a factory holding a fiery object. For a movie, I would love it to be a globe, or maybe a globe on fire. Needless to say, it’s a very visual representation of the band in 2026. It took me a little while to fall in love with it, but I do love it now.

– What is different about it compared to the previous album? Do you think this album is a continuation of what you’ve been doing recently, or more of a throwback to an earlier vibe?

Gonzo Sandoval: I think that it definitely reestablishes the power and versatility of what Armored Saint can do. I don’t think that any of our records contain everything we can do; I think the representation of the music is what is felt at the time of writing and recording. So, every record is very different; I don’t think that one record necessarily bounces off another. The process of the last maybe four records has been pretty similar in that we submit ideas to John and Joey, they produce demo tapes, we get the demo tapes back, and then we learn the songs and put our input in to get them ready for recording. That has been the same, but it’s vastly different from the way we started. When we started, we would meet at the rehearsal studio, our own space, and we would hammer it out: ‘I like this, I don’t like this, try this, try that, boom, boom, boom,’ and eventually the song would come together.

So that was, I guess, more of a direct connection in the band when writing songs. Then, as time went on, with the internet, Pro Tools, and digital recording becoming so developed, we’re able to do it separately now. To me, it loses a bit of that human element in the writing between us, but it also expands the ability to do more. So, I see both sides, I can do both of them, and I love the result. But if it were up to me, I would want to meet with the band and do it in a room together. But we get older, life goes on, and your time becomes valuable in different ways, so I understand it, and I’m 100% in love with the process of how we produce these records and the result.

 – ‘Close To The Bone’ is the first single of the new album and has amazing, powerful synergy between killer solos, galloping drums and great vocals. Who wrote this song, and what’s the story behind it?

Gonzo Sandoval: Well, basically, as for the actual songwriting, that would be a question for John and Joey, who wrote ‘Close to the Bone’. But from what John says, it came from a term used by Tracy Vera, the president of Metal Blade Records, about Joey. She said that Joey keeps a lot of things ‘close to the bone’ and doesn’t bring them out, or something like that, and he liked that phrase and then elaborated on it, building it into other ideas, but that’s the inspiration for ‘Close to the Bone’.

– In 2023, the documentary ‘Armored Saint – A Band of Brothers’ had its world premiere at the Harmony Gold Theatre in Hollywood, CA. The film celebrates the band’s 40-year career. Tell us more about it. What emotions did that event leave you with?

Gonzo Sandoval: Well, Russell Sherrington was a fan when he was sixteen, and he came to see the band in England at the Marquee, I believe our first time playing there, and he basically became a fan for life. He’s a very good friend. He came to us and said, ‘I want to make a movie, a documentary about your story.’ It’s a vast story, and it took many years to put together. A lot of people from the business are in it, talking about the band, and you get information for Armored Saint fans that a lot of people don’t know, so it’s very informative. He did it really well. We’re still looking to get it released soon. There are some legal issues we’re trying to sort through, but I think it’s coming to fruition, so one way or another we’ll be releasing it — because the world has got to see it. It’s well done. Right now, it’s two hours and 23 minutes of information. The premiere was amazing because there were people in the audience watching the film on a big screen, and then we did a Q&A. So emotionally, for me, it was full of passion, and I felt inspired and lucky that Russell would take the time to tell our story. So, without giving too much away, we had a great time. We look forward to releasing it as soon as possible, and I’m trying my hardest to make that happen. Whatever the holdup is, I think that one way or another, we’re going to either move forward or cut it out.

– Well, if it does come to fruition, which I hope it does, we might have another conversation about this movie, and you can tell us more about it…

Gonzo Sandoval: Yes, for sure! It’s very vast, it goes in segments and tells the whole story: all the good, all the bad, and the hardships. It also goes into David Pritchard, who passed away at 26 from leukemia. He was a central part of our band, in the writing and the playing. He and Phil had a great look. He was a redhead, Phil had black hair, and the guitar players were just amazing. And when we lost David, the world lost an amazing musician and just an all-around funny guy.

