Customer Reviews

Symbol of Salvation (Reis)

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Following the death of founding member Dave Prichard (from leukemia) Armored Saint proceeded to complete the album that they had started with him just months earlier. Finishing several songs co-written by Prichard, Armored Saint took their classy straight-ahead Metal style up to a new level, putting them on a par with Iron Maiden, Dio, and Black Sabbath. There is not one weak track on the album, but there are 10 or 11 GREAT songs on it! Songs like "Reign Of Fire," "Dropping Like Flies," "Tribal Dance," and the title track are all-time greats. SYMBOL OF SALVATION is timeless; it still sounds fresh today. Not at all dated. If sales were based solely on the quality of the music this album would have been their "Black Album!" If you have gotten this far you are most likely a Metal Fan, so your next step is to buy it. You will be glad you did. - (And if you like this one I also recommend Anthrax' SPREADING THE DISEASE, Flotsam And Jetsam's CUATRO and DRIFT CD's, and Armored Saint's REVELATION CD from 2000 - their first in nine years!)

I can't really say much more than what the previous reviewers have already stated, so let me just reiterate what an incredible metal masterpiece this is. I borrowed this CD from my brother back when it was first released. Living in L.A., I had known of Armored Saint for quite awhile and had actually seen them in a very small club back in the early eighties before they were signed. However, I had never really taken them too seriously until I heard this album. After just one listen, I was amazed at how good it was. It instantly became a disc that I considered one of the best metal albums I had ever heard. What makes it so good? Well, like some of the other reviewers have said, it's the songs. The lyrics and the overall song structure are just awesome. But, more than anything else, it's the fact that it never slows from beginning to end, it's one great song after another. There are very few albums that I can honestly say that about. Like everyone else, I have my personal favorites, but every track is really good, and to this day (14 years later) it remains one of my favorite albums of all time. If you like hard rock/heavy metal and haven't heard this one, you really should treat yourself. It'll grab you from the first chords and never let go!

I am not familiar with other Armored Saint releases, but I am very impressed with this album. I would rank this album as one of the best classic metal albums of all time. I consider it 'classic' because it is in the vein of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, descended straight from the line of great heavy metal of the '70s and '80s, mixed in with a hint of glam and hair metal.

John Bush's excellent vocals are the high point of the album. He can hit some very high notes and has a great range. In my opinion, Bush is competant even with the great heavy metal singers such as Bruce Dickinson, Geoff Tate, and Rob Halford. I even think Bush's voice is similar to that of Steven Tyler. The other instruments - guitars, bass, and drums - are all very well done. They seem to be placed very well within the song; they are able to both show off and fit within the context of the song at the same time. The songwriting is exceptional on this album.

Now for the actual songs. "Reign of Fire" is probably the best song on the album, being both very heavy and having an incredibly infectious chorus. "Dropping Like Flies" is also a very strong song, probably my favorite. It too has a very infectious chorus. I dislike "Last Train Home" because it reminds me too much of an '80s power ballad, like something Motley Crue would do. It is a single however, and also a good song at that. "Tribal Dance" has an interesting tribal percussion part at the beginning and turns out to be a decent heavy song. "The Truth Always Hurts" is a funky sort of song that has more of a loose feel to it. "Half Drawn Bridge" is a great atmospheric guitar solo played over a slow bassline. "Another Day" and "Tained Past" also show tendencies toward the power ballad style. The title track, "Symbol of Salvation" is an excellent metal song that picks up the slack where the mellowness of "Another Day" left off. It sports high pitched vocals and Iron Maiden-style riffs. "Hanging Judge", "Warzone", and "Burning Question" keep the end of the album rocking hard. The final song "Spineless" is a fast and thrashy metal song that will please the fans of heavier genres.

Overall, this is a well written and well executed album that shows a great example of classic metal and hard rock. This album will appeal to a variety of metal fans, including fans of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Queensryche, and others. Also fans of Dokken, Whitesnake, and other hard rock bands may appreciate this record. I highly recommend you buy this album and see how good hard rock and metal should be played, instead of the overproduced and talentless music that is often popular.

The bottom line on whether an album lives past the first 5 listens, is in the writing. If you look at every review on this page, the word you see in all of them is "writing." There is a reason for that. Armored Saint was among the metal bands of the early 90s who had matured from their late 80s career to produce an album that was completely thought out. No sketchy transitions, no cliche vocal phrasing, just straight ahead, developed and aesthetically intelligent writing. A similar album that is another great example of mature early 90s metal is Flotsam and Jetsam's "cuatro." Btw, if john bush peaked as a singer its on this record, with joey vera's fairly everpresent harmony to bring out the most expressive parts of the vocal melody. John Bush's stuff with anthrax is not on the same planet in terms of musicality and quality of songwriting.

