In the shorter term, the future looks bright for The Armed. While their socials still proudly declare them as ‘The World’s Greatest Band’ and they unironically regard Perfect Saviors as their attempt to “save rock & roll”, it’s important to understand that this record is about undermining binary concepts of success and failure. Lifting his slab-like copy of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s New Encyclopedia Of Modern Bodybuilding from a shelf right next to his desk, Tony explains the difference between Sport Of Measure (objective, goal-based competition like football or baseball) and Sport Of Form (subjectively judged pursuits like figure-skating or bodybuilding itself), and his band’s critique of society measuring life like the former rather than the latter.
“People have become so obsessed with achievements and accomplishments, and broadcasting them to the world, that they’ve become embarrassed by the idea of failure. That’s led to the dumbing down of moral and ethical issues where everything needs to be ‘perfect’. No-one just wants to start a shoe company anymore; they want to start a shoe company that’ll save the world. We look at each other like, ‘Oh, you bought that brand of quinoa? I didn’t realise you were a piece of shit!’
"Everyone wants to be the Perfect Saviors. We’ve forgotten that real success can be ugly. If you’re a bodybuilder at 155lbs and you want to get to 175lbs shredded, you’re gonna have to go up to 200lbs and come back down. If you’re a creative who wants to work in film, you might go to LA for a few years and decide that it isn’t the place for you, but still make the contacts you need. When Randall and I were working on our body transformations, we learned that you need to work to failure to invoke hypertrophy in your muscles to get bigger. That’s literally the scientific way to understand that failure is the trigger of everyone’s growth.”
Randall echoes the gym-bro affirmation. “When we say we’re ‘The Greatest Band In The World’, it’s something we’re working towards. Self-reflection and self-awareness are crucial to not becoming a perfect saviour. We can only be the best band because we truly want to be.”
On those terms, Perfect Saviors has already delivered. But while their tendrils keep carrying positive energy to new disciples around the world, The Armed won’t even consider easing off.
“We would rather try to take the biggest swing possible and look like clowns, while moving the needle for rock and hardcore, noise and aggressive music than give anything less,” Tony concludes. “If some kid listens to this and decides we’re fucking clowns, but that means it’s okay for them to be a clown too, it would fuckin’ rule. I would rather someone make a truly great album in 10 years because they listened to this than have it be recognised as the greatest album of all time.”
With that, tonight’s gathering is over: another house trashed; our battered iPad finally powered-down. For The Armed, however, there are bright lights on the horizon. The real party is just about to begin…
Perfect Saviors is released on August 25 via Sargent House
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