Armored Saint - 'Pay Dirt' (live in Dallas)

That's when I hit pay dirt
Sink or swim
I'm jumpin' in
Huddled masses cling together
But the herd gets thin
Self assured
With those fighting words
Your so-called figure of speech
Won't be hard

I'll never lose my shirt
Someday I'll hit pay pirt
I'd rather die of thirst

Fast-moving fast-ducking fast
Running fast from the blast
I'm here to carry my weight
Murder will out the ingrates
No tampering with the soul
I'm sidestepping your phony idols
That's when I'll hit pay dirt

Στο ξεκίνημα της δεκαετίας του ενενήντα ολοκληρώθηκε ο πρώτος (άκρως επιτυχημένος - καλλιτεχνικά τουλάχιστον) κύκλος των Armored Saint. Το 1991 κυκλοφόρησε το τέταρτο album της Αμερικάνικης μπάντας υπό τον τίτλο "Symbol of Salvation". Ο νέος κύκλος έκανε εννέα χρόνια να "ανοίξει".

Στο μεταίχμιο δύο δεκαετιών - αιώνων - χιλιετιών, τον Μάρτιο του 2000, κυκλοφορούσε ο πέμπτος "ολοκληρωμένος" δίσκος των Armored Saint υπό τον τίτλο "Revelation" (και τους πήρε μία δεκαετία για τον διάδοχό του, αλλά αυτό είναι μία άλλη ιστορία).

Προς τί η αναδρομή στο παρελθόν και η σχετικά αναφορά; Ανάμεσα στα (ένδεκα) τραγούδια του δίσκου βρίσκεται και το (εναρκτήριο) "Pay Dirt", το οποίο οι Armored Saint αποδίδουν "ζωντανά" στο Ντάλας και μας παρουσιάζουν το σχετικό βίντεο, με το δελτίο τύπου να αναφέρει:

«Leaders and stalwarts of the American heavy metal scene since the early 80s, Armored Saint's eighth full-length Punching The Sky sees them returning hard. A diverse, attitude-drenched collection, it's everything the band's faithful have come to expect from them while pushing their signature sound forward.

"The goal is to write really good music. I know I'm stating the obvious here but that's about the size of our agenda", says bassist Joey Vera.

"We've been able to shed a lot of expectations that sometimes plague a band like ours that has been around a long time, and we've recently moved into a comfort zone with just being ourselves. We have this kind of freedom now that we didn't really have early in our career, and we can take some chances and make the kind of music that we want to hear. This record is a reflection of where we are at, right now."

Exploding to life with the crunchy, rousing "Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants" and not letting up until the closing ruthless riff of "Never You Fret", the record is possessed of an urgency and vigor which very much places it in the right now, but could only be the work of Vera, guitarists Phil Sandoval and Jeff Duncan, drummer Gonzo Sandoval and vocalist John Bush.

"When you're a band that began four decades ago, you really have to push yourself harder than ever when it comes to making a new record", states Bush.

"The last thing you ever want is for it to appear as though you were going through the motions or that you're just putting a product out to do some touring. The records are immortal. They'll be here long after us. Every one needs to count in its own individual way".»