With veteran musicians from bands as Anthrax, Armored Saint, Adrenaline Mob, Machine Head, Overkill, Exodus, and Shadows Fall, it’s hard not to think of Category 7 as metal's newest a supergroup. Releasing their self-titled debut album in July 2024, they're ready to unleash a new era of heaviness; "It's really heavy and powerful", says front man John Bush as we sit down for a chat. Talking how the new band came about, the creation of the album, and giving an update on his plans to tour his Anthrax era, as well as an unlikely rockabilly collaboration, we caught up with the nicest man in metal. In a zone; Eamon O'Neill.
Hi John, how are you doing?
I'm good brother, thank you very much. I have a lot of interviews I'm doing, so you are my fifth one today, and I have a break after this, which is good, because you start kind of going; "what am I saying and what am I talking about!?", but it's great to chat with you, and thanks for all the support as always.
Before we get into Category Seven, I wanted to ask you enjoyed the recent Metal Allegiance show in Anaheim?
It's always fun to do those shows. Those guys are all super talented. Different people come in and play, and it's fun. Chuck Billy [Testament] is such a great guy, and we always take the reins. Usually, Mark [Menghi] is part of it, but I guess he was busy. Yeah, I'm honoured to take the stage with all those musicians.
How was it performing Anthrax's 'Only' at that show?
It's great. It's a rad tune, and everyone gets fired up and they hear it, and I'm always honoured that people know that song because it was a popular Anthrax song, needless to say, so it's always fun to do it live. I don't get a chance to play that song very much at this point, so any time we play it, or I play it, it's cool.
We're here today to talk about Category 7, and it's a new band for John Bush; no one saw that coming!
I kept it quiet. Actually, for a long time, I didn't really want to do anything else. I was content with just playing with Armored Saint, It was cool to do it in our own kind of way and let it just happen. It's in this natural setting with Armored Saint, coming out and exposing this new kind of project, new sound to the masses, if you will, but it was for Armored Saint. It wasn't until recently where Phil Demmel [guitarist] was like; "hey, do you want to do this other thing? Would you be interested?", and I said; "well, I don't know until I hear it; let's hear it, and then I'll have an opinion".
Obviously, you liked what you heard.
Once I did, I was like; "wow, this is pretty awesome. It's really heavy and powerful", So it was kind of undeniable, and so I said; "now let me work on it. Let me write some ideas, vocally and lyrically". and once I did that, I was like; "oh, I think I contributed some good stuff here". So we made some demos, everyone was fired up, one thing led to another, and next thing we knew, hey, we had enough songs for a record. So I'm excited about it. I think everybody, all the musicians involved are super talented, and everyone's really gifted, and to be part of that is great, because you're with some veterans who have been around the block and have a lot to say musically.
Everyone knows the Metallica story, where they approached you to be their singer at the early part of their career, so it's no surprise you were asked to do this. Have you had many other offers over the years?
Probably not as much as you would think. I think for a while, when I left Anthrax around 2005, and I kind of resumed back with Saint, so we did 'La Raza' and did some shows, but not much, and then that wasn't until 2010, so obviously we were writing in that time and playing some shows, but I was raising my kids. I had two kids, and I was co-raising them with my wife and happy to just be home and doing that in their young years, just being a dad. So I think that it kind of sent that energy out there, and I think people maybe were like; "he's not doing a lot, and I'm not going to pursue him or inquire with him", or maybe people just were forgetting about me because I was out of Anthrax and not really in the public side, musically.
So people were aware that you were looking after things in your personal life?
It could be a couple things that was the reason that I wasn't wasn't getting my door knocked on all the time, but this came up, and it just so happened that it was just really good, and so I figured the timing is right, and so I ran with it. But it's hard, you know? If you have a lot of things going on besides just music, and so it's like; where do you find the time? That's the challenge; to make it all work and be able to give everything the utmost attention as well.
You've put out some fantastic albums with Armored Saint since reactivating, but the Category 7 album is certainly the heaviest thing you've dine since Anthrax's 'We've Come For You All' in 2003.
