Armored Saint - Lessons Not Well Learned 1991-2001 - 2004 - Metal Blade Records
Track Listing
1. Pay Dirt (2001) 2.Warzone (1991) 3.The Truth Always Hurts (1991) 4.After Me, The Flood (2000) 5.Take A Turn (1991) 6.Symbol Of Salvation (2000) 7.Tainted Past (1991) 8.Creepy Feelings (2000) 9.Another Day (1991) 10.For The Sake Of Heaviness (1991) 11.Tension (2001) 12.Tribal Dance (2001)
Track Listing CD: 1.Envy 2.Glory Hunter 3.False Alarm 4.Can U Deliver 5.Lesson Well Learned 6.Madhouse
Armored Saint decided to approach their 2nd DVD of rare and archival footage in a unique way. With “Armored Saint Magazine: Lessons Not Well Learned” the fan gets a great compilation of footage that has most likely never been seen before. It is positioned as a video magazine where Editor (and drummer) Gonzo or “Gahnzo” during the film does some humorous intro dialogue. It is done very tongue in cheek and you can tell that the band had fun making this. Another interesting aspect of the DVD is that all the footage seems to be audience shot, or done by the sound man from his mixing board. Pretty much one camera shoots from a specific angle all featuring Armored Saint appearances across a number of years (1991-2001). Sometimes footage like this suffers in either sound or visual quality and I have to give them credit that this does not fail on those counts all that much. The visual is pretty good considering it is amateur level and the sound is clear for the most part. You will notice clarity differences in the older portions against the newer one without question. This group of concert shots are surrounded with some band goofing around and antics and the DVD also features some bonus stuff. The DVD stars the lineup of John Bush (vocals), Jeff Duncan (guitar), Phil Sandoval (guitar), Joey Vera (bass) and Gonzo Sandoval (drums).
Bonus features are outtakes, and a couple of their production videos; “Reign Of Fire”, “Last Train Home” and “Symbol Of Salvation”. There is also some image galleries but not much else. The band also includes a bonus CD of a live appearance from 1984. This was around the time that I listened to them also, so I found it enjoyable. Given that these 7 tunes are from very early in the career I know and the old school fan will eat this up. Armored Saint always worked hard for their fans and developed quite a core following that has lasted for decades. More bands should really give the chance for fans to see this kind of footage if they have it available in all honesty. This DVD is not for the casual fan and can’t be recommended for everyone. This is more along the lines of the Saint archivist who has everything and might even own some of these clips on old VHS tape.
