ARMORED SAINT and former ANTHRAX vocalist JOHN BUSH says no music is truly original — and that the trick is in how convincingly an artist disguises their influences. Speaking to The Plowzone Radio Show, BUSH argued that even the biggest names borrow heavily.
"Even [THE ROLLING STONES frontman] Mick Jagger made the comment one time, 'Nothing's new under the sun,'" BUSH said. "And he's in THE STONES. But they would copy a lot of people, for sure." The key, he suggested, is to pull from a wide and varied pool of inspiration: "Take a lot of influences from different sources, different types of music. It doesn't even have to be music… Take it all, and then churn it in your stomach, and then when you regurgitate it — with your personality of who you are — hopefully that will give it uniqueness."
BUSH was candid that imitation is unavoidable. "You're always doing that — you are borrowing. You imitate, you steal. Everyone does a little bit. The last thing you wanna do is be blatant about it, 'cause then you're stealing from somebody." His advice to young players is simple: don't listen only to metal. "Say you're a heavy metal musician, but all you listen to is metal — somehow you're going to imitate all that stuff. If you pull in some R&B or jazz or bluegrass… then maybe you won't be as blatant with it."
The comments arrive on the heels of ARMORED SAINT's latest album, "Emotion Factory Reset", released May 22 via Metal Blade Records. Produced by bassist Joey Vera and mixed by Jay Ruston, the eleven-song record finds the veteran quintet — together in its current form since 1989 — challenging itself while honoring its legacy. BUSH, who along with Vera once turned down chances to audition for METALLICA, helped lead ARMORED SAINT into the Metal Hall Of Fame in 2023.