Yeah, it's definitely a little heavier than Saint normally is. Some people kind of connected it to the Anthrax days, maybe just because of some of the fast beats and some of the ferocity, if you will. It sounds of its own entity, I think of course, but I could see the parallels there that people connect to. It's really powerful, it's really heavy stuff. Like I said, all the guys are the riff maniacs, including Jason [Bittner, drums] and Jack [Gibson, bass] on the rhythm section, and Mike and Phil are super talented. I never even knew Mike Orlando, and we actually got to know one another as we were writing songs together, which is really cool because we had never even met. So to just write songs with this person that you don't even know was really fun and different.
You're quite used to collaboration with Metal Allegiance, with lots of musicians coming in and out both live and on record; it must be inspiring.
Yeah, it was cool. Remember, with Metal Allegiance, I only did one song on one record, 'Bound by Silence'; cool song, heavy. but that was really the only thing I did on its own, musically, with that project, So it was great, it was a lot of fun to do that. Any time we go out and do some shows together, obviously there's some Anthrax songs, and some cover songs. We did the Iron Maiden song ['Iron Maiden'] on this is the last thing I did with them, and me and Chuck were both, like, we both know the lyrics; it's funny because the lyric repeats itself, right? I was like; "take it!", he was like; "you take it!" [the lines in the song], and that was pretty funny.
I'm good brother, thank you very much. I have a lot of interviews I'm doing, so you are my fifth one today, and I have a break after this, which is good, because you start kind of going; "what am I saying and what am I talking about!?", but it's great to chat with you, and thanks for all the support as always.
Before we get into Category Seven, I wanted to ask you enjoyed the recent Metal Allegiance show in Anaheim?
It's always fun to do those shows. Those guys are all super talented. Different people come in and play, and it's fun. Chuck Billy [Testament] is such a great guy, and we always take the reins. Usually, Mark [Menghi] is part of it, but I guess he was busy. Yeah, I'm honoured to take the stage with all those musicians.
How was it performing Anthrax's 'Only' at that show?
It's great. It's a rad tune, and everyone gets fired up and they hear it, and I'm always honoured that people know that song because it was a popular Anthrax song, needless to say, so it's always fun to do it live. I don't get a chance to play that song very much at this point, so any time we play it, or I play it, it's cool.
We're here today to talk about Category 7, and it's a new band for John Bush; no one saw that coming!
I kept it quiet. Actually, for a long time, I didn't really want to do anything else. I was content with just playing with Armored Saint, It was cool to do it in our own kind of way and let it just happen. It's in this natural setting with Armored Saint, coming out and exposing this new kind of project, new sound to the masses, if you will, but it was for Armored Saint. It wasn't until recently where Phil Demmel [guitarist] was like; "hey, do you want to do this other thing? Would you be interested?", and I said; "well, I don't know until I hear it; let's hear it, and then I'll have an opinion".
Obviously, you liked what you heard.
Once I did, I was like; "wow, this is pretty awesome. It's really heavy and powerful", So it was kind of undeniable, and so I said; "now let me work on it. Let me write some ideas, vocally and lyrically". and once I did that, I was like; "oh, I think I contributed some good stuff here". So we made some demos, everyone was fired up, one thing led to another, and next thing we knew, hey, we had enough songs for a record. So I'm excited about it. I think everybody, all the musicians involved are super talented, and everyone's really gifted, and to be part of that is great, because you're with some veterans who have been around the block and have a lot to say musically.
Everyone knows the Metallica story, where they approached you to be their singer at the early part of their career, so it's no surprise you were asked to do this. Have you had many other offers over the years?
Probably not as much as you would think. I think for a while, when I left Anthrax around 2005, and I kind of resumed back with Saint, so we did 'La Raza' and did some shows, but not much, and then that wasn't until 2010, so obviously we were writing in that time and playing some shows, but I was raising my kids. I had two kids, and I was co-raising them with my wife and happy to just be home and doing that in their young years, just being a dad. So I think that it kind of sent that energy out there, and I think people maybe were like; "he's not doing a lot, and I'm not going to pursue him or inquire with him", or maybe people just were forgetting about me because I was out of Anthrax and not really in the public side, musically.
