On Friday, September 13th, 2024, the vintage Christian metal band, Stryper, released their 15th studio album, ‘When We Were Kings’. For those unaware of the tonal style of Stryper, it is as follows: a Gospel centered message filled with raging guitars and screaming high notes. And for the original die-hard Stryper fans in their early 80’s, this album is exactly what will have them reigniting back to their youthful days. It was, by no short account, a serotonin-infused blessing for those who lay down their ears and common-sense for dogmatic reverence.
While the band reached their peak with their 2018 album, they have been in a steady decline artistically ever since. It was a hit amongst critics, (and fans), and something that shed new light on their more serious approach to human nature. Unfortunately, however, that style only worked for so long. And with their follow up albums, one can hardly understand the lead singer’s aging voice, which is going like bleu cheese in a wet sock. All of this is to say that they attempted to recapture that brief moment of magic, but unfortunately fell face-forward into their recording contract.
Despite my overall distaste for their more recent material, I will start with the positives: ‘End of Days’.
Now that that is over, I will start with my overall impression: the verses were passable. They captured the lower part of the singer’s register, which is still somewhat understandable, and somehow fits in with the darker album tone. The choruses all sound exactly alike. Not understandable in the slightest, (except for one track, which I will go into detail later on). In fact, the words were so hard to understand that I lost my place in the songs despite reading the lyrics. The guitar solos were mediocre, but passable. The bassist did nothing fancy. In fact, I am quite positive that he wasn’t playing at all. I had to boost him into oblivion just to hear him. The drummer also suffered in much the same way. The second guitarist wasn’t heard at all, because they combined parts, both of them doing rhythm. In short, I highly disliked almost everything about the album.
In fact, the only likable thing about the album is ‘End of Days’, a hard-rock, bordering on progressive thrash metal track. It is so far above in production quality, that it seems as though it is the black-hole of focus for the band, sucking up all of their time and effort. It is the only track I would ever recommend from this album, but it would not make the top 25 of their recommended songs. Essentially, if you disliked their entire discography, and somehow had still never heard of them, then I would recommend this song after the top 50 have been recommended.
For die-hard Stryper fans, it is enjoyable. For myself, I will grow to hate it less in time. (I hope). I would give it 3 out of 5 stars, because even though I am strongly opinionated about its flaws, it is Stryper, which has become as much of a meme in the Christian Metal arena, as they are legends. Stryper has once again appeared in their yellow and black spandex bodysuits to sing happy birthday. If you want the definitive Stryper experience, listen to ‘No More Hell To Pay’ and ‘God Damn Evil’ back-to-back. They are both the band’s best work.