CD REVIEW: STRYPER "MURDER BY PRIDE"

Stryper have always been a little too over the top eighties metal for me. While I have all of their albums, and "Honestly" (from To Hell With The Devil) and "Always There For You" (from In God We Trust) are two of my favorite songs ever, I could never really say I liked the albums from start to finish. Then they released Against The Law which for me was a solid album all the way through and became my favorite album by the band.

On Reborn (their 2007 comeback album), Stryper became one of the few "hair metal" bands that credibly updated their sound. A solid effort, but it was still a little harder than I'd have preferred. In 2009 the band offers us Murder By Pride.

Well move over, Against The Law , I've got a new favorite Stryper record!

This is a fine record that sees the band incorporating the updated sound of the last record with classic elements from their heyday. Sweet's voice is in excellent form, and the songwriting is excellent, with enough stylistic diversity that should please fans old and new. A cover of "Peace Of Mind" (Boston) gives a little insight into Michael's side project from last summer.

The production is a little rawer than on Reborn, but the songs are more accessible. If there were such a thing as rock radio, there are a couple of tracks that would get rotation.

A solid album with plenty to enjoy. For those of you who do not know, Stryper is a Christian metal band, so lyrically there is a message of faith here. What makes that especially meaningful to me is that one of the band lost his wife of 23 years during the making of this album. If there was ever a time one might question faith it would be now, and yet there is no hesitation in the message of faith here. For inspiration or just to rock the house, I'd encourage giving this album a listen.