So people were aware that you were looking after things in your personal life?
It could be a couple things that was the reason that I wasn't wasn't getting my door knocked on all the time, but this came up, and it just so happened that it was just really good, and so I figured the timing is right, and so I ran with it. But it's hard, you know? If you have a lot of things going on besides just music, and so it's like; where do you find the time? That's the challenge; to make it all work and be able to give everything the utmost attention as well.
You've put out some fantastic albums with Armored Saint since reactivating, but the Category 7 album is certainly the heaviest thing you've dine since Anthrax's 'We've Come For You All' in 2003.
Yeah, it's definitely a little heavier than Saint normally is. Some people kind of connected it to the Anthrax days, maybe just because of some of the fast beats and some of the ferocity, if you will. It sounds of its own entity, I think of course, but I could see the parallels there that people connect to. It's really powerful, it's really heavy stuff. Like I said, all the guys are the riff maniacs, including Jason [Bittner, drums] and Jack [Gibson, bass] on the rhythm section, and Mike and Phil are super talented. I never even knew Mike Orlando, and we actually got to know one another as we were writing songs together, which is really cool because we had never even met. So to just write songs with this person that you don't even know was really fun and different.
You're quite used to collaboration with Metal Allegiance, with lots of musicians coming in and out both live and on record; it must be inspiring.
Yeah, it was cool. Remember, with Metal Allegiance, I only did one song on one record, 'Bound by Silence'; cool song, heavy. but that was really the only thing I did on its own, musically, with that project, So it was great, it was a lot of fun to do that. Any time we go out and do some shows together, obviously there's some Anthrax songs, and some cover songs. We did the Iron Maiden song ['Iron Maiden'] on this is the last thing I did with them, and me and Chuck were both, like, we both know the lyrics; it's funny because the lyric repeats itself, right? I was like; "take it!", he was like; "you take it!" [the lines in the song], and that was pretty funny.
But yeah, I just want to make sure that whatever I'm contributing musically, vocally and lyrically, it's at a high quality. Of course, everybody says that, right? Nobody's like; "hey, I want to put out a piece of crap!" I mean, it has to be something that I believe in, that's really the name of the game. I don't need to just do something for some money, right? I want to do it because I really love it, I really believe in it, and this just happened to come at a time when I was like; "yeah, it sounds rad!" I also want to be able to contribute, and that was important to me back even when I joined Anthrax, because I didn't want to just come in and be the singer; I wanted to come in and be a co-writer and that was important to me back in 1992 when I joined that band. Remember, in Saint, prior to that, I was a primary lyricist and singer, and so I've always wanted to give my two cents on that level. I really take writing lyrics very seriously - although they're not always serious - but I really enjoy writing lyrics and being able to push myself. So it's all about just really believing in it; that's the should be the main reason to do it.
Lyrically, you've said this album is a "social commentary", which is a long way from something fun like Anthrax's 'A Toast To the Extras'.
Yeah, yes. I love that song. As a matter of fact, I have this kind of blues country band that I also would like to put out a record with because we've written a bunch of songs. It's called Electric Spaghetti, and the guitar player out of that band, he was actually doing all the demos for me with Category 7, and one day I'd go to this house and he would record me singing, you know, 'Mousetrap', and then I go to his house a couple days later, and we would do an Electric Spaghetti song, because we have like, ten songs, but they were very different. His world - his name is Tara Novick - he comes from, like, rockabilly, and he's not metal at all, but at the same time, we were doing these things which were very different. It was really helpful for my brain to write these different types of songs; Category 7 is metal, of course, and then Electric Spaghetti, some songs sound like Little Richard meets Steve Earle. But what was cool is, when we played live, we did like three shows, and we played 'A Toast to the Extras'. It was perfect because I was like, I have this song with Anthrax that we never played, and I played it for the band, and they're like; "that's great, let's do it!" And so we played it live, and it was awesome.
Back to the album, and the first thing that people may have heard is 'In Stitches', which is just pummelling; it's a good introduction, isn't it?
