Review by Rob Broom for MPM
Bombastic new studio album from the U.S heavy rock quartet.
Stryper are a remarkable band that defy the standard ‘rock’ categorisation. As has been well documented, Stryper are a band of Christian faith, but let me be very clear – if you only worship at the temple of rock then you still most definitely need Stryper on your playlist or better still, in your collection.
The band have defiantly stuck to their beliefs and delivered some monstrous metal over the years which really shouldn’t be ignored by the wider metal and rock community.
As I have said before (and no doubt will say again), the devil does not have an exclusive on all the best tunes!
With 6 original albums (including this one) in the last 11 years, the band seem to be working and touring harder than ever, consistently delivering brilliant records. The last Stryper album ‘The Final Battle’ (which I had the pleasure to review for Metal Planet Music) kept up the pace and the quality with some thunderous rock and so my expectations were high for ‘When We Were Kings’ and Stryper certainly haven’t disappointed!
Opening track ‘End Of Days’ sets the standard for the entire album. This is a thunderous beginning as the twin guitar attack of Michael Sweet and Oz Fox hits all the right spots with accompanying screams from lead vocalist Michael Sweet. If you haven’t heard Stryper before you could be forgiven for thinking ‘End Of Days’ wouldn’t be out of place on a Judas Priest or Iron Maiden album. However Stryper fans will relish and welcome this beginning to the album. It’s new and exciting, but darkly familiar as it looks at a more bleak side to our world today. You can find it on YouTube right now.
Second cut ‘Unforgivable’ has a suitably unforgiving beat that just begs you to shake your head and pump your fist in the air! Robert Sweets drumming and Perry Richardsons bass build a backbone while the guitars riff and solo it up!
Title track ‘When We Were Kings’ contains a triumphant, soaring chorus and melody which can easily just stick in your brain forever. Classic sounding Stryper delivering phenomenal pumping melodic metal.
We have only got as far as track four and there’s a change of pace for ‘Betrayed By Love’, which is just as well, we need a break from the intensity! As Stryper fans already know (and in theory if you have listened to the first three songs you also know), vocalist Michael Sweet has an incredible voice with a terrific range and it’s on full display here. The song might be slower, but it still has plenty of power and depth.
Playing on YouTube now, track 5 ‘Loves Symphony’ further demonstrates Michael Sweets voice and how the whole band mesh together to create a completely wonderful arrangement. This song contains everything, great guitars, drums and bass all completely working together in unison. It just leaves you breathless.
Next song up ‘Trinity’ has more tempo than the previous two numbers with the guitars riffing furiously and there’s plenty of aggression and pace from the drums and bass. This is another one to shake your head to and pound your fists in the air in time to the music. Alternatively just hit the air guitars or drums!
We are now at track seven ‘Rhyme Of Time’ and live I would expect to see mirror balls supporting the opening verse at the very least! It is a slower pumping piece of rock music with a tremendous lyric and melody. Again, the vocal harmony and guitars just soar magnificently together.
Jagged riffs open ‘Raptured’ and the song swaggers and struts along with confidence and power. I suspect this one will be absolutely epic live and another song with a great chorus to sing along to. I am also running out of words to describe the music for you!
Thankfully,I don’t need to describe the next song as you can all go onto YouTube and listen to ‘Grateful’. The band have played acoustic shows in the past (To Hell With The Amps) and this song could easily drop into that style of setlist. Here however, ‘Grateful’ rocks along in a joyfully classic old school rock pop style that simply brings a smile to your face and makes it very difficult to resist the urge to singalong, so don’t resist, join in and sing! There’s enough misery in the world, it is good to be reminded we should be grateful for what we have.
Penultimate track ‘Divided By Design’ contains lyrics that are right on point and absolutely superb. This is without doubt one of my favourite tracks on the album as it has everything I want in a rock song. It kicks, snarls and rocks like an absolute beast in a frenzy. The band pound out the music and Michael Sweet sings and howls out the words as he vents his frustration and we all will be screaming the words with him when we sing along!
Album closer ‘Imperfect World’ has plenty of pace and swagger as it swings along. The drumming and bass underpins the twin guitar attack as the band fully rock out. Michael Sweet closes with some suitable harmonised screams and the band give us a pumping finish.
Stryper have delivered an absolute barnstormer of an album with ‘When We Were Kings’.
How the band can consistently come up with outstanding material like this leaves me speechless, but thank goodness that they are still making the effort to record new music and long may that continue. To my ears this is one of their best ever albums (and the band have recorded some brilliant ones in the past as my collection is testament to!). The material all seems to blend together perfectly. There is a great balance of pace between the songs, from thunderous fury to melodic power metal. The only potential problem for the band will be choosing the ‘best’ tracks to play live, because they are all excellent with their own merits. Phew, nice problem to have and glad I don’t have to choose a set list. Probably the simplest solution is go on the road and play the whole thing live!
Judas Priest, Accept and Saxon have already released strong albums this year, but Strypers ‘When We Were Kings’ is a stone cold instant classic. It is an album of ferocity and beauty all rolled in to one! A textbook example of heavy yet melodic rock at its finest. If you haven’t listened to Stryper yet and need a comparison think Boston meeting Judas Priest or Saxon. I look forward to getting a physical copy and it probably is my metal album of the decade so far and will be fighting it out with American Jetsets ‘1987’ as album of the year.
September 13th via Frontiers Music Srl Pre-Order HERE
Go buy ‘When We Were Kings’ now and play it very loud so the heavens can hear you. They will thank you for it.
