American heavy metal mainstays Armored Saint have dropped a new single, “Hit A Moonshot”, pulled from their upcoming album Emotion Factory Reset, set for release on May 22 via Metal Blade Records.
“Hit A Moonshot” stands out as a favorite within the band. The phrase itself comes from baseball, describing a towering home run, and vocalist John Bush draws a clear connection between that imagery and life beyond sports.
“It’s like you knocked something out of the park,” elaborates Bush, “I use a lot of sports analogies because I love sports. Sports IS entertainment… ‘Hit A Moonshot’ is inspired by the people who keep landing on their feet. Like, no matter what the fuck this person does… Some people just get lucky. This applies to anyone. And landing on your feet is commendable. So, I’m busting balls, but I’m also giving accolades. Sometimes people can do that all the way to their grave. Then there are other people who are so good or talented or creative, and they struggle forever. I don’t think life is balanced all the time, and I don’t think it’s fair.”
He also points to the track’s musical makeup: “It has a ferocious riff, cool tempo changes, scorching leads, huge chorus with lots of backing vocals,” he continues. “We love Queen and The Sweet! It’s a cool breakdown with an epic ending. Once again, it sounds just like Armored Saint.”
Bassist Joey Vera traces the song’s roots back decades: “The intro riff is an echo of a memory from age 17 when I was in a garage band in Los Angeles. After I came up with this new version, the familiarity of it revealed itself once I stood back and listened. The riff is very different from the original one but there’s no doubt the feel and vibe has stuck with me ever since then. I added a half-time feel to the chorus to steer the arrangement away from predictability. It feels like classic Saint to me.”
Guitarist Jeff Duncan keeps it straightforward in terms of gear and execution: “I think the song defines what Armored Saint sounds like now. I used my Les Paul and an EVH amp for the rhythm guitars on everything. My solos were done with a couple different guitars; it’s simple, just good guitars plugged into a good amp and let it rip.”
Emotion Factory Reset, the band’s ninth studio effort since 1984’s March Of The Saint, works as both a reset and a rebuild. Produced by Joey Vera and mixed by Jay Ruston, the album sees Armored Saint pushing themselves while staying rooted in their identity. Tracks like “Close To The Bone”, “Hit A Moonshot” and “Every Man-Any Man” reflect that balance.
“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,” says Joey Vera. “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.”
John Bush highlights the band’s open approach when writing: “When we start coming up with songs, I always say we can do whatever we want,” notes Bush. “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.”
That mindset extends into how vocals are captured. Much of Bush’s recorded work comes straight from early takes, preserving immediacy. Vera approaches writing with a similar instinct: “I try not to overthink and be right where I’m at that time. I really don’t look over my shoulder much, like, ‘what did I do in the past? What’s going on in the next lane?’ Once the ball starts rolling, I just sit back and let it happen.”
The album title itself came from guitarist Phil Sandoval, reflecting a broader theme behind the material: “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,” the guitarist says. “How you interpret things is what hurts you, not the event itself.”
Drummer Gonzo Sandoval connects that idea to a bigger picture: “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.”
Ahead of the album’s release, the band also rolled out “Close To The Bone” as an early preview. Bush describes its role clearly: “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 adds context on its influences: “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.”
Duncan sees it as a clear statement of where the band stands now: “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 was recorded across multiple studios, including 606 Studios, Secret Hand Studios, Skullseven Studios, Constantine Studios and Bridge Recording, with engineering handled by Oliver Roman, Bill Metoyer, Joey Vera and Jason Constantine. The cover art was created by DDKing. A special European CD edition will include the bonus track “One Chain (Don’t Make No Prison)”, previously available only in digital form.
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