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"And the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were: they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever." (Revelation 20:10)
On the cover, besides (Isaiah 53:5), this passage also appears this time.
After 'The Yellow And Black Attack' (84) and 'Soldiers Under Command' (85), this is the third studio effort for the Mainframe band from the stars and stripes country.
It was October 86 when this album was released, initially gold and subsequently platinum, with which a war was declared: (Stryper vs Devil). Still, it remains the most successful album in the history of this genre, selling millions and millions of copies. The bees are always them: Michael Sweet with his voice that shatters glass and gives singing lessons to anyone, his brother Robert with his giant drum kit (almost 360°), now famous, rhythm very well together with Tim Gaines' bass the guitar virtuosos of Guitar Heroes Oz Fox.
I will try not to exalt the album because I want to be impartial, not biased.
Here's a tip: while you read the description of each track, listen to it (it gives a better idea). The album opens with an introductory track: "Abyss" which, with its 1.21 minutes full of keyboard sounds, creates the exact situation where they descend down into the underworld to settle accounts with him. The next one is the title track and just listening to it will suffice to understand how pissed off they are with him. The third is "Calling On You", very catchy and commercial (in the most noble sense of the word), for which they created a great music video. The fourth is "Free" whose simple but incisive melody will immediately stick in your mind. Now we have reached the first ballad of the album: "Honestly" one of the most beautiful songs ever heard that would touch the heart of the most insensitive being. This is followed by "The Way" the only track from Fox characterized by a powerful riff and ending with Michael's usual high note audible even by the deaf. The seventh is "Sing Along Song" nothing special but it sounds really good live!
"Holding On" and "Rockin' The World" are two nice quite rocking pieces that give a good impression always traveling on the same path. "All Of Me" is the second ballad of the album played only with a keyboard on which Sweet's voice rests, capable not only of dazing but also of sweetening in a sugary way. The concluding one is "More Than A Man" dedicated to Christ who, for them, as the song says, is "More Than A Man".
The artistic maturity of the band reached a peak capable of making itself heard even across the ocean and even the skeptics could no longer pretend to ignore them due to their indisputable power. I know most of you will call me a bigot but I don't give a damn because as one of their songs says (Soldiers under command): "we are not ashamed to stand up for what is right". In this world full of immoral music, at least there are them who go against the current!
I never believed such a group could exist because it seems tailor-made for me.
Goodness has balls!
(Stryper vs Devil)
…and the war continues…
PS: (Stryper and me vs Devil)
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