Yeah, well, it's cool because 'In Stitches' is actually the last video that we did. It was almost an afterthought. I always thought we should do it because it's a great tune. It's the first song on the record. It's really powerful. It might have been the first song we wrote; it was one of the first three anyhow, and I always thought it just had this impact, and in the end, it was like; "well, that's going to be the first song that we put out". which was great. So, yeah, I'm digging it. It feels like it should be heard immediately, from the videos that we put out. We did five videos. We're doing it one month at a time, so the first one was in beginning of May, and then June was the next one which was 'Exhausted', and there'll be one in July, but yeah, it's been cool to every month release something
I'm glad you mentioned 'Exhausted'; that's a really killer one, and the video is really cool as well.
It was fun to do the videos, and like I said, these songs are all little different from one another, although very heavy. Some are heavier than others; 'In Stitches', it's just a slammer. It was cool to do that video, because it was all this white background, so there's nothing other than the white background. Then 'Exhausted' got a little bit more creative with some of the green screen stuff. We did a bunch of different things, and we filmed all these videos within like, three days, so it was a lot of work. That was actually the first time the band had been in the presence of one another collectively, and we still didn't even play. It was doing videos, which, of course, you're kind of mimicking, but it was cool to hang out with everybody, and just chew the fat and talk about our backgrounds and history. It'll be fun to see what the next one has to say.
So the band hasn't actually played together yet?
No, we haven't played. We haven't had one rehearsal yet, and it'll be interesting to see when we do that. I mean, I'm sure Mike and Phil got together with Jason and they did some stuff, a couple of demos, so they played together. Jack and I weren't there, but, as a group together, we have not played, so it'll be fun the first time we actually do it and hear these songs live as a band.
Lyrically, you've said this album is a "social commentary", which is a long way from something fun like Anthrax's 'A Toast To the Extras'.
Yeah, yes. I love that song. As a matter of fact, I have this kind of blues country band that I also would like to put out a record with because we've written a bunch of songs. It's called Electric Spaghetti, and the guitar player out of that band, he was actually doing all the demos for me with Category 7, and one day I'd go to this house and he would record me singing, you know, 'Mousetrap', and then I go to his house a couple days later, and we would do an Electric Spaghetti song, because we have like, ten songs, but they were very different. His world - his name is Tara Novick - he comes from, like, rockabilly, and he's not metal at all, but at the same time, we were doing these things which were very different. It was really helpful for my brain to write these different types of songs; Category 7 is metal, of course, and then Electric Spaghetti, some songs sound like Little Richard meets Steve Earle. But what was cool is, when we played live, we did like three shows, and we played 'A Toast to the Extras'. It was perfect because I was like, I have this song with Anthrax that we never played, and I played it for the band, and they're like; "that's great, let's do it!" And so we played it live, and it was awesome.
Back to the album, and the first thing that people may have heard is 'In Stitches', which is just pummelling; it's a good introduction, isn't it?
Yeah, well, it's cool because 'In Stitches' is actually the last video that we did. It was almost an afterthought. I always thought we should do it because it's a great tune. It's the first song on the record. It's really powerful. It might have been the first song we wrote; it was one of the first three anyhow, and I always thought it just had this impact, and in the end, it was like; "well, that's going to be the first song that we put out". which was great. So, yeah, I'm digging it. It feels like it should be heard immediately, from the videos that we put out. We did five videos. We're doing it one month at a time, so the first one was in beginning of May, and then June was the next one which was 'Exhausted', and there'll be one in July, but yeah, it's been cool to every month release something
I'm glad you mentioned 'Exhausted'; that's a really killer one, and the video is really cool as well.
It was fun to do the videos, and like I said, these songs are all little different from one another, although very heavy. Some are heavier than others; 'In Stitches', it's just a slammer. It was cool to do that video, because it was all this white background, so there's nothing other than the white background. Then 'Exhausted' got a little bit more creative with some of the green screen stuff. We did a bunch of different things, and we filmed all these videos within like, three days, so it was a lot of work. That was actually the first time the band had been in the presence of one another collectively, and we still didn't even play. It was doing videos, which, of course, you're kind of mimicking, but it was cool to hang out with everybody, and just chew the fat and talk about our backgrounds and history. It'll be fun to see what the next one has to say.