Stylistically, I think this album was in kind of a transition between grunge and metal. If you listen to alice in chains and STP there is a similar emphasis on maintaining the metal chunkiness and up front guitar presence along with actual songwriting and melody. This style, especially as armored saint put it across, was uncommon at the time. You either had 80s thrash bands like testament, anthrax, metallica, slayer and megadeath, the so called godfathers of the genre (and a million other derivative bands) who were much more riff focused than song focused (with the exception of metallica) on one side of the equation, or a whole litany of 80s hair bands who couldnt tell the difference between their own songs and the rest of the ratt-poison-cinderella-bon jovi-slaughter genre on the other side. There was very little in between. Armored saint was on of the few bands holding the torch and in the early 90s grunge picked up on it and took it to the masses.

Armored Saint. That's the band !! I perfectly remember myself when i bought this cd at Bayside, Miami. I came to USA with a couple of heavy metal mags and one of these was reviewing "Symbol of Salvation". So, when i entered the cd shop with a list of some titles, the first i ask for was this magnific piece !! Crazy to listen, when i return to Brazil i put that loud on my sound equipment and start bangin'... Bangin' 'til death !! Armored Saint's "Symbol of Salvation" is in my opinion one of the best albums heavy metal genre made ever. The guitar notes, the lines, the lyrics, the sound, everything here is perfect !! John Bush sings emotively from the beggining to the end while Gonzo destroys the kit and the rest of the band shakes your ears like a vulcain ready to starts the eruption. If you don't have this one, run fast to buy. You'll understand what i'm sayin'. "Symbol of Salvation". The key to discover what the word "perfection" in Heavy Metal means...

Best: This is, on my opinion, the best work from Armored Saint. The musicianship, writing, and vocals are extremely tight. This Cd is always in top circulation in the players! Tribal Dance, oh yeah! Worst: The only negative thing is that it has been since 1991 that new material has been recorded by Saint. Waiting for the new release - very impatiently! BUY THIS!

Just commercial enough to break through to the mainstream without sacrificing the rock and this is why this should have blown up. Probem was that it came out in 1991 instead of 1986 or 1988 which is its only flaw. This may be the best release that Metal Blade ever released other than Trouble during the 80s/early 90s. Perfect vocals by Mr. John Bush and excellent drumming, bass, and guitar by the rest of the band. Pick this up if you're a hard rocker/metalhead. You won't be dissappointed at all. This kicks Motley Crue, Poison, Warrant, Great White, Bon Jovi, and their ilk off into the gutter where they belong. This is real rock n' roll ala Hanoi Rocks, early Van Halen, Judas Priest, Mott the Hoople, Guns n' Roses circa Appetite. Simply put, the best heavy rock n' roll album of the early nineties.

I remember 1991 very well. I was a year out of high school and making the 50 mile drive to Anahiem 5 times a week. I was attending video school and spending a minimum of 2 hours a day in my car Mon-Fri, mostly in traffic. But what got me through was my radio, which was tuned into 105.5 KNAC. As you probably know, KNAC is now online but at that time it was the most well known hard rock radio station in the world (It still is, in fact). But what really stands out now is a song I heard on the station called "Reign of fire" by Armored Saint. I liked the song so much I went out and bought the album. I loved it from the start, not able to this day to pin point any certain songs that are better or worse. The album is a package with no filler or waste. It was interesting that John Bush went from this band to Anthrax and pretty much changed Anthrax into a second rate Armored Saint. I would have prefered Anthrax stay Anthrax and Armored Saint stay who they were. But at the time Anthrax had great prospects, like being signed to Elektra and the big hit "Bring the noise" with Public Enemy brought them to the trendy set. But "..White noise" & "Stomp 242" failed to live up to Anthrax's or Armored Saints pasts and Elektra dropped them. Beyond Records signed Anthrax and released "Vol 8" which was better, but still not anywhere near as good as this album. This is the best example of how Armored Saint was before all that nonsense happened. A time machine back to 1991.

this is my first armored saint purchase ... . After listening to this cd i can't wait to invest in more armored saint cd's these guys rock. I can't stop listening to this cd. The whole cd rocks "symbol of salvation", "tribal dance", and "reign of fire" are my favorite songs on the cd, the louder u listen to this cd the better... I was going to pick up a pizza i ordered and was driving through my local grocery store with this in my cd player with "symbol of salvation" playing sorta loud an as i passed an employee bringing in grocery carts i noticed him in my rear view mirror he stopped for a sec and started air guitaring to the song i slowed down and laughed a bit and thought to myself he obviously knows great music when he hears it too. simply put this is a great cd you would be doing a great injustice to your cd collection if you are a fan of this music and you don't buy so do yourself a favor and go get it the for love of god.

Superbly written material combined with superior musicianship makes this one of the finest metal albums you'll ever hear. Add in one of the best voices in metal, via John Bush, and you have a metal experience that has since been unmatched. This is what metal should sound like. I thought that Armored Saint had since died an unfortunate death, but luckily for us that's not the case! John Bush has returned to Armored Saint for one of the most anticipated metal albums of the year 2000, which will be landing early March. Symbol of Salvation is a must have for any serious metal fan. Play it loud!