 – What’s your outlook on the record industry today and AI? What’s the difference between the 80s–90s and now?

Gonzo Sandoval: Wow, what can I say? The music industry in the past had some sort of structure: you had to draw people in, you had to have songs, and you pretty much had to have it together to get the industry interested in you. Now, with digital music, I think the industry took a heavy hit when CDs and physical sales disappeared, and the material got erased, basically. With the internet, you can download everything, and it’s all digital. I think it lost a lot of what I loved — going to the store and buying a record, looking at the album cover, and playing it on the turntable. That was the actual product. But LPs are coming back, which is a good thing. CDs and physical sales kind of gutted the industry in terms of revenue, and I think the artists lost as well. I think it’s recovering, but it shifted how we make money — toward live performance and merchandise, rather than record sales. You can still buy downloads and physical records, but it’s not the focus anymore. So, I think there have been a lot of detrimental changes in the music industry, but it’s still surviving. I don’t want to sound negative, but it’s the truth. As artists, hopefully, we’ll figure out a way to stay alive. I think younger musicians need a pathway and motivation to want to be musicians, performers, rock and rollers — and those paths, for whatever reason, seem to have been minimised. I think youth need something to grab onto. It takes time, motivation, and practice, but as you grow, you realise you can do it — and you inspire others. If we can inspire the youth and they inspire their peers, I think the music industry can grow. But if we don’t, then eventually it might shrink to something very minimal. I don’t like to hear that!

I think the future is in the youth, and I hope that our music, Armored Saint, inspires younger generations to get into heavy rock, rock ’n’ roll, or whatever it is, because it’s a beautiful thing, an amazing journey, and it has a lot to offer. Not just in results, as a drummer, it’s math, emotion, mood, passion — everything coming together to build this world of being in a band and being in music. If the industry succeeds, the artists succeed, the bands succeed, and we get many more generations to come. That’s what I strive for: to inspire the youth, and of course, our loyal fans who have been there from the beginning. I love you all, and I would love for people to talk about our band, to share it with the youth, and I think Armored Saint can live forever in the music industry.

(Photo by Travis Shinn)

– As a musician, what advice would you give to any newbies trying to break into the global music industry?

Gonzo Sandoval: I would say: get inspired. If you love drums, get into drums, study drummers, and get involved. I just went to see Ray Luzier from Korn at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood. He did a drum clinic for Pearl drums, and I hadn’t been there in a long time. It’s a school, and I saw a lot of young people there, and I was like, ‘Yeah, there’s hope!’ I would tell them: learn your instrument, explore genres, network, talk to people, meet people, be curious, ask questions, take risks, get challenged, and in the end, do your thing. If you’ve got something to say, the world is open to hear it. Don’t feel closed in, don’t feel like there’s no future, there is. And I think people like myself, and other musicians who inspire the youth, can open doors for them, and at the same time for the music industry. New bands, new talent, they’re out there. We just have to help them figure out who they are.

– Outside of music, you also do photography. Where did this interest come from, and are you working on any other projects?

Gonzo Sandoval: Yeah, so my photography started just as fun. In the beginning, remember those small digital cameras? That’s when I picked one up. But before that, I was like, ‘Photography? Nah.’ Because you needed a darkroom, chemicals, processing, you had to learn all that, and wow, that was a lot! I wasn’t interested. But when the digital cameras came in, the little ones, I was like, ‘pap pap,’ point and shoot, and then I was like, ‘Oh, I love that!’ or ‘Oh, I don’t love that – delete.’ You could capture an image and immediately decide if you liked it or not, make changes, try again, or delete everything you didn’t like. No process, it was instant. That’s what initially grabbed me. After that, I got my first SLR camera and grew from there. Now, as a musician, I want to take pictures of bands, and in a way, I have an insight into what musicians feel. Photographers can snap photos while musicians are doing their thing, but I know both sides because I am a musician, I’m a drummer, and people take pictures of me, so I understand both perspectives.