So the band hasn't actually played together yet?
No, we haven't played. We haven't had one rehearsal yet, and it'll be interesting to see when we do that. I mean, I'm sure Mike and Phil got together with Jason and they did some stuff, a couple of demos, so they played together. Jack and I weren't there, but, as a group together, we have not played, so it'll be fun the first time we actually do it and hear these songs live as a band.
One of my favourites on the album is 'Apple of Discord'.
I agree. I think it's one of the videos. I don't know if it's the next video out. I can't remember actually, because we've had so many and there's so many thoughts going through my brain right now. I can't really remember, but we did do a video for it, and it's a cool song, lyrically; it kind of pokes fun at what's happening with social media and society today, and putting people on pedestals that probably don't deserve it. It has little sarcastic jabs there, and yeah, I really dig that song; it has a big chorus, great riff. When we did that song, when we finished the demo, I knew that had a real specialness to it.
What would you say is your favourite song in the album?
I wouldn't say I have a favourite song. I really believe all of them are cool in their own way. I know everybody says that when they put out record, but I always say; "ask me again in about a year after a records release", and then I might have a little bit more honest assessment of what I did and and what I think really stands out, and maybe what kind of drops down, right? Everything I think is really solid throughout.
Have you got plans to play live shows with Category 7?
There's a plan for sure to play because we'd like to hear these songs live. I think we're trying to navigate through everybody's schedule. Everybody's got all these different things that are involved in, so it's just a matter of trying to work it out. I also think it's about doing the right shows, the strategic shows; not going out there and just playing for playing sake. I'm not saying we have to go out and open on stadium shows, and let's be realistic, but do something right that feels like it's going to be exposing us in the proper way and and making it count.
I always bring this up, but in 2017 I asked you if you'd thought about going out and performing your Anthrax era live, and since then the story has really picked up speed, with even Paul Crook saying he wants to be involved; has there been any progress with that?
I have some ideas about it, some more recent ideas about it, and in conjunction with, you know, for players, we could even maybe do something in conjunction with Category 7, although I don't know about that yet, which means, you know, we could play some of these songs, but then we could also play some of the songs from everybody's other projects, right? I don't know yet.
Now I have this other thing with Category 7, and Saint and like, how do I make it work? I do want to do that one day, I really do. I certainly believe that from [Sound of] 'White Noise', 'Stomp'[442], 'Volume 8', 'We've Come For You All' there's great songs that certainly could do a really cool support slot or even a headlining show. I don't necessarily want to go out and do sixty dates, quite honestly, but I do want to go out and play maybe some specific shows, maybe some festivals. I have some ideas, newer ideas in conjunction with it. It's just about making it work. You know, time is not on my side with a lot of things. I'm sixty years old, but I's still doing pretty good - I did Pilates yesterday and held my own! I still try to be physically active, and I feel great, the voice is good, as long as I stay healthy. I want to make this work. I don't know; next thing I know, it's going to Blabbermouth tomorrow, because they're going to be like; "he said that before, but he hasn't done it, so, like, shut up already!" So I want to, I just don't know when.
It's fifteen years since you helped Anthrax out by playing some shows including one at Sonisphere in the UK.
That was really cool. It was kind of spur of the moment when that happened. Obviously I remember going and playing it because it was at Knebworth where, I believe the last Zeppelin shows were done. So it was really cool to be part of that, for sure. I remember warming up in the van going from the Hotel in London to Knebworth, and we were in really bad traffic, and we were running late, and we were getting close to the showtime, and I started warming up in the van, because once we get there, I'm literally going to be walking on stage. Like, my typical warm up these days is singing from about thirty to forty minutes before I perform. With Saint on the tour we just did, I'd sing the first five songs of the set, but I remember doing that specifically, driving through London, warming up in this bus, and all the band and wives and crew, not crew, but others, maybe some journalists, other people were in the van with us, and it was a little stressful.
What about the actual show, and the ones that followed?
