Armored Saint – Symbol Of Salvation

This isn't a great pressing, the volume has to be turned up louder than you would normally, also mine has quite a bit of crackling during the last track on side 1.

This should've been pressed as a double LP as there's too much music on each side which lowers the quality.

I have a similar 2018 re-issue black LP like this one, but the inner sleeve is white with red Metal Blade text... not a all red like this one.

Quite possibly their best album ever and then some days it's their first album but I love their whole discography

Mine's really more of a cream than a pink color... and didn't come with the poster :(

Edit: The record sounds good though, and this is one of my favorite albums of all time, if that matters to you :)

Of course people tend to say that the original alwys sounds better than any re-issues/remasters. But in this case it is definitely true. The original vinyl sounds so good and dynamic that it wipes the floor with any remaster from either 2003 or 2018. Even the original CD sounds better than the remastered vinyl.

Every once in a while, well into their career, a band will release an album that is a big step forward from what they had previously been known for. Queensryche did it in 1988 with Operation: Mindcrime, Megadeth did it in 1992 with Countdown to Extinction, and Armored Saint did it in 1991 with the release of their fourth full-length album Symbol of Salvation. The fact that they did it after losing guitarist Dave Prichard to cancer makes it even more impressive.

As good as Armored Saint's earlier albums were; Symbol of Salvation is even better. It's a smarter, more mature album, effortlessly merging thrash riffs with just enough melody to hold people's attention, and this inescapable mood and atmosphere that ties all of the individual songs together in a way that few non-conceptual albums seem to be able to pull off. The whole album is incredible, but the best of the best songs are “Reign of Fire,” “Last Train Home,” “Symbol of Salvation” and “Another Day,” a song Alice in Chains only wishes they had written. Even the one-minute instrumental “Half Drawn Bridge” feels like an important part of the album. This is the album that finally captured the true energy of Armored Saint, and showed just what the band was capable of.

Of course, soon after this album's release, John Bush left to Anthrax, putting an end to Armored Saint for the remainder of the decade. I don't think it's any coincidence that Anthrax took their big leap forward with Bush's first album Sound of White Noise, an album that bears a striking resemblance to this one.

If you're any kind of Armored Saint fan, Symbol of Salvation is a must-have. If you're looking into the Saint after hearing John Bush in Anthrax, I can't think of a better album for you to start with than Symbol of Salvation.

Reissue Notes: The 2003 Special Edition reissue of Symbol of Salvation is an impressive 3-disc set. The first disc contains the full Symbol of Salvation album, digitally remastered, with a pair of video clips. The second disc features the original demo recordings for the album (which feature Dave Prichard guitar work) plus the beginning of a band interview with Metal Blade founder Brian Slagel, which continues on disc 3. The discs are housed in a slipcase. Even if you never listen to the bonus discs more than once, the remastering of the original album makes this a worthwhile upgrade.

Are There no US or Masterdisk versions of this on LP?