And another happy 40th anniversary release is upon us this time from the illustrious Stryper! No other band has made as significant contributions to heavy Christian music as Stryper. Starting back in the heyday of metal in the early 80’s, Stryper was knocking around the Los Angeles nightclub scene with many of the big names before they were big. They were the tip of the spear in melding Christianity and heavy metal and landed in the middle of a tug-of-war between the underground metal community and Christian churches on whether one can proclaim Christ using metal. After a long and winding journey including a break up, reunion shows, and a reboot in the new millennium, their 12th studio album “When We Were Kings” was released in honor of their 40th anniversary.
Almost everything that needs to be said about Stryper has already been said, and what will a part-time album reviewer like me say to add or take away from their legacy? Not much. For those that have been following Stryper for a while, especially since their reboot, will recognize “When We Were Kings” is another solid album worthy of their discography, signaled by the hyper realistic cover art style used for the last several albums. Their sound and approach remains consistent and the performances now are just as impactful as they were 40 years ago. It is like they haven’t aged!
The album is a journey through a variety of genres, but sticking close to melodic metal and hard rock. “End of Days” opens the album with a high energy power metal showcasing Michael’s melodic chops and alternating guitar solos. It is incredible that Michael can still belt out the long high sustained notes, saturated in vibrato after all of these years. The solos on the songs trade off between Michael and Oz and make the mandatory solo sections on the album quite fun. There is a shift to a swaggering stomp of a hard rock song in “Unbelievable” that brings down the tempo and the energy. “When We Were Kings” takes a melodic turn focusing on developing an epic chorus with full backing choir. It has a nostalgic feel with a rather melancholic aftertaste with lyrics that are backwards facing. It sounds great, but I’m not really a fan of lyrical nostalgia. This attitude bleeds into “Betrayed By Love” which has emo tendencies although manages to not morph into a ballad.
At this point, I have gone through the excitement of the opening only to be slowly lowered into lower energy levels and slightly gloomy material. Well, “Loves Symphony” picks back up the energy with an aggressive opening riff to land into what I’m thinking is meant to be the sing-a-long track on the album. It feels a little like Frankenstein with the mixing of the softer love song material with the aggressive riffing, but it is catchy. Just as I was wondering when I’d get another hard rocking track, “Trinity” lands with some neat odd meter riffing. It is traditional metal at its best. One of the more theologically profound songs as far as lyrics, the musical energy is a much needed pick-me-up for the second half of the album.
The rest of the album picks up on various themes, motives and styles from the first half with a couple of nice highlights. “Grateful” is as close to a power ballad on the album. From time to time, I’ve almost caught it having a little bit of a country-western vibe to it, but retains much of the heavy guitar work. “Imperfect World” closes the album out right with a power metal song that shows that Stryper still has the chops to rock hard after forty years.
Given the stature of the band, there is a heightened expectation of the incredible and when the ordinary comes out, I can’t help but feel a little disappointed. I think the lack of high energy metal songs is at the root because I listened through “God Damn Evil” and thoroughly enjoyed the intensity and extra theatrics in that album. That wasn’t here. However, there is something uplifting in the album which I think is worth noting. This type of music blazed the trail for other bands, those that impacted me musically, spiritually, and emotionally directly, to take faith to the stage in heavy metal. For that, I am grateful. Nothing I say will change the minds of diehard fans, but for those that are interested in hearing what Stryper is all about, “When We Were Kings” is a great album for that, albeit a little on the softer side.
Rating: 7.5/10
Written by Sean Bailey
Tracklist
1 – End of Days
2 – Unforgiveable
3 – When We Were Kings
4 – Betrayed by Love
5 – Loves Symphony
6 – Trinity
7 – Rhyme of Time
8 – Raptured
9 – Grateful
10 – Divided by Design
11 – Imperfect World
Stryper is:
Michael Sweet – lead vocals, guitars
Robert Sweet – drums and vocals
Oz Fox – guitars and vocals
Perry Richardson – bass and vocals
Release Date: September 13, 2024
Record Label: Frontiers Records
Discography:
1984: “The Yellow and Black Attack”
1985: “Soldiers Under Command”
1986: “To Hell with the Devil”
1988: “In God We Trust”
1990: “Against the Law”
1991: “Can’t Stop the Rock” [Compilation]
2003: “7 Seven the Best of Stryper” [Compilation]
2004: “7 Weeks : Live in America 2003” [Live]
2005: “Reborn”
2006: “Extended Versions” [Live]
2007: “Greatest Hits – Live in Puerto Rico” [Live]
2007: “The Roxx Regime Demos” [Compilation]”
2009: “Murder by Pride”
2011: “The Covering”
2013: “Second Coming” [Compilation] (review)
2013: “No More Hell to Pay” (review)
2015: “Fallen” (review)
2018: “God Damn Evil” (review)
2020: “Even The Devil Believes” (review)
2022: “The Final Battle” (review)
2024: “To Hell With the Amps” (Acoustic)
2024: “When We Were Kings”
Social Media: Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify | Bandcamp
Video for When We Were Kings
Lyric video for End of Days
Lyric video for Love Symphony