It was cool to go on there and play and, yeah, and then we did a couple other tours. We did the Soundwaves Festival In Australia, and we also did Loud Park in Japan, and then I left again, and then Joey [Belladonna] came and Joey's been back ever since. So, you know, I love playing with those guys. I mean, I just we did Scotty [Scott Ian]'s 60th birthday party recently where we didn't play any Anthrax songs, but I played with Charlie [Benante] and Frankie [Bello] and Rob Caggiano on a couple songs, and Scott, of course, and it was amazing. So I always feel cool when we're connecting because there was a period of time where we weren't, and it was not the best of circumstances, but all that's behind us now.
I agree. I think it's one of the videos. I don't know if it's the next video out. I can't remember actually, because we've had so many and there's so many thoughts going through my brain right now. I can't really remember, but we did do a video for it, and it's a cool song, lyrically; it kind of pokes fun at what's happening with social media and society today, and putting people on pedestals that probably don't deserve it. It has little sarcastic jabs there, and yeah, I really dig that song; it has a big chorus, great riff. When we did that song, when we finished the demo, I knew that had a real specialness to it.
What would you say is your favourite song in the album?
I wouldn't say I have a favourite song. I really believe all of them are cool in their own way. I know everybody says that when they put out record, but I always say; "ask me again in about a year after a records release", and then I might have a little bit more honest assessment of what I did and and what I think really stands out, and maybe what kind of drops down, right? Everything I think is really solid throughout.
Have you got plans to play live shows with Category 7?
There's a plan for sure to play because we'd like to hear these songs live. I think we're trying to navigate through everybody's schedule. Everybody's got all these different things that are involved in, so it's just a matter of trying to work it out. I also think it's about doing the right shows, the strategic shows; not going out there and just playing for playing sake. I'm not saying we have to go out and open on stadium shows, and let's be realistic, but do something right that feels like it's going to be exposing us in the proper way and and making it count.
I always bring this up, but in 2017 I asked you if you'd thought about going out and performing your Anthrax era live, and since then the story has really picked up speed, with even Paul Crook saying he wants to be involved; has there been any progress with that?
I have some ideas about it, some more recent ideas about it, and in conjunction with, you know, for players, we could even maybe do something in conjunction with Category 7, although I don't know about that yet, which means, you know, we could play some of these songs, but then we could also play some of the songs from everybody's other projects, right? I don't know yet.
Now I have this other thing with Category 7, and Saint and like, how do I make it work? I do want to do that one day, I really do. I certainly believe that from [Sound of] 'White Noise', 'Stomp'[442], 'Volume 8', 'We've Come For You All' there's great songs that certainly could do a really cool support slot or even a headlining show. I don't necessarily want to go out and do sixty dates, quite honestly, but I do want to go out and play maybe some specific shows, maybe some festivals. I have some ideas, newer ideas in conjunction with it. It's just about making it work. You know, time is not on my side with a lot of things. I'm sixty years old, but I's still doing pretty good - I did Pilates yesterday and held my own! I still try to be physically active, and I feel great, the voice is good, as long as I stay healthy. I want to make this work. I don't know; next thing I know, it's going to Blabbermouth tomorrow, because they're going to be like; "he said that before, but he hasn't done it, so, like, shut up already!" So I want to, I just don't know when.
It's fifteen years since you helped Anthrax out by playing some shows including one at Sonisphere in the UK.
That was really cool. It was kind of spur of the moment when that happened. Obviously I remember going and playing it because it was at Knebworth where, I believe the last Zeppelin shows were done. So it was really cool to be part of that, for sure. I remember warming up in the van going from the Hotel in London to Knebworth, and we were in really bad traffic, and we were running late, and we were getting close to the showtime, and I started warming up in the van, because once we get there, I'm literally going to be walking on stage. Like, my typical warm up these days is singing from about thirty to forty minutes before I perform. With Saint on the tour we just did, I'd sing the first five songs of the set, but I remember doing that specifically, driving through London, warming up in this bus, and all the band and wives and crew, not crew, but others, maybe some journalists, other people were in the van with us, and it was a little stressful.
