Punching the Sky | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 23, 2020 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | Heavy metal | |||
Length | 53:35 | |||
Label | Metal Blade | |||
Producer | Bill Metoyer, Joey Vera | |||
Armored Saint chronology | ||||
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Singles from Punching the Sky | ||||
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Punching the Sky is the eighth studio album by American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released on October 23, 2020. [1] [2] The album was produced by Bill Metoyer and bassist Joey Vera, and mixed by Jay Ruston. [3] The track "End of the Attention Span" was the first single and was released on August 12, 2020, along with a music video. [4] A music video was also made for the next single "Lone Wolf" on June 29, 2021. [5]
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants" | 6:46 |
2. | "End of the Attention Span" | 5:13 |
3. | "Bubble" | 5:22 |
4. | "My Jurisdiction" | 4:39 |
5. | "Do Wrong to None" | 5:06 |
6. | "Lone Wolf" | 4:18 |
7. | "Missile to Gun" | 4:23 |
8. | "Fly in the Ointment" | 5:02 |
9. | "Bark, No Bite" | 4:18 |
10. | "Unfair" | 4:03 |
11. | "Never You Fret" | 4:19 |
Total length: | 53:35 |
John Bush is an American heavy metal singer. He came to prominence in the 1980s as the lead singer and lyricist of Armored Saint, a heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. In 1992, he joined thrash metal band Anthrax, with whom he remained until 2005 and briefly rejoined in 2009–2010. Bush has also been active with the reformed Armored Saint intermittently from 1999 to the present, and involved with other projects such as Metal Allegiance and Category 7.
Fates Warning is an American progressive metal band, formed in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1982 by vocalist John Arch, guitarists Jim Matheos and Victor Arduini, bassist Joe DiBiase, and drummer Steve Zimmerman. There have been numerous lineup changes over the course of their 42-year career, and Matheos is the only constant member. As of 2020, the band consists of Matheos, vocalist Ray Alder, bassist Joey Vera, drummer Bobby Jarzombek and guitarist Michael Abdow. Fates Warning also had a revolving cast of drummers and guitarists by the time Jarzombek and Abdow joined the band in 2007 and 2020 respectively.
Armored Saint is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1982. Since 1990, the band has consisted of John Bush on lead vocals, Joey Vera on bass, Jeff Duncan on guitar and the Sandoval brothers on drums and guitar, respectively. Of the current lineup, Bush and Vera are the two constant members. To date, the band has released eight studio albums, one EP, two live albums and one compilation album.
Joey Vera is an American bassist who is known as a member of the heavy metal band Armored Saint and progressive metal band Fates Warning. During 2004 and early 2005, he toured with Anthrax as a fill-in for Frank Bello, who had taken a break from the band. He was also a member of Engine, recorded with Tribe After Tribe, and appears on the OSI album Free. His first solo album, A Thousand Faces, was released in 1994. His current solo project, A Chinese Firedrill, released an album titled Circles in 2007. On August 1, 2019, Vera was announced as the touring bassist for a newly reunited Mercyful Fate filling in for Timi Hansen. He remained with the band until 2024.
A Pleasant Shade of Gray is the eighth studio album by progressive metal band Fates Warning, released on April 22, 1997, through Metal Blade Records. It is a concept album, and contains one song divided into twelve parts and is noted for its darker mood and more progressive style.
Humanure is the second studio album by American deathgrind band Cattle Decapitation. It was released on July 13, 2004 through Metal Blade Records and has been noted for its iconic cover art, depicting a cow defecating what appears to be human body parts in a wasteland environment — the image has been compared to the artwork for Pink Floyd’s album Atom Heart Mother. Humanure generated some minor controversy around the time of release for its obscene imagery.
Symbol of Salvation is the fourth album by American heavy metal band Armored Saint, released in 1991 on Metal Blade Records. It was their first release with rhythm guitarist Jeff Duncan and their last album before going on an extended hiatus that would last until 1999. The songs on this album were written and demoed in 1988 and 1989 with original lead guitarist Dave Prichard, who died of leukemia in 1990 prior to recording. The first guitar solo on "Tainted Past" was lifted from a 1989 4-track demo recorded by Prichard. The album was produced by Dave Jerden, who had produced Alice in Chains and Jane's Addiction albums beforehand. Jerden would go on to produce vocalist John Bush's first album with Anthrax, Sound of White Noise in 1993.
