Armored Saint "Symbol Of Salvation (2003 Reissue, Remastered Boxed Set, Slipcase, 3CD Edition, Enhanced, USA, Metal Blade, 3894-14429-2-1)"

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 (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.

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.

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

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

Tracklist:

Disc 1

1. Reign of Fire 03:57   
2. Dropping like Flies 04:39  
3. Last Train Home 05:19   
4. Tribal Dance 04:07
5. The Truth Always Hurts 04:20  
6. Half Drawn Bridge 01:26
7. Another Day 05:32   
8. Symbol of Salvation 04:36  
9. Hanging Judge 03:45   
10. Warzone 03:38   
11. Burning Question 04:18  
12. Tainted Past 07:04  
13. Spineless 04:19  

Time:   57:00  

Disc 2

1. Reign of Fire [demo] 04:34  
2. Dropping like Flies [demo] 05:10  
3. Last Train Home [demo] 05:00  
4. Tribal Dance [demo] 03:52  
5. The Truth Always Hurts [demo] 04:24  
6. Another Day [demo] 05:44  
7. Symbol of Salvation [demo] 04:21  
8. Hanging Judge [demo] 03:44  
9. Warzone [demo] 03:44  
10. Burning Question [demo] 04:21  
11. Tainted Past [demo] 07:39  
12. Spineless [demo] 04:26  
13. Intro 00:58  
14. The Writing Process Begins 03:46  
15. Illness Hits Home 10:07  
16. Now What? 03:19  

Time:   01:15:09

 

Disc 3

1. Now What? (Continued) 00:14  
2. Pick Up the Pieces 03:25  
3. Dave Jerden 02:45  
4. Choosing the Songs and the Recording Process 07:23  
5. The Songs: Reign of Fire 02:52  
6. Dropping like Flies 01:05  
7. Last Train Home 05:28  
8. Tribal Force 04:32  
9. The Truth Always Hurts 02:42  
10. Half Drawn Bridge 02:27  
11. Another Day 05:06  
12. Symbol of Salvation 05:54  
13. Hanging Judge 02:19  
14. Warzone 04:32  
15. Burning Question 04:05  
16. Tainted Past 06:00  
17. Spineless 02:20  
18. Mixing 01:42  
19. Cover Art 05:38  
20. Looking Back 03:28  
21. Goodbye and Thank You 01:42  

Time:  01:15:39  

Recording information:

Mastered at Future Disc, Hollywood, California, USA.