{"id":69089,"date":"2018-04-20T00:00:40","date_gmt":"2018-04-20T00:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=69089"},"modified":"2018-05-21T11:58:23","modified_gmt":"2018-05-21T11:58:23","slug":"album-review-stryper-god-damn-evil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-stryper-god-damn-evil\/","title":{"rendered":"STRYPER – God Damn Evil (2018) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

STRYPER
God Damn Evil<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nFrontiers (2018)<\/span>
Rating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Hard to believe that back in the 80s the yellow and black metal attack of Stryper was often criticised for its image, music and beliefs by young and na\u00efve heavy metal fans, and yet here we are applauding a band that has outlived trends and continued to release good and heavy albums.<\/p>\n

Emerging three years after 2015\u2019s Fallen<\/em>, the American band\u2019s latest effort, God Damn Evil<\/em>, is one of the best albums of the year so far; an opus that offers so many surprises and at times some truly heavyweight numbers.<\/p>\n

Opener \u2018Take It To the Cross\u2019 sets the bar high with its juddering chorus which boasts thrash elements… yes, I said \u201cthrash\u201d. The charging, hammering riffs and Gothic overtones make sure that Stryper\u2019s message and impact is immediate; Michael Sweet\u2019s vocals as crisp and powerful as ever as Robert Sweet\u2019s drums boom with a menace.<\/p>\n

And that cocksure, swaggering weight continues with the equally metallic chug of \u2018Sorry\u2019; a powerhouse of a track bolstered by nifty bass dribbles, courtesy of stand-in bassist John O\u2019Boyle, and of course Oz Fox\u2019s lethal leads. This is Stryper in menacing mood, creating steely structures with brooding backbones and choruses to die for.<\/p>\n

\u2018Lost\u2019 brings a more technical approach with its staggered rhythms and piercing vocal wails, and is followed by the fizzing title track with scorching, AC\/DC-esque introduction with that simple guitar tone and rumbling bass as Michael Sweet bellows \u201cLet the games begin\u201d<\/em>. Boy does it feel as if the guys had fun making this record as we\u2019re smothered by another contagious chorus.<\/p>\n

And there\u2019s no sign of the steel barrage residing as \u2018You Don\u2019t Even Know Me\u2019 comes with a steady plod and lower vocal tone; Sweet\u2019s vocal a sneering narration before the fist-pumping chorus comes jarring in on jagged riffage.<\/p>\n

I almost expect \u2018The Valley\u2019 to lighten the load, but no. There\u2019s that catchy, weighty trudge as Stryper take on a power metal surge to nod and traipse with menace, and again we\u2019re led into a glistening beacon of a chorus which leaves me shaking my head at the wonder of it all before resorting back to bangin\u2019 my cranium to that sturdy slog.<\/p>\n

\u2018Sea of Thieves\u2019 continues at pace; a stony drum nod threads its way through a sizzling guitar melody before the massive chug of \u2018Beautiful\u2019 boldly strides forth. Here the chorus is wonderfully sweeping, hooking itself deep into the psyche as Stryper continue to shine a light over the darker realms of society, willingly happy to commentate on the evil ways of man.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s \u2018Can\u2019t Live Without Your Love\u2019 which lowers the tempo; this one is a slow-builder that rises to a majestic chorus brimming with an AOR poppiness. However, that lighter mood soon changes again as the fabulous hike of \u2018Own Up\u2019 comes fizzing in with attitude, before the album is rounded off by the drum-led scorcher \u2018The Devil Doesn\u2019t Live Here\u2019. The latter is a blazing, galloping rocker hinting at an 80s style of belligerence as Oz Fox\u2019s guitar surges with attitude, while the straight forward chorus pummels the message of enlightenment as Michael Sweet\u2019s vocals take on a darker, angry edge.<\/p>\n

What a way to finish a record that throughout expresses so much heaviness and soul; Stryper swatting away what is left of any cynics and critics by issuing a fearsome heavy metal record so God damn good.<\/p>\n

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

STRYPERGod Damn Evil Frontiers (2018)Rating: 8.5\/10 Hard to believe that back in the 80s the yellow and black metal attack of Stryper was often criticised for its image, music and beliefs by young and na\u00efve heavy metal fans, and yet here we are applauding a band that has outlived trends and continued to release good […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,96],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-stryper"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69089","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=69089"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69089\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69093,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69089\/revisions\/69093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}