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ARMORED SAINT
"Symbol of Salvation"
(Metal Blade)
By Paul Hanson
Armored Saint is a legend,
but they have never enjoyed much commercial success. Early in their
career, they were grouped in the same batch of bands that Metallica
emerged from. I have never paid much attention to their career.
I vaguely remember seeing a video for "Reign of Fire" on an episode
of MTV's Headbanger's Ball and then completely forgetting this release.
I had no idea that this release was the result of coming through the
tragedy of losing their guitarist David Pritchard to heaven. Following
this relase, and fast-forwarding a few years, vocalist John Bush found
his way into Anthrax. Now, in 2003, this 1991 release is being re-issued
with an extra CD of the 4 track demos that were recorded between 1988
and 1991. More about that in a minute.
This release kicks off with the anthem "Reign of Fire," which serves
as a good introduction to the band. It shouldn't be an insult to say
this song sounds like the 80s because it was released on the downward
spiral of 80s metal bands. The power of this song is the tightness of
the individual parts. The guitar and drums synch early and don't separate
throughout the song. Bassist Joey Vera locks in with drummer Gonzo and
satisfies me as a rhythm section.
I like the other songs on this release better though. "Last Train Home"
sticks out for the way Bush sings "Last Train Home," holding the notes
to give the lyrics a powerful effect. I can imagine crowds going nuts
when he gets to the chorus. "Tribal Dance" starts out with a lot of
percussion before launching into what has to be a truly classic riff.
Drummer Gonzo plays patterns on his toms that are interesting. Another
standout track is "Hanging Judge."
The overall feeling I get from the CD portion of this re-issue is that
this is a good metal CD.
Then I put in the CD demos and I realize that the rough beginnings of
these songs have brilliance of their own. The demos, as you would expect,
are rougher versions of the final release. The main thrust or appeal
of the demos is that you can hear what now-deceased guitarist Dave Pritchard
had in mind when he crafted these riffs. "Tribal Dance" is presented
in its primitive format without the percussion introduction. So, after
you navigate through the final version of these songs, hear the demos
of these songs, you get to listen to the band talk about these songs.
Brian Slagel, a bigwig at Metal Blade Records, leads the band through
a detailed account of the history of the band in the epoch of preparing
to write, writing, and then regrouping to record these songs. Even as
a non-fan, I found the interview to be intriguing. Slagel does a tremendous
job of keeping the band on track, discussing each song's origin. You
get an insight into what other bands never seem to want to fully disclose:
their creative process. Here, though, Armored Saint is stripped down,
talking about what songs the band liked and didn't like, who came up
with the basic ideas, and, as you might expect, the role guitarist Pritchard
played in writing the riffs and how current guitarists Jeff Duncan and
Phil Sandoval took the Pritchard's spirit to craft the final version.
Even though these songs sound like the 80s, they have aged well. Bush
is as accomplished of a vocalist as is possible in the world of music.
His range is dynamic and his emotions ring in his delivery. The riffs
of Pritchard show the genius of a man whose time came too soon. And
while this was, perhaps, designated to be a tribute to their fallen
comrade, I found this release to also be designated as a treat for their
fans that have loved this CD, mostly understanding the media's version
of what the band went through to come out on the other side. Now, you
get the band's version. It is well worth the wait and the time to either
rediscover or discover the power of this band.
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