''Symbol of Salvation'' is the fourth album by American heavy metal band

Armored Saint 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 (musician), Jeff Duncan on rhythm guitar and the Sandoval ...

, released in 1991 on

Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distrib ...

. 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 Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

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 Dave Jerden is an American record producer, engineer, and mixer who has worked with artists in various genres including alternative rock, punk rock and metal. However, Jerden has stated that he dislikes the term "producer", preferring to refer ...

, who had produced

Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AIC) is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1987 by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney, who later recruited bassist Mike Starr and lead vocalist Layne ...

and

Jane's Addiction Jane's Addiction is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1985. The band consists of vocalist Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery. Jane's Addiction was one of the first bands from t ...

albums beforehand. Jerden would go on to produce vocalist John Bush's first album with

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...

, ''

Sound of White Noise ''Sound of White Noise'' is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Anthrax, released in May 1993 via Elektra Records. It is the band's first album to feature vocalist John Bush, who replaced longtime Anthrax vocalist Joey Bellado ...

'' in 1993. The track "Hanging Judge" was featured in the 1992 horror film '' Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth'', which also featured a cameo appearance of Armored Saint in a nightclub scene.

Reception

In 2005, ''Symbol of Salvation'' was ranked number 424 in ''

Rock Hard "Rock Hard" is a single by the Beastie Boys, released by Def Jam Records on 12" in 1984. The track contains samples from the AC/DC song "Back in Black", which was used without obtaining legal permission, causing the record to be withdraw ...

''s book ''The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time''.

Track listing

2003 reissue

In 2003, Metal Blade Records remastered and re-released the album as a three-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 four-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 Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distri ...

CEO

Brian Slagel Brian Slagel (born February 14, 1961) is an American music executive. He is the founder and CEO of the independent record label Metal Blade Records. Slagel is known for having initiated the ''Metal Massacre'' series of compilation albums in 1982 ...

, and the third disc contains the second half of the same interview.

Personnel

* John Bush – lead vocals *Phil Sandoval – guitars * Jeff Duncan – guitars, backing vocals *

Joey Vera Joey Vera (born April 24, 1963) 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 ...

– bass, backing vocals *Gonzo Sandoval – drums, percussion *Dave Prichard – first guitar solo on "Tainted Past"

Solos

* Reign Of Fire: 1st solo: Phil; 2nd solo: Jeff. * Dropping Like Flies: 1st solo: Phil; 2nd solo: Jeff. * Last Train Home solos: Jeff. * Tribal Dance 1st solo: Phil; 2nd solo: Jeff. * The Truth Always Hurts 1st solo: Phil; 2nd solo: Jeff. * Half Drawn Bridge 1st solo: Phil; 2nd solo: Jeff. * Another Day: 1st solo: Phil; 2nd solo: Jeff. * Symbol Of SalvationL 1st solo: Jeff; 2nd solo: Phil. * Hanging Judge solos: Jeff. * Warzone: 1st solo: Jeff; 2nd solo: Phil. * Burning Question 1st solo: Jeff; 2nd solo: Phil. * Tainted Past 1st solo: D. Prichard; 2nd solo: Phil. * Spinless 1st solo: Jeff; 2nd solo: Phil.

References

External links

Official Armored Saint website
*

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Armored Saint's ''Symbol of Salvation''
on Encyclopaedia Metallum {{Authority control 1991 albums Armored Saint albums albums produced by Dave Jerden Metal Blade Records albums