siLLy puPPy
OK, i admit it. There has been a barrage of postings on Facebook regarding US politics in this 2016 election season and a frequent visitor to my screen is the claim that Ted Cruz is actually the singer of STRYPER (as well as the grandpa from the 60s TV series The Munsters but that’s another story). Well lo and behold the similarities are striking but more importantly it reminded me that i have been wanting to check this band out for eons. BTW the band’s name came for the King James Version of the Bible. A reference to Isaiah 53:5.
The truth is i’ve only heard one album “To Hell With The Devil” and although i wasn’t totally blown away, was impressed enough with the good catchy metal songwriting even if the lyrics bordered on ludicrous and the over-the-top vocal style was a hair scratcher even for glam metal but what the hey. Check them out i did. I figured what better way to give these yellow and black Jesus freaks a chance than with a compilation that spans their career just to figure out if i want to dig deeper into their discography. Well, after a couple spins i would have to give a firm resounding negative to that sentiment.
STRYPER originally formed in 1983 under the Roxx Regime moniker but soon changed their name to express their Christian faith. They came from the conservative enclave of Orange County, CA just south of L.A.. and to date have released a total of 11 studio albums with this compilation 7: THE BEST OF STYPER covering their first six albums that ranged from 1985-90. The band reformed in 2005 and has released an additional six albums.
One of the strange things about this album is that it doesn’t start the tracks from oldest to newest but rather starts with two unreleased tracks and then goes backwards beginning with 1990’s “Against The Law,” the album where the band decided to flip the middle finger to Christian themes and suddenly tried to cop a bad ass image which backfired big time essentially ending the band’s successful trajectory even before grunge derailed the whole glam thing altogether.
The first two tracks which were unreleased are rather bland and insipid and a throwback to the most run-of-the-mill glam metal of the 80s. The three tracks from “Against The Law” are equally bland with a boring ballad “Lady” and the pitiful attempt to cover the classic funk and soul song “Shining Star” by Earth, Wind and Fire. “All For One” is a bit better but this is pretty standard glam metal for the day and finds STRYPER treading water.
The two tracks from “In God We Trust” are much better. The title track and “Always There For You” find the band at the pinnacle of their song writing skills. They have honed their sound, the lyrics are not as naive and the vocals aren’t as goofy. I think i actually like these two tracks the best save the high pitched screams and Robert Sweet’s incessant lazy drumming skills. I think the band could have been much better with a more competent drummer.
My next favorite tracks come from the only album i’ve heard from them “To Hell With The Devil.” This is a title that cracks me up big time. I mean telling the devil to go to hell is like telling a whore to go to a whorehouse or a Christian to go to church. Silly! Good melody though. Same with “Free” and “The Way.” Their big top 40 hit “Honestly” is a bit much on the sappy side though and a clear attempt to cash in on the hairspray ballads of the late 80s. This album was the most successful going double platinum in the US.
The most metal of the tracks comes from their first two albums when they were trying to emulate Queensryche or Judas Priest. “Soldiers Under Command” was a great anthem for Christians who were suddenly given the green light to join the world of “naughty music” and found the band in its most energetic and uncompromising mode but even on the first two albums STRYPER was simply following the trend and not adding much to it in terms of creative musicality.
I dunno. There are aspects of STRYPER i do like. They clearly could write some crunchy catchy riffs and their hooks are one of their strongest attributes. I have absolutely no problem with their Christian views as i am attracted to music before lyrical content but STRYPER was clearly disciples of the time and never broke out of the glam metal norms of the day. Everything is totally predictable and i do seem to have a problem with vocalist Michael Sweet’s goofy yelps and high pitched screeches. The whole thing is a fun little romp through the 80s but after sampling snippets of their career laid out in this discography leaves me little motivating factor to pursue their actual albums although i’m quite aware that “Best Of’s” never really do a band justice. Oh well, this one is more than enough.
If you’re into Christian metal than there is much better product out there. I really love the un-black metal of Horde and have even got on board with other Christian theme bands such as King’s X, Savior Machine and Tourniquet but STRYPER is a little too saccharin for my tastes but it does have nice cheese factor which i do appreciate for a good laugh now and again. There’s enough good stuff here to warrant 3 stars.