Stryper - Reborn review
| Band: | Stryper |
| Album: | Reborn |
| Style: | Heavy metal |
| Release date: | August 16, 2005 |
| Guest review by: | Dane Train |
01. Open Your Eyes
02. Reborn
03. When Did I See You Cry
04. Make You Mine
05. Passion
06. Live Again
07. If I Die
08. Wait For You
09. Rain
10. 10,000 Years
11. I.G.W.T.
More often than not when someone mentions the name Stryper a low moaning groan follows. The most recognizable Christian Metal band of the 1980's were known for yellow and black spandex as much as they were for their Jesus Freak lyrics.
That was then.
This is now.
There may not be an album title more appropriate than Reborn. A decade and a half has passed since the O.C. Boys released a record and a great deal has changed. The first notable change is that of Tracy Ferrie replacing Timothy Gaines on bass. The second noticeable change is the sound: this is not To Hell With The Devil. Stryper has abandoned the both the sound and look of their Glam Metal days in favor of a more modern Heavy Metal persona. Michael Sweet 's vocals are more mature sounding (sorry guys no more of his signature scream) but nonetheless very commanding. Likewise Oz Fox continues writing great rhythm with catchy hooks without being Pop.
Blasting forth from the album is a foursome of power hits with "Open Your Eyes," "Reborn," "Live Again," and "When Did I See You Cry" to be followed up by the very sad (but still hopeful) ballad "Passion." Reborn moves into an enjoyable "Live Again" with its Post Grunge feel followed by a somewhat bombastic sounding "If I Die" with its power chorus. Next might be the best written song on the whole album; "Wait For You" has Sweet singing at his best and Fox playing a rather Southern Rock influenced solo. While "Passion" is the most emotionally moving track, it is not the only ballad with "Rain" being more the power ballad of the two. While the next song might technically be a cover it is still very impressive as Stryper does a modern version of the classic hymn "Amazing Grace" with "10,000 Years." Closing out the album is a reboot of their title track to their 1988 release "In God We Trust" now entitled "I.G.W.T." which is a perfect way to finish this album; strong and meaningful.
If you are looking for the old Soldiers Under Command you won't find it here. Instead you find a band reinventing their sound and image while still staying true to their love for Jesus Christ. While this is not the most brutal album out there it is one of the better Heavy Metal albums released in the past few years, so, if you are looking for something a little different give this record a spin, you might be surprised by what you discover.
Note: I am adding one more rating to my review, 'Spiritual Relevance'. As a Christian Minister, this is something I look for in albums, especially those from Christian bands.
Performance: 8
Songwriting: 8
Originality: 7
Production: 8
Spiritual Relevancy: 9
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 7 |
| Production: | 8 |
Written by Dane Train | 10.05.2009
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Comments
Comments: 5
Visited by: 34 users
| quirin Posts: 105  |
A Stryper comeback? That's interesting. I'm looking forward to rate its "Spiritual Relevance" for myself. And I'll see if I can stand the lyrics this time...
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| quirin Posts: 105 |
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| Dane Train Beers & Kilts Elite Posts: 8902  |
Written by quirin on 12.05.2009 at 00:44 Why not?
---- (space for rent)
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| quirin Posts: 105 |
Written by Dane Train on 12.05.2009 at 01:23 Ah, some kind of prejudice, mostly. That's sad, because I never feel uneasy with religious lyrics when they're about satanism (or other, I don't really mind). So why do these bother me? Prejudice. Also, satanist lyrics usually accompany fast music, which is something I miss in Christian metal. Finally, I heard some good ideas there, and I actually like some parts of the album, but overall it didn't convince me to buy the CD. I must say, your review still seems fair to me. And after all what else did I expect...? Maybe some variety on the topic(s) would have be enough to let me appreciate it. (That along with some heavy palm mute, preferably.)
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| DayFly Posts: 383  |
"with its Post Grunge feel" ...which is the last thing I want to hear by a commercial metal band. It never works from Dokken to Queensryche to Kiss and Stryper is not one bit different. There is more to grunge than brooding and having no hooks and despite whatever you say in your review there aren't simply as many hooks here as on their older material or even on Sweet's solo albums. Furthermore, I really have to ask you whether a comeback album is about pleasing fans that stuck with the band to begin with or to explore new musical territories. Well, it's already difficult enough to stomach for most people if the band simply "progressed" but I for one think a band loses the right to use the same name in the latter case once they've broken up. This whole album leaves a really foul taste in my mouth especially concerning that Stryper's wholesome image doesn't really sit well with selling out i.e. aiming for an contemporary alt-rock breakthrough while counting on the older fans who most certainly do not like that type of music to buy this. I understand that Stryper's lyrics, however crude they may appear when compared to other spiritual-themed bands (Metal Church, Trouble and W.A.S.P. come to mind even if the latter is often very critical), have a certain appeal to you, but I'm a music and metal fan first and foremost. If spiritual relevance is what I'm looking for I'd read the Bible which is, whether you are a practicing Christian or not (myself counting to the latter fraction), so much more worthwhile than the lyric sheet of any metal band, much less Stryper. Sorry for the typos, I'm sure I made a few and didn't bother to proofread.
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