CD Review: Stryper – Fallen

CD Review: Stryper – Fallen
Frontiers Music srl
All Access Rating: A-

Styper - Fallen 2015

Placing its faith in heavy, crunching riffs and bold, uplifting melodies enveloped in fire-and-brimstone bluster paid off handsomely for a reinvigorated Stryper on 2013's No More Hell to Pay, an album that drew rave reviews from critics once reluctant to pay them any respect whatsoever.

A Frontiers Music srl release, Fallen continues their glorious crusade back to metal relevancy. Holding nothing back in terms of its growing creative aspirations and staying on message with determined zeal, the yellow-and-black attack is increasingly intense and relentless on the mighty Fallen, where high-minded principles and sentiments sometimes clash with righteous indignation.

All of which is found in the epic opener "Yahweh," as storming thrash-metal anger collides with angelic choirs and rousing, uplifting power-metal drama in a tour-de-force production that's as ambitious as anything the Christian metal stalwarts have ever attempted. Driving furiously through fast-paced, gripping tracks such as the Black Sabbath cover "After Forever" and "Till I Get What I Need," Stryper seems to relish throwing off the shackles of its hair-metal past. And when provoked, they can turn downright vicious, passionately pounding the pulpit with thundering sonic authority while condemning Hollywood for its false portrayal of Christians in "Big Screen Lies."

On Fallen, the band's 11th original album, there is darkness and light, with Oz Fox and Michael Sweet trading various combinations of searing, hot-wired guitar licks that seem to take dead aim at Stryper's detractors and Sweet singing with dynamic force and great conviction, as drummer Robert Sweet and bassist Tim Gaines flex their rhythmic muscles. Brawling, weighty guitars grind through the title track, "Pride" and "Let There Be Light," their gnarled hooks gripping tightly to desperate souls seeking salvation, while "Heaven" smolders, "Love You Like I Do" stings with melodic sweetness and the lovely pop-metal ballad "All Over Again" swoons with sighing harmonies.

Without completely reinventing themselves, Stryper has shown that an old dog of an '80s metal band can learn a few new tricks and not lose its identity in the process. There are times on Fallen where it seems Stryper falls back too easily on what's worked for them in the past and becomes formulaic, but for the faithful who've stuck with them through it all, that's probably a comfort.
– Peter Lindblad

CD Review: Stryper – Live at the Whisky

CD Review: Stryper – Live at the Whisky
Frontiers Records
All Access Rating: A-

Stryper - Live at the Whisky 2014

A modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah in the '80s, the Sunset Strip was swimming in sin and depravity. It was the sort of place a vengeful God might reduce to rubble with a wave of His mighty hand.

Into this devil's playground walked four yellow-and-black clad crusaders, carrying the cross of Christian metal into dens of iniquity like the Whisky a Go Go. What a place for a band like Stryper to try to make a name for itself, fighting the good fight and eventually gaining acceptance from skeptics with a rugged, uplifting pop-metal sound full of blissful vocal interplay and spiraling, pealing guitar harmonies.

Some 30 years later, long after the platinum success of To Hell With The Devil, Stryper's original lineup of vocalist/guitarist Michael Sweet, guitarist Oz Fox, drummer Robert Sweet and bassist Tim Gaines made its return to the Whisky last November, eager to perform for the first time material from the heaviest album of their meaningful lives, No More Hell to Pay.

Available now as a 16-track CD/DVD package from Frontiers Records, Live at the Whisky is the raw, punched-up recording of Stryper letting it all hang out that night, kicking into high gear immediately with a venomous, hard-charging version of No More Hell to Pay's "Legacy" and churning through the tough, defiant riffs of "Marching into Battle," before sinking their perfect teeth into the big, joyous pop hooks, striking melodies and ragged glory of "Reach Out," "Calling on You," "Always There For You" and taking a whip to a high-spirited cover of the Doobie Brothers' "Jesus Is Just Alright."