So, when I’m taking photos, I’m looking for special moments. I want to get a creatively correct exposure every time. I’m not just randomly ‘pap pap pap’, no. I’m waiting. I’m like: the light is coming, he’s going to come here… I’m preparing, and then bam, I’ve got it. Yeah! So, I’m not shooting a lot, even though that’s how I started. Now I only shoot when I’m inspired, and that gives me better results. I learned a lot from an amazing teacher, Neil Slos, a friend of mine, a legendary photographer. He took a lot of pictures of us in the 80s. And Igor from RockExposure.com changed my whole perspective. Basically, he said, there are great photographers, and then there’s the top 3%. He said: A, B, or C, which one do you want to be? Of course, I said I want to be in the top 3%. He said that to get there, you need the right hardware, a full-frame professional camera, not a half-frame, so I took steps and got my first Nikon. Hello Nikon! He gave me a different approach and introduced me to new ideas. Now, as a photographer, I don’t look at things the way I used to. I look at light, which is the heart of the image. Where is the light coming from? How can I move my subject into it so the exposure is right every time? I’m constantly looking for light, for moments, for composition. It changed how I see everything. It opened my eyes and my mind to look at life differently, with light as the heart of the image.

– The band will be on the road this summer, including a show in the UK at Stonedead Festival in Newark on August 29th. What can fans expect from this tour? What’s the band bringing to the stage this time?

Gonzo Sandoval: Well, we’re going to a lot of places. We played a few weeks ago at the Rainbow Bar & Grill in Hollywood, for their 54th anniversary, which was a pleasure. We’re going to Mexico, and we are going to headline our first Rock Hard Festival in Germany. We’ve played at Rock Hard several times, and finally we get to headline. The fans are amazing, so that’s coming. In June, we will play at Wisconsin Metal Fest, and in July, in Europe. Like you said, Stonedead Festival, which I love. Hello Chris! He’s the promoter. Stonedead Festival in the UK, on August 29th, that’s going to be amazing, the place is full of 100% heavy metal fans, and the energy is incredible! We’re also playing in Poland and Sweden, and then we’re looking to set up a U.S. run. I won’t say more because it’s not confirmed yet, but that’s coming in the fall. We’re also playing Monsters of Rock in 2027 on the boat cruise; that’s going to be fun. And we’re just looking to promote this record, ‘Emotion Factory Reset’. It needs to be heard all over the world, so we have to go all over the world, touring, playing, and inspiring the youth and everyone else.

– Thanks for taking the time out to do this interview! A final message to all the metalheads around the globe?

Gonzo Sandoval: I love you, each and every one of you. I think everyone has a light, and that light can shine. Sometimes it’s dim, sometimes it’s really bright, but we all have the same light. If everyone shines their light on others, and the important people in their life and the new people they meet, then we are all human beings. Music is a vehicle and a language that everyone can understand. It’s a privilege and an honour to have music in my life, and Armored Saint still kicking ass in 2026 is a blessing. Thank God, number one, and I look forward to hitting the stage again. Get the record ‘Emotion Factory Reset’. Get inspired. Life is beautiful. Shine that light and let’s turn the page. The world can go one way or another, and I think that light, positivity, and sharing your talent with others is a way to bring people together, and that’s what the world needs. Armored Saint for life.

ARMORED SAINT:
John Bush – vocals
Joey Vera – bass
Jeff Duncan – guitars
Gonzo Sandoval – drums
Phil Sandoval – guitars
♦
More information:
www.armoredsaint.com
www.facebook.com/thearmoredsaint
www.instagram.com/thearmoredsaint
www.facebook.com/metalbladerecords

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Reporter: Viktoriya Mancheva
Editor: Antoaneta Petrova (aka Toni Rock)