{"id":15291,"date":"2013-11-04T00:00:45","date_gmt":"2013-11-04T00:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=15291"},"modified":"2013-11-19T23:41:58","modified_gmt":"2013-11-19T23:41:58","slug":"album-review-stryper-no-more-hell-to-pay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-stryper-no-more-hell-to-pay\/","title":{"rendered":"STRYPER – No More Hell To Pay (2013) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

STRYPER
No More Hell To Pay<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nFrontiers (2013)<\/span>
Rating: 9\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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During the heyday of glam metal you either loved or hated Stryper. No one was without an opinion on the kings of God rock. Even the haters had to admit, the band had the talent to break into radio and MTV<\/em> play when the scene was saturated with bands in eye shadow, tight pants and singers who could break glass with their piercing screams.<\/p>\n

In many ways Stryper called it quits at the top of their game. They may not have been the biggest selling band of their time, but they never were out of the public eye, and ended their career with a string of strong albums including the platinum certified To Hell With The Devil<\/em> (1986) and the gold In God We Trust<\/em> (1988) and Against The Law<\/em> (1990). Since the band\u2019s return with Reborn in 2005 they have yet to capture the classic Stryper sound on CD, until No More Hell To Pay<\/em>. <\/p>\n

No More Hell To Pay<\/em> returns the listener to the height of Stryper\u2019s career. This is an album easily on par with fan favourite In God We Trust<\/em>. As soon as the album opens it\u2019s clear that this is the Stryper fans remember. Chunky guitar riffs and blazing solos are ubiquitous on these songs, and it\u2019s a true return to form for a band that was one of the most unique of its time, both visually and sonically.<\/p>\n

One needs only to listen to \u2018Saved By Love\u2019 to hear the components that Stryper built their reputation on. Strong guitars, lyrical themes, and Michael Sweet\u2019s powerful voice all remain as if no time has passed since 1988. The band summons up an intensity that has been largely missing from albums released since their return to the music world, and provides an album of revitalized classic metal. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s difficult to point out the high points on this album because it\u2019s just so darn consistent. The heavy metal cover of The Doobie Brothers\u2019 hit \u2018Jesus Is Just Alright\u2019 is fun, and has a driving pace courtesy of drummer Robert Sweet and bassist Tim Gaines. \u2018The One\u2019 is a power ballad that will make fans of TNT wish for days gone by. \u2018Revelation\u2019 opens this album with a cutting tone that immediately brings to mind a young, hungry Stryper on the rise. The title track could sit right beside \u2018To Hell With The Devil\u2019 live, and offers the bold, in-your-face lyrics the band has always been known for. These songs are strong from start to finish. <\/p>\n

Still, there are highlights to be sure. \u2018Te Amo\u2019 is full of the blistering guitars Michael Sweet and Oz Fox are known for. The shifting rhythms in the transition between verses and choruses is unexpected and shows that Stryper has continued to hone their craft, rather than simply fall back upon old habits. \u2018Sympathy\u2019 does much the same, working between tempos to build into a huge arena rock chorus. \u2018Water Into Wine\u2019 sounds very much like an updated take on the Quiet Riot sound. Styper has brought together the best sounds of 80s metal and served it up on a very modern platter. <\/p>\n

I first heard Stryper in 1986 when I saw the video for \u2018Honestly\u2019 on MTV<\/em>. As a fan I have been waiting since Reborn<\/em> to hear Stryper return to the metal machine they were on heavy tracks like \u2018The Reign\u2019 and \u2018In God We Trust\u2019, and had given up hope that such a time would come. Stryper has not only returned to their classic sound, but has created the most powerful album of their career. If you\u2019ve given up on Stryper, now is the time to check them out again. The masters of Christian metal can celebrate a triumphant return to form with No More Hell To Pay<\/em>. <\/p>\n

Jim McDonald<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

STRYPERNo More Hell To Pay Frontiers (2013)Rating: 9\/10 During the heyday of glam metal you either loved or hated Stryper. No one was without an opinion on the kings of God rock. Even the haters had to admit, the band had the talent to break into radio and MTV play when the scene was saturated […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[96],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stryper"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15291"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15291\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15300,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15291\/revisions\/15300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}