ARMORED SAINT: Symbol of Salvation

Produced by Dave Jerden

Released: 1991

As Armored Saint went in to finally record this album, they were a band on the verge of a split. For much of the 80s this band had existed on the verge of commercial breakthrough but lack of consistency on their albums and a habit of sounding just a little too much like Judas Priest had held them back from really going places. In typical rock n' roll fashion, the album that could possibly have elevated them beyond the second tier came in the midst of tragedy and too late to save them. Symbol of Salvation saw Armored Saint finally hit the peak to which it aspired. With injections of groove and a surprising but effective experiment with tribal rhythms, this album showed Armored Saint to be a band that wasn't afraid to tinker with its basic sound in the quest for true recognition. Long before it was even recorded, however, the band's creative and spiritual heart had been torn out and Armored Saint folded not long after it was released.

Symbol of Salvation was begun in 1988 but while it was still in the demo stages, guitarist, chief songwriter and producer David Prichard died from leukaemia on February 27, 1990. As a tribute to their fallen leader, Armored Saint completed the album but by the time it was released in 1991 the market for metal in the US was faltering and the band felt it could continue no longer. Under such a gloom cloud, this effort could have been a turgid and depressing volume, but instead it's a veritable celebration, a fantastic and vibrant album from beginning to end.

"Reign of Fire" kicks things along nicely with a chugging, near-thrash riff. Armored Saint could have made the whole album sound like this and it would have been good enough, but Symbol of Salvation excels because the mix of styles they use is so effective. Not only are the songs memorable with catchy, singalong choruses, each one stands out from the other as Armored Saint varies the diet with a blend of American-style power metal, hard rock and small doses of thrash, not to mention hints of groove and an occasional innovative twist. "Tribal Dance" has a hard rock feel with a main riff slightly reminiscent of GNR's "Rocket Queen", but the tribal beats give it a distinctive and original vibe almost half a decade before Sepultura or anyone else got the idea. "Another Day" builds nicely from a delicate start towards an epic-sounding twin-guitar finale. "Hanging Judge", "Warzone" and "Burning Question" are simply great heavy metal songs and "Spineless" closes the album with some genuine thrash, a genre that Armored Saint had merely only hinted at in the past. As a final tribute, the band lifted Prichard's solo from a demo version of "Tainted Past" to use on the album version of that track.

Symbol of Salvation is chronically overlooked and comes across as dated today, with a sound and production that places it squarely at the end of the 80s, but as a prime example of classic American heavy metal, it definitely has a cherished place.

1. Reign of Fire


2. Dropping Like Flies


3. Last Train Home


4. Tribal Dance


5. The Truth Always Hurts


6. Half Drawn Bridge


7. Another Day


8. Symbol of Salvation


9. Hanging Judge


10. Warzone


11. Burning Question


12. Tainted Past


13. Spineless

Rating: 82%