To my friends and the people who follow my site, it’s nothing new that I am a huge Stryper fan. I mean, I have been throwing nines all over their three last albums, something I totally stand by to this day and I keep name-dropping the band’s name whenever I get into a discussion of who my favorite bands are. That being said, I have always been a Stryper fan but to me, they have never been better than they are today. Song writer/lead vocalist/ guitarist Michael Sweet also seem to have a well of music inside of him that never runs dry. Whether he releases albums by Stryper, Sweet & Lynch or under his own name, the outcome never disappoints – the guy’s lowest level is so high it’s almost ridiculous. But that also comes with some major expectations – the slightest slip from Sweet and the disappointment is around the corner even though the actual record might actually be a good one.
When the last album came out, God Damn Evil in 2018, there had been a change in the line-up which means that the original line-up of Michael Sweet, guitarist Oz Fox, drummer Robert Sweet and bassist Tim Gaines was no more. Gaines left/was let go of the band just before the recording of the album started and was later replaced by ex- Firehouse bassist Perry Richardson, who joined too late to participate in the recording of said album. Bass-duties were handled by a studio guy called John O’Boyle. This means that this album is the debut for Richardson and as I wrote above, my expectations on this album is sky-high – and it also makes me wonder when the slip will come. I mean, it must at some point, mustn’t it?
Opener and leading single “Blood From Above” tells me I have nothing to worry about at all in that department. It’s a fast, heavy and punchy Metal-belter with a clear Judas Priest influence that shines through. With classic Stryper riffage and melodies that holds a nod back to their mid 80’s, this song is a mixture of new and old Stryper – and it sounds fantastic. The tune slows down when the chorus comes in – damn catchy with a classic, solid Stryper melody. The album continues with the second outing “Make Love Great Again” (is that a statement to a certain president?), a slower in pace rocker, darker in sound on a heavy and fat groove with a striking riff. It’s melodic yet hard with a 70’s touch on 80’s metal and and enormous chorus with some astounding backing vocals. Oh man, this is awesome!
The mid tempo rocker “Let Him In” brings on some crunchy riffing, George Lynch style and sets some 80’s Hard Rock alight. It’s pretty straight-forward and quite in-your-face with a nice rowdy enough edge and a chorus that hits right where it should. Love it. With a meaty groove and a pounding, solid rhythm, latest single “Do Unto Others” hits like a ton of bricks with intensity, heaviness and melodic and hitty hooks to die for. The tempo is lowered some in the chorus and the song takes the route of heaviness instead of speed with another main-melody that looks back on Stryper’s past. The chorus is massive and very direct and sticks so hard you have to use a chisel and a hammer to remove it from your brain. Amazingly good!
In a melodic riff-frenzy, the album’s title-track goes for the throat on a fat groove and some immense Melodic Rock melodies, heavy in a mid pace on a solid rhythm. The edgy guitars, always with a slight nod to Metal combines perfectly with the classic, back-to-basics Stryper main melody and a chorus so catchy and immediate it’s unescapable. Awesome. “How To Fly” slows the tempo down but keep the big soundscape and majestic melodies which holds some floating, dreamy arrangements and a Beatles-esque influence. This is not a ballad at all even though traces of balladry is present but with some chugging guitars and a steady rhythm section, it’s more of a melodic rocker. On top, we get a phenomenal refrain with some ELO meets Queen like backing vocals, catchy as can be.
The mid tempo continues with the darker atmospheric “Divider”, a heavy and punchy yet melodic Hard Rock belter that holds both catchy and striking riffs and some crowd-friendly “hey” gang-shouts. It’s quite an aggressive number with a rough and rowdy refrain on a faster tracked note. This’ll be a future live-belter for sure. Michael Sweet has talked about an old, late 80’s song being rerecorded for this album and I wonder if “This I Pray” might be that song. It starts with a crispy, bluesy acoustic guitar but continues as a deeper power-ballad kind of track, still on a bluesier note. With a mastodon chorus, astonishing catchy, it sure brings me back to the days when bands like Cinderella and Bon Jovi wrote no-cheese yet catchy as damn rock-ballads. This is fantastic!
Or maybe it is “Invitation Only” that is the rerecorded 80’s song? This up-tempo pop-rocker sure brings my mind towards Stryper more Melodic Rock sounding tracks of that decade. The tune has that straight-forward, uplifting, good-time vibe all over it – and there’s even a keyboard lurking around in the background, adding to the melodic feel. It’s energetic, powerful but also pop-laden with a chorus Desmond Child would sell his right nut for. If there’s has to be one thing I miss on the later Stryper albums, it’s this, the huge pop-rock hit song that they have always been so brilliant at. I mean, c’mon, how can you not adore stuff like “Always There For You” or “Calling On You”? This one is a bit heavier than both of them, I have to add.
“For God & Rock ‘n’ Roll” is a crunchy and gravely straight-ahead, balls-to-the-wall rocker – very meat n’ potatoes Hard Rock, perfect for the pre-party, musically. This is a Hard Rock groover with a touch of Metal with an 80’s influence where Dio, Priest and likes show up but with a splendid classic Stryper main-melody and the guitar solo is total late 80’s guitar-hero stuff. The chorus is edgy, sharp and effective – a winner, in other words. Yeah! The album closes with the fast and rowdy “Middle Finger Messiah” that blends David Lee Roth era Van Halen with classic, in-your-face, aggressive Hard Rock Metal Stryper stuff like “The Way”, “The Reign” or “Rock The Hell Out Of You”. The song is robust, rough and strikes hard – and will doubtless stir some shit up for the closer minded in the band’s home country. It’s a really good song albeit not as strong as the rest of the bunch.
Since the last three albums are so strong it would be too much to ask for Stryper to repeat that a fourth time but I’ll be damned if they haven’t actually bettered those albums here. Because they have. I would go as far as stating that this record is the band’s strongest album to date. And why is that, one might ask? Well, in my opinion, this is the most varied album they have made since the reunion while keeping their new style but also bringing back stuff of the older days, the stuff that made them huge back in the day – and not once do the sound come across as dated. It also needs to be pointed out that Richardson’s input is really prominent. No shadow over Gaines but Richardson brings along a whole new groove and he and Robert Sweet works amazingly well together. The guy is an underrated bassist – and then some. If you’re already a Stryper fan, you’ll love this album but if you’re not, tear off your blinders and give this a shot, you might surprise yourself. The fact that this record will end up on the top 10 list of the best 2020 albums isn’t even under discussion!
9/10
More Stryper reviews:
The Covering
Second Coming
No More Hell To Pay
Fallen
God Damn Evil
Tracklist:
1. Blood From Above
2. Make Love Great Again
3. Let Him In
4. Do Unto Others
5. Even The Devil Believes
6. How To Fly
7. Divider
8. This I Pray
9. Invitation Only
10. For God & Rock ‘n’ Roll
11. Middle Finger Messiah
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