Symbol of Salvation

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 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 guitarist Dave Prichard (except "Truth Always Hurts"), 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.

Symbol of Salvation
Studio album by Armored Saint
Released	May 14, 1991
Recorded	1989 (Dave Prichard's guitar solo on "Tainted Past") 1990–1991
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	55:48
Label	Metal Blade Records
Producer	Dave Jerden
Armored Saint chronology
Saints Will Conquer (1988) Symbol of Salvation (1991) Revelation (2000)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Rock Hard	9.5/10[2]

Reception

In 2005, Symbol of Salvation was ranked number 424 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.[3]

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Reign of Fire"	John Bush	David Prichard	3:57
2.	"Dropping Like Flies"	Bush	Prichard	4:39
3.	"Last Train Home"	Bush	Jeff Duncan	5:19
4.	"Tribal Dance"	Bush	Prichard, Joey Vera, Gonzo Sandoval	4:07
5.	"The Truth Always Hurts"	Bush	Phil Sandoval, Duncan	4:20
6.	"Half Drawn Bridge"	Instrumental	Vera	1:27
7.	"Another Day"	Bush	Prichard	5:32
8.	"Symbol of Salvation"	Bush, G. Sandoval	Duncan, Vera	4:36
9.	"Hanging Judge"	Bush	Prichard	3:45
10.	"Warzone"	Bush	Prichard	3:38
11.	"Burning Question"	Bush	Prichard	4:18
12.	"Tainted Past"	Bush, G. Sandoval, Vera	Vera	7:04
13.	"Spineless"	Bush, Duncan	Vera, Prichard	4:16
Total length:				57:04

2003 reissue

In 2003, Metal Blade Records remastered and re-released the album as a 3-disc special edition. In addition to the full 13-song track list, the first disc contains the music videos to "Reign of Fire" and "Last Train Home". The second disc contains the original 1989 4-track demos (the same demos that the solo of "Tainted Past" came from) of every song from the album (except the instrumental "Half Drawn Bridge"), all which feature original guitarist Dave Prichard. The remainder of the second disc is the first half of a retrospective interview with the band and Metal Blade CEO Brian Slagel, and the third disc contains the second half of the same interview.

Credits

• John Bush – vocals
• Joey Vera – bass
• Jeff Duncan – guitar
• Gonzo Sandoval – drums
• Phil Sandoval – guitar
• Dave Prichard – first guitar solo on "Tainted Past"

External links

• Official Armored Saint website
• Armored Saint on AllMusic
• Armored Saint's Symbol of Salvation on Encyclopaedia Metallum

References

1. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Allmusic review". Retrieved 22 May 2013.
2. Kühnemund, Götz. "Rock Hard review". issue 50. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
3. [...], Rock Hard (Hrsg.). [Red.: Michael Rensen. Mitarb.: Götz Kühnemund] (2005). Best of Rock & Metal die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten. Königswinter: Heel. p. 40. ISBN 3-89880-517-4.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)