Despite the biblical connotations, I feel like Stryper pulled a quick one on us by titling their last album The Final Battle. In an age where nearly every band their age and older embark on the inevitable farewell jaunt, or succumb to illness before even doing such (i.e. Aerosmith, Ozzy, etc.), one could be forgiven for thinking Stryper would follow the same path. Lucky for the God fearing headbangers among us (I know not all of you are “In League with Satan”), this is anything but the case, as the yellow and black clad soldiers under command are celebrating their 40th anniversary with a brand new studio album, When We Were Kings.
For as quick as people are to praise the latter day output of bands like Judas Priest, Accept, and Saxon, Stryper should absolutely be in that conversation as well. From 2013’s No More Hell to Pay onwards, they’ve been absolutely killing it, releasing a string of albums that arguably eclipses their ’80s heyday in terms of impact, and most definitely in terms of heaviness. This is a band who embraced modern production, without falling trap to the evils of modern rock and metal itself. And for a band who has long been used as a punchline both in and outside of the metal community, well, the joke’s on you.
Interestingly enough, I’m picking up a strong doom metal flavor to this album, more so than past Stryper releases. I wouldn’t go so far to call it a doom metal album through and through, but one can’t deny the influence of Iommi’s “Hand of Doom” in Oz Fox’s riffage on cuts like the title track, “Rhyme of Time”, and “Divided by Design”. This, coupled with the songs themselves that can be characterized as melodic metal and supersonic vocals of Michael Sweet, make for an intriguing and dynamic listen, even invigorating (most of) the ballads with a power-doom attitude (i.e. “Love Symphony”).
When they aren’t keeping it slow and heavy, Stryper treats us to a mixed bag of hard and heavy goodies. Neck-snappers like “End of Days” and “Imperfect World” are fiery US power metal assaults, making us long for an entire album in this vein. “Unforgivable” and “Trinity” channel the larger than life arena metal of Stryper’s ’80s prime, while the accessibly funky “Raptured” wouldn’t sound out of place on their sole secular album, Against the Law (1990). Aside from the obligatory CCM sleeper that is “Grateful” (I never cared much for Stryper’s sensitive side), every song on here offers something unique.
Contrary to the album’s title, Stryper still are kings of the white metal realm. The songs are energetic, the performances are bombastic, and the overall aura is one of triumphant jubilation. Whether you’re a believer or not, the Stryper gospel is for all who dig their metal on the melodic, traditional, and pure side of the spectrum. Here’s to another 40 years of “Rockin’ the World” and keeping the devil where he rightfully belongs…in hell, of course.
7 out of 10
Label: Frontiers Records
Genre: Heavy Metal
For fans of: Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Loudness