Now, Stryper, and Michael Sweet in particular, have released a lot of music lately.  Let’s look back over the last 5 years…

• March 2013 – ‘The Second Coming’
• November 2013 – ‘No More Hell to Pay’
• January 2014 – Icon (greatest hits)
• September 2014 – Live at the Whisky
• October 2015 – Fallen

And Michael Sweet…

• 2014 – ‘I’m Not Your Suicide’
• 2015 – ‘Only to Rise’ as Sweet & Lynch
• 2016 – ‘One Sided War’
• 2017 – ‘Unified’ as Sweet & Lynch
• 2017 – Sole: Songs and Stories From a Life in Music live concert video

That is 10 albums in 5 years.  That is quite a busy group.  I will admit that I have grown a little tired of Stryper as it is music overload.  I can’t absorb all that.  Now, it has all been great actually, but I felt like I needed a break.

On April 20th, Stryper brings us another new album called ‘God Damn Evil’ and my first thought was NOOOOO!!!  On the title, I am sure they will catch some grief for using that title (which will be for another discussion if I review the whole album), but it is ballsy and I think it might set the tone for what is to come on this album.

Being the Stryper fan I am, I listened to the first single “Take It To The Cross”.  Now, Stryper’s recent output has been really heavy.  I mean heavier then they have ever been.  It has been quite impressive.  Michael Sweet has been on social media saying how heavy this album is (I think it was him) and I thought…”how much heavier can they get?”  Apparently, pretty freakin’ heavy.

“Take It To The Cross” is an explosive first single.  Turn up your speakers as loud as they will go and sit back…better yet, buckle up.  This song will blow the freakin’ hair off you and your dog.  They come out swinging and Michael hasn’t sounded better.  The man I think sings better now then back in the day.  Totally unbelievable.

When the get to the chorus, it takes a turn that was completely and utterly unexpected.  Stryper becomes a pure Thrash Metal band.  My jaw dropped and my ears screamed with excitement.

The whole band is unstoppable.  I don’t know if they have sounded better than this song.  Oz Fox’s guitar playing and his solo is top notch and Robert Sweet’s drumming drives this song forward. The bass work is done by John O’Boyle as Perry Richardson (the newest member) was unavailable.

Michael Sweet gets so high that not even your dog can hear it anymore.  Only the devil’s dogs can hear it and then their heads explode.  To top that, towards the end of the song you get some guttural throat singing.  They are trying to blend every genre of metal into one song and I think they succeed.

If this is the opening track of the album, what the hell is that album going to be like.  I went from not caring about the new release because of burnout, to can’t freakin’ wait to hear this album.  You would think with this much output that the band may suffer in quality, but that does not seem to be the case.  Bring it on and Crank it up!!