What about the actual show, and the ones that followed?
It was cool to go on there and play and, yeah, and then we did a couple other tours. We did the Soundwaves Festival In Australia, and we also did Loud Park in Japan, and then I left again, and then Joey [Belladonna] came and Joey's been back ever since. So, you know, I love playing with those guys. I mean, I just we did Scotty [Scott Ian]'s 60th birthday party recently where we didn't play any Anthrax songs, but I played with Charlie [Benante] and Frankie [Bello] and Rob Caggiano on a couple songs, and Scott, of course, and it was amazing. So I always feel cool when we're connecting because there was a period of time where we weren't, and it was not the best of circumstances, but all that's behind us now.
The last time we spoke, a lot of the Anthrax albums from your era were not available commercially, but that's all changed and they're back on vinyl and on Spotify; how do you feel about that?
Yeah, I just wanted them available. I mean, for those records to not be available is very frustrating. I'd go into Amoeba Records, which is a cool record store here in LA, and look through the A's, and I couldn't find any of the things I did. And look, I mean, you're competing with your own band, in a sense, so, it's hard for an album like 'Volume 8' to maybe compete with, like 'Among the Living', but I just always want them to be available so if somebody wants to buy it, they can buy it or listen to it. That's all I ask. So yeah, it was really annoying and frustrating, but luckily, Missi Clazzo from Megaforce re-released those records, and it's funny because I get royalty checks on a fairly often basis from her, which is great. I really ask is just for them to be available, so I'm happy.
Did you get some vinyl copies yourself?
Yeah, I have some copies of all those records. They put them out on vinyl, like you said, and I sign a bunch when I've been on the road, and when I see somebody bring one and it's a recent reissue, I'm stoked. I mean, some fans have brought me things from everything I've done. I haven't signed a Category 7 record yet, but I'm sure I will probably in Europe next some next month, but yeah, it's always funny when somebody brings me a stack of records this big, it's like; "wow, I made a lot of albums!"
Finally, what's happening next for you?
Armored Saint are doing some dates in Europe, which is really cool. We're excited about that. We haven't played in Europe in a long time. It's exciting to be going out there and playing places like Britain, and we're going to Romania, and also playing Bachmann Festival, which will be awesome. I dig Europe. I've always been a huge fan of everything connected with Europe, and so this is no exception. We're going to play in places like Slovakia, which are places we've never been. Then, who knows what the Category 7 thing brings? We're just kind of trickling things out slowly.
Yeah, I just wanted them available. I mean, for those records to not be available is very frustrating. I'd go into Amoeba Records, which is a cool record store here in LA, and look through the A's, and I couldn't find any of the things I did. And look, I mean, you're competing with your own band, in a sense, so, it's hard for an album like 'Volume 8' to maybe compete with, like 'Among the Living', but I just always want them to be available so if somebody wants to buy it, they can buy it or listen to it. That's all I ask. So yeah, it was really annoying and frustrating, but luckily, Missi Clazzo from Megaforce re-released those records, and it's funny because I get royalty checks on a fairly often basis from her, which is great. I really ask is just for them to be available, so I'm happy.
Did you get some vinyl copies yourself?
Yeah, I have some copies of all those records. They put them out on vinyl, like you said, and I sign a bunch when I've been on the road, and when I see somebody bring one and it's a recent reissue, I'm stoked. I mean, some fans have brought me things from everything I've done. I haven't signed a Category 7 record yet, but I'm sure I will probably in Europe next some next month, but yeah, it's always funny when somebody brings me a stack of records this big, it's like; "wow, I made a lot of albums!"
Finally, what's happening next for you?
Armored Saint are doing some dates in Europe, which is really cool. We're excited about that. We haven't played in Europe in a long time. It's exciting to be going out there and playing places like Britain, and we're going to Romania, and also playing Bachmann Festival, which will be awesome. I dig Europe. I've always been a huge fan of everything connected with Europe, and so this is no exception. We're going to play in places like Slovakia, which are places we've never been. Then, who knows what the Category 7 thing brings? We're just kind of trickling things out slowly.
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