Armored Saint "Symbol of Salvation"

Symbol of Salvation is the fourth album by American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released in 1991 on Metal Blade Records and was their last album before going on an extended hiatus that would last until 1999. The songs on this album were written and demoed between 1988 and 1990 with original guitarist Dave Prichard, 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.

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.

Track listing

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

In 2003, Metal Blade Records remastered and re-released the album as a 3-disc Special Edition, which 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 2nd 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.

Dedicated to the memory of Dave Prichard. A solo recorded by Prichard for the demo version of "Tainted Past" appears on the final version of the song.

Percussion on "Tribal Dance" composed by Aaron Plunkett.

The band appeared in the movie "Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth" performing "Hanging Judge" live.

Recording information:

Mastered at Future Disc.