Former Anthrax and current Armored Saint vocalist John Bush has opened up about artistic plagiarism in rock music. He argues that all musicians steal, copy, and borrow from their predecessors, but the most successful ones escape blatant imitation by pulling from diverse, non-metal genres.
Bush explained that even the most iconic figures in rock acknowledge this reality. Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones once said, “Nothing’s new under the sun.” Bush noted that the Stones themselves copied extensively from their influences. “Even Mick Jagger, he made the comment one time, ‘Nothing’s new under the sun.’ Something like that. And he’s in The Stones. But they would copy a lot of people, for sure,” Bush said.
Bush’s philosophy centers on the importance of diverse influences and creative digestion. “I think the key, my opinion, is take a lot of influences. Take a lot of them, and from different sources, different types of music. It doesn’t even have to be music. It could be something artistic, whatever. Take it all, and then churn it in your stomach, and then when you regurgitate — not to be too visual about it — but then hopefully that, with your personality of who you are, will give it uniqueness,” he explained.
The vocalist emphasized that imitation is universal in music. “You’re always doing that — you are borrowing. You imitate, you steal. Everyone does a little bit. And copy. So you are doing that. It’s very true, all of that. So it’s just about — the last thing you wanna do is be blatant about things, ’cause then you’re stealing from somebody,” Bush noted. He drew a clear distinction between drawing inspiration and outright plagiarism.
Bush’s own career demonstrates the practical application of this philosophy. Throughout his time with Armored Saint, which rose to prominence in the 1980s, Bush drew vocal inspiration from legendary singers including Rob Halford of Judas Priest and Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden. The band itself was shaped by major hard rock and metal acts such as Van Halen, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, UFO, Thin Lizzy, and Scorpions. Rather than simply copying these influences, Bush and Armored Saint developed their own distinctive sound by synthesizing elements from multiple sources.
When Bush joined Anthrax in 1992, he and the band deliberately pursued a new sonic direction rather than attempting to replicate their predecessors. The resulting album, Sound of White Noise, reflected this shift with alternative rock sensibilities that set it apart from the band’s earlier thrash metal output. Bush’s approach to vocal performance evolved similarly. While he initially attempted to emulate Rob Halford’s style, he eventually focused on developing a unique voice that listeners would recognize as distinctly his own.
Bush’s broader point about musical cross-pollination reflects his understanding that the most innovative artists avoid becoming derivative by expanding their listening habits beyond their primary genre. “If you’re a heavy metal musician, but all you listen to is metal, somehow, some way you’re just going to just naturally probably really imitate all that stuff. So if you in some R&B or some jazz or some bluegrass or maybe some African, indigenous music, and pull that in, all of that, and listen and then let that all kind of stew into you, then maybe you won’t be as blatant with it. So I think that’s the key,” Bush concluded. He offered a roadmap for musicians seeking to honor their influences while establishing their own artistic identity.
