Published on Mar 7, 2000
The last time anyone heard from Armored Saint, they were
recovering from the loss of guitarist Dave Prichard to leukemia,
and they released
Symbol Of Salvation in memory of their fallen comrade. After
that, the band seemed to splinter apart, most notably when singer
John Bush was tapped to replace Joey Belladonna in Anthrax.
Now, it’s nine years since
Symbol Of Salvation appeared on the store shelves (remember
when you could say that without thinking about ordering music
through the Internet?), and Armored Saint has returned again with
their sixth studio album,
Revelation. With its release, two questions come to
mind.
First, is a band like Armored Saint still relevant in this day
and age? From the power of the opening track “Pay Dirt,” the answer
is a resounding “yes”. Musically, the band sounds like they still
have the chops that made earlier albums like
Delirious Nomad (which I have on vinyl buried in the
Archives somewhere) popular at the time. Then again, this was the
easy part of the fight.
The tougher question is: How much did Armored Saint influence
Anthrax, and now how much Anthrax influence would be felt on
Armored Saint? Thanks in no small part to Bush fronting both
groups, it’s almost impossible to separate the two groups now. Oh,
sure, Armored Saint is still more concerned with the songwriting
process and establishing a groove that listeners can slam their
heads to. But play a song like “After Me, The Flood” from
Revelation and a track like “Catharsis” or “Inside Out” from
Anthrax’s
Volume 8 – The Threat Is Real, and have people see if they
can tell the difference.
It’s not that Armored Saint – Bush, guitarist/vocalist Jeff
Duncan, lead guitarist Phil Sandoval, bassist Joey Vera and drummer
Gonzo Sandoval – did anything wrong on
Revelation necessarily. Musically, they’re still a sound
band who know how to keep things sounding fresh, even though almost
a decade has passed since they last graced us with their presence.
Tracks like “Den Of Thieves,” “Control Issues” and the “limited
edition bonus track” “No Me Digas” all are sure to hold your
attention until the last note fades out. Even Prichard is
remembered, as he is given a writing credit on “What’s Your
Pleasure”. (It seems, though, that the eerily beautiful “Upon My
Departure” would have been a better fit on
Symbol Of Salvation.)
The difficulty lies in keeping things fresh throughout the disc
– something any band, not to mention one who have been away for so
long, has to deal with. While the pendulum swings more often in
favor of Armored Saint than against them, there are times where the
level sags a bit. Tracks like “After Me, The Flood,” “Tension” and
“Damaged” all don’t quite match the same levels as the excellent
tracks – and while these might have been standouts on other albums,
they tend to get lost in the shuffle all too quickly. In addition,
there isn’t much in the songs themselves to really grab the
listener’s attention as in the premium tracks.
Granted, a little rust is expected after such a layoff, and it
could easily be forgiven. But if Armored Saint is going to survive
in what is getting to be a cutthroat genre of music again, they’re
going to need to stylistically separate from Anthrax (though this
might be harder to do in reality) and re-establish their own
uniqueness in the field. Until then,
Revelation is a good first step, but it is a tentative
one.