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 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.

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
Producer	Dave Jerden
Armored Saint chronology
Saints Will Conquer (1988) Symbol of Salvation (1991) Revelation (2000)
2003 reissue cover

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.^[1]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Rock Hard	9.5/10[3]

In 2005, Symbol of Salvation was ranked number 424 in Rock Hard's book The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.^[4]

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 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.

Personnel

^[5]

• John Bush – lead vocals
• Phil Sandoval – guitars
• Jeff Duncan – guitars, backing vocals
• Joey Vera – 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 Salvation: 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.
• Spineless: 1st solo: Jeff; 2nd solo: Phil.