March of the Saint is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released in 1984 by Chrysalis Records and recorded with producer Michael James Jackson who previously worked for Kiss. The debut album yielded a minor MTV hit with "Can U Deliver", but Joey Vera and John Bush later recalled the album's recording as a frustrating and disappointing experience, explaining that Jackson's approach was much more commercial than the heavy metal sound the band had wanted. As Vera recalled in 2006: "At the end of the record we were very unhappy with the production, the mix, the way we worked and who we worked with. And the producer and our manager let us spend over ($)300,000 on our first record. To this day we are still in debt for that one."
Raising Fear is the third studio album by the American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released in 1987 via Chrysalis Records. The band recorded the album as a four-piece as guitarist Phil Sandoval had left Armored Saint during the recording of its previous album, Delirious Nomad, although he rejoined the band a few years later.
Delirious Nomad is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released in 1985 via Chrysalis Records and recorded with producer Max Norman who previously worked for Ozzy Osbourne. While recording the album, guitarist Phil Sandoval left the band.
Armored Saint (EP) is the first studio effort by American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released in 1983 on Metal Blade Records. Chrysalis Records signed the band in 1984 after listening to the EP. Opening track "Lesson Well Learned" was previously featured on Metal Blade's compilation Metal Massacre II in 1982. The EP is featured on the 2001 compilation Nod to the Old School.
Saints Will Conquer is the first live album by American heavy metal band Armored Saint recorded during the Raising Fear tour. It was recorded on October 9, 1987, at the Agora Ballroom in Cleveland and released on August 19, 1988, on Metal Blade Records. This short live set does not represent the first era of the band well, missing songs like fan favorite "March of the Saint" and their radio hit "Isolation". The album features a previously unreleased studio version of "No Reason to Live" from their first demo from 1983.
Revelation is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released in 2000 on Metal Blade Records. Armored Saint reformed in the entire Symbol of Salvation lineup to record Revelation in 1999 after six years of being disbanded. The result is a traditional heavy metal record and a natural sequel of their previous effort. The limited edition came with a bonus CD including the complete A Trip Thru Red Times video.
Nod to the Old School is a compilation album by the American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released in 2001 on Metal Blade Records. The album features some new tracks, live versions of two Revelation album tracks, the entire 1983 demo plus other rarities from their past.
La Raza is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Armored Saint, released on March 16, 2010 via Metal Blade Records. Armored Saint reformed the entire Symbol of Salvation lineup to record La Raza in 2009 after an eight-year hiatus.
Engine is the eponymous debut album by Engine, released September 21, 1999 on Metal Blade Records.
Awakened is the sixth studio album by American metalcore band As I Lay Dying. It is the final album released by the band before their hiatus in 2014. The album was released on September 25, 2012, through Metal Blade Records. The album was produced by Bill Stevenson and recorded at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado and Lambesis Studios in San Diego, California. On June 22, 2012, the album title, release date, and first single were announced. On June 25, the first single "Cauterize" was released for free download and became available online for purchase the following day. On June 27, a lyric video for "Cauterize" was released along with album artwork, also the band created an event on Facebook inviting fans to participate in a music video shoot for "A Greater Foundation". Fans were able to pre-order a copy on the Rockstar Mayhem Festival tour of 2012.
Win Hands Down is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released on June 2, 2015. The vocals were recorded at Bridge Recording in Los Angeles, guitars and bass were recorded at Travis Dickerson Studios in Chatsworth and drums were recorded at Clearlake Audio in Burbank.
Long Day Good Night is the thirteenth and final studio album by American progressive metal band Fates Warning, released on November 6, 2020. It is Fates Warning's first release on Metal Blade Records since 2004's FWX and also the first to feature guitarist Mike Abdow as a full time member, which he became in 2017 having previously been a touring only member and appearing as a guest on their previous album Theories of Flight in 2016.
Bill Metoyer is an American record producer who has recorded with Slayer, Deliverance, Hirax, Morbid Angel, Trouble and Tourniquet. He has worked at Metal Blade Records for several years as house producer and currently works as A&R. He also works with Alpha Omega Management as A&R as well. Metoyer formed Skull Seven Productions.