Armored Saint have landed on “Emotion Factory Reset” as the title to their ninth studio album. The veteran heavy metal band will have that record out on May 22nd via Metal Blade Records. Bassist/vocalist Joey Vera oversaw the production for this new effort, while Jay Ruston (Stone Sour, Anthrax) was brought on to mix it. Vera said of the record:
“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. 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.”
Frontman John Bush added:
“When we start coming up with songs, I always say we can do whatever we want. 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.”
As for the title, the band attribute it to guitarist Phil Sandoval, who summed it up as follows:
“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. How you interpret things is what hurts you, not the event itself.”
Phil‘s brother and bandmate, drummer Gonzo, added:
“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.”
“Close To The Bone” is starting point for this latest chapter from the band and is now streaming below, complete with a video directed by David Brodsky (Cannibal Corpse, Cattle Decapitation). Bush weighed in on that track:
“The first track on the record sounds like vintage Armored Saint. Yet vintage that comes out in 2026! How did we do that? The title of the record, ‘Emotion Factory Reset‘ appears as the first line of the bridge. Killer riffs, awesome rhythms and attacking vocals gets this train rolling.
The title implies the human response to withdraw and keep things to yourself instead of being confrontational; Something I believe we all struggle with as humans. Do you just say, ‘aww, whatever man,’ or do you say, ‘hey, fuck you!’ Depends on the moment, I guess.”
Vera added:
“Musically, this song was inspired by my love and appreciation for metal that was coming out around the time of the NWOBHM, which is right when Armored Saint was formed. As always, I try to reimagine my early influences by giving them a slight modern twist.”
Guitarist Jeff Duncan also chimed in:
“I like to think that Armored Saint doesn’t keep making the same album over and over. ‘Emotion Factory Reset‘ is another musical chapter for the band. When the five of us play together, we have a special chemistry and our first single ‘Close To The Bone’ demonstrates this perfectly; it’s musically sophisticated but still retains the Armored Saint signature sound.”
“Emotion Factory Reset” track listing:
01 – “Close To The Bone“
02 – “Every Man-Any Man“
03 – “Not On Your Life“
04 – “Hit A Moonshot“
05 – “Buckeye“
06 – “Compromise“
07 – “It’s A Buzzkill“
08 – “Throwing Caution To The Wind“
09 – “Ladders And Slides“
10 – “Bottom Feeder“
11 – “Epilogue“
A bonus track, “One Chain (Don’t Make No Prison)” will be featured on select editions of the record, including the European CD digipak and a 7″ included with the European vinyl release. For pre-orders, see metalblade.com.