Playing to a raucous crowd behind them every step of the way, Stryper deliver the goods and then some, giving as good as they get in return with a tight, energetic performance, as Fox and Michael Sweet reach deeply into their bag of tricks to solo like demons and harmonize like angels. A rampaging take on "The Way" rams into the double-barreled blast of "To Hell With The Devil" and "Soldiers Under Command" with all the force of a wrecking ball, as Robert Sweet's drums snap and crack and Gaines controls the low end with a firm hand.

This is Stryper firing on all cylinders, invigorated and sweaty, evangelizing without sermonizing and having the time of their lives. On message and on point, they play with renewed vigor and a sharpened sense of purpose that should be obvious to anybody with an open mind. The yellow-and-black attack is back, and it's ready to embark on another crusade.
– Peter Lindblad

CD Review: Stryper - No More Hell to Pay

CD Review: Stryper - No More Hell to Pay

Frontiers Records

All Access Rating: B+

Stryper - No More Hell to Pay 2013

Onward go these Christian heavy-metal soldiers, trudging off again to a war they've been fighting since their inception in 1984. Stryper's missionary work is never done, and on No More Hell to Pay, their eighth studio album, they unapologetically proselytize for Jesus as they always have. 

It's forgivable, given that it's pretty well established that for Stryper this religious fervor was never meant to be a gimmick. This is who they are, for better or worse, and if nothing else, at least they're not Jehovah's Witnesses.

Begrudgingly, the metal community, not known for being tolerant of religion and Christianity in particular, came to respect Stryper, even as cynics derided their black-and-yellow outfits and their teased hair. Trading in their bumble-bee spandex for black denim and t-shirts, Stryper's look is edgier and not so glamorous these days. The same goes for their sound. 

Was it God telling them they needed to get heavier? If so, the Almighty had the right idea. Living in the shadows, No More Hell to Pay is grittier than past Stryper offerings, with beefy, Goliath-sized riffs streaked with dirt and the strongest songwriting ever attributed to Michael Sweet and the disciples. Toggling between mid-tempo crunch and enticing crawls, Stryper has channeled its inner Accept or Judas Priest, forging melodies that have a firm grip and filling No More Hell to Pay to the brim with meaty, satisfying hooks. Tracks like the punishing "Legacy" and the stomping "Marching into Battle" are surprisingly aggressive, while "Sticks and Stones" slithers menacingly and Sweet and Oz Fox take their axes to the sharpening stone and grind away on "Water into Wine." 

All of them, though, bow to what becomes a powerful anthem of a title track, where slow-burning riffage sticks in your craw and a wind-swept chorus signals a redemptive change in fortunes, a theme near and dear to Stryper's heart. Mostly foregoing speed in favor of heft, Stryper, nevertheless, rips through "Saved By Love" like a righteous twister, and perhaps predictably, they give a euphoric reading of the old Doobie Brothers' hit "Jesus is Just Alright," which makes some of the embarrassingly ham-handed lyricism found throughout No More Hell to Pay easier to swallow. It's not all cringe-worthy or hackneyed, as there's always been a sincerity and sense of purpose in their writing that's refreshing and unusual in the world of metal, but then comes a chorus crafted around the old "sticks and stones may break my bones" mantra that shakes your faith in Stryper, even if its spirited attitude is admirable. 

Still, like Jesus throwing the money changers out of the temple, Stryper has driven away its more pop-oriented inclinations for No More Hell to Pay. This seems to be the kind of music they've wanted to make all along. More comfortable than ever in their own skin, Stryper has come out swinging against their critics, landing haymaker after haymaker, with Sweet's trademark vocal wailing and the technically brilliant guitar fireworks of Sweet and Fox throwing caution to the wind. And their backing harmonies are as golden as ever. While they may advocate a peaceful "turn the other cheek" philosophy, with No More Hell to Pay they've shown themselves to be tougher than anybody thought. http://www.frontiers.it/

- Peter Lindblad