Armoured Saint celebrate their long history with "Symbol of Salvation" album
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There
are many ways to celebrate the anniversary of an important release in a
band's career, and for Symbol Of Salvation's thirtieth birthday - an album
vocalist John Bush refers to as Armored Saint's "cornerstone
record" - comes Symbol Of Salvation Live. A combination live album and
video of the band playing the album in its entirety at New York's famed
Gramercy Theatre during their 2018 tour, it captures the power, diversity
and peerless songwriting contained within it. "I felt like showing
'Symbol' in another light was a great homage to the record itself,"
states bassist Joey Vera. "Also, having all the fans be there and part
of that event is a way for us to say 'Thank you!' For, without them, we
can't do any of this in the first place."
There is no denying that Symbol Of Salvation stands out of the band's
catalogue as something truly special, something that the band recognize as
readily as their rabid fanbase. "It links our past to our
future," says Bush. "I believe it was the time that we honestly
thought we could do whatever we wanted to musically and it would somehow
work. There's a magical feeling about it and it continues to gain mystique
every year." However, the band went through some adverse times while
initially writing the songs that would make up the record, being without a
label for three years prior to signing with Metal Blade, and in 1990 -
before they headed into the studio - losing founding guitarist Dave
Prichard to leukemia. This ultimately served to light a fire under the
band, pushing them to deliver their very best. "Because we had lifted
ourselves out of these ashes, as it were, we felt a very strong desire to
make every little thing count," elaborates Vera. "It felt more
important than anything we had ever done before. For one thing, we didn't
want Dave's writing contributions to be in vain. Also, we were on a mission
to let the world hear what we'd been working on for three years. Funny
thing is, that during the separation of the metal genre between glam and
thrash from '85 to '89, we kinda felt like we had to prove something to
everyone else. But while making 'Symbol', we also had something to prove,
except this time, we had to prove it to ourselves."
The decision to play the album in its entirety on dates in the US and
Europe in 2018 was in fact quite pragmatic, the band between records and
wanting to play more shows, and with the anniversary of Symbol Of Salvation
on the horizon, Vera believed it would be a "fun challenge" to
play it in a live setting. "We thought since the fans seem to agree
that this record is a favorite, it would be well received. And as usual, it
takes time and planning for a release down the road, so we jumped on that
idea and did a bunch of dates before we began writing for our next
record," says Vera. "It was really great seeing the reaction from
the crowds when we'd play the really deep cuts. Not only the songs we very
rarely played, but also the couple of songs that we had never played
before. Some of these tunes took on a whole new life and it was very motivating
for me, to see these songs in a different light. I would say that
experience was an inspiration when I began writing for 'Punching the Sky'
(2020)." The show itself was captured by a six-camera crew, Bush
saying the band were "pumped up", knowing that they were filming,
and as always the quintet delivered their very best from the moment they
stepped on stage. They also have fond memories of the show, which remains
their biggest headline show in New York to date. "The vibe in the room
was so great," says Vera. "The fans made us feel so welcome, like
we had come home for a celebration of sorts, and we all celebrated 'Symbol
of Salvation'. It gave me chills hearing people sing along to songs like
'Burning Question', a song we never had played live before."
As an extra bonus, the vinyl version of the record contains five demo
tracks from the Symbol Of Salvation writing sessions with Dave Prichard,
which have never been released on that format. "They're songs that
didn't make the record, however, there still is a vibe to those tunes, plus
Dave's playing is on them, so that makes them special," says Bush.
These tracks make for welcome additions, helping to further celebrate the
record, and the band are just happy and respectful of the fact they have
reached this anniversary. "If you would have told me thirty years ago
that we'd be talking about this today, I would have told you that you were
crazy," Vera says. "All we've ever wanted was to make our own
music, to take joy and take pride in doing it. The fact that we also have
very loyal fans who continue to support what we do is the best icing on
this cake. I try to look at our records as objectively as possible, and
when I can do that, I'm very proud that this record is a huge part of the
band's legacy, and I am extremely humbled that I'm a part of that."
Armored Saint line-up:
Joey Vera - Bass
Gonzo Sandoval - Drums
Phil Sandoval - Guitars
John Bush - Vocals
Jeff Duncan - Guitars Armored Saint online:
http://armoredsaint.com
https://www.facebook.com/thearmoredsaint
https://twitter.com/thearmoredsaint
https://www.instagram.com/thearmoredsaint Bio by: Dan Slessor
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