Stryper

[Dark Star]

Well I saw a Stryper thread resurrected and it got Me thinking about em..*chuckles*

 

So, what's Everyone's favorite Stryper album??

 

I didn't bother with the Greatest hits or live albums..*chuckles*

[heaven&hell]

Against the Law is my pick, I love that album.

[Geoff]

Against the Law is my pick, I love that album.

Is there any other choice? I like several somgs from previous albums, but this one kicks ass throughout with only a few fillers. Huge factor for me too - Stryper recorded arguably all of the worst ballads ever, up until this album, where they unleashed possibly my fave Stryper track, 'Lady'.

 

FYI, when I crashed my first car 'Caught in the middle' and 'All for one' blared through the speakers as I stared at the wreckage. Yeah, 'Against the law' by miles.

[Dark Star]

Hmm... Ok Yea I DO Like "Against the Law"?? My first Stryper album was "To Hell With the Devil" SO that one's one of My favorites.... "Soldiers Under Command" Is also good....

 

But yea Against the Law, when they FINALLY ditched those Yellow and Black costumes, and looked a lil.. Darker... yea THAT was pretty cool..*G*

[LV KIX]

"To Hell With The Devil"

 

But I could have picked any of them... I spin "Reborn" just about every week.

[heaven&hell]

FYI, when I crashed my first car 'Caught in the middle' and 'All for one' blared through the speakers as I stared at the wreckage. Yeah, 'Against the law' by miles.

 

 

When I crashed my first car Tora Tora's "Hard Times" was playing on my stereo as I lay upside down in my car.

[Fat Freddy]

I have actually had arguments with other Stryper fans on other boards about this in the past, so I'm gratified to see "Against The Law" gettin' some love up in this piece (you GO Wes & Geoff!), as I still regard that as their best work. Of course, the hardcore Christian fans (like that "Prophet" schmuck in the other thread) hated "ATL" and felt that the boys were "turning their back on God" or whatever. (To which I always replied, "How bout 'Rock The Hell Out Of You?' Seems pretty blatant to me.")

I could have easily picked any of the first three albums too, though 'Against The Law' is, to my ears, their most musically mature work and the one album in their catalog that has aged the best IMHO. (I just listened to "In God We Trust" today and GEESH, the amount of sugar and sap on that disc damn near gave me diabetes...!)

 

I wish I was as enthusiastic about the "Reborn" album as most folks seemed to be around here, I thought it stunk on ice personally. Sold my copy off several months back. I was very disappointed, especially after a fifteen year (!) wait for new material!!

[HighNDryRulz]

Against the Law is my pick, I love that album.

Is there any other choice? I like several somgs from previous albums, but this one kicks ass throughout with only a few fillers. Huge factor for me too - Stryper recorded arguably all of the worst ballads ever, up until this album, where they unleashed possibly my fave Stryper track, 'Lady'.

 

FYI, when I crashed my first car 'Caught in the middle' and 'All for one' blared through the speakers as I stared at the wreckage. Yeah, 'Against the law' by miles.

 

Typical.... We disagree again, Geoff. Next to Reborn, Against the Law is my least favorite Stryper disc.

 

I went with To Hell With the Devil, followed closely by Soldiers Under Command.

[Geoff]

(I just listened to "In God We Trust" today and GEESH, the amount of sugar and sap on that disc damn near gave me diabetes...!)

That's what I hate about the earlier stuff. I love the beefy sound musically, but the lyrics, the ballads and Sweet's voice on the ballads - makes me sick to the stomach. IMO 'Against the law' is easily their finest hour.

 

I wish I was as enthusiastic about the "Reborn" album as most folks seemed to be around here, I thought it stunk on ice personally. Sold my copy off several months back. I was very disappointed, especially after a fifteen year (!) wait for new material!!

I actually would rate 'Reborn' 2nd, probably tied with 'In god we trust'. It'd be hard to rank them, but I thought 'Reborn' was a good album.

[HighNDryRulz]

(I just listened to "In God We Trust" today and GEESH, the amount of sugar and sap on that disc damn near gave me diabetes...!)

That's what I hate about the earlier stuff. I love the beefy sound musically, but the lyrics, the ballads and Sweet's voice on the ballads - makes me sick to the stomach. IMO 'Against the law' is easily their finest hour.

 

I wish I was as enthusiastic about the "Reborn" album as most folks seemed to be around here, I thought it stunk on ice personally. Sold my copy off several months back. I was very disappointed, especially after a fifteen year (!) wait for new material!!

I actually would rate 'Reborn' 2nd, probably tied with 'In god we trust'. It'd be hard to rank them, but I thought 'Reborn' was a good album.

 

We would probably rate these albums in exact opposite order!

[aXe mAn]

I say "To Hell With The Devil"! The songs...."to hell with the devil" & "calling on you" are stand out tracks to me. Overall good album.

[Fat Freddy]

That's what I hate about the earlier stuff. I love the beefy sound musically, but the lyrics, the ballads and Sweet's voice on the ballads - makes me sick to the stomach. IMO 'Against the law' is easily their finest hour.

 

I didn't mind Stryper's ballads back in the day but they annoy the crap out of me now. I'll still listen to "Honestly" when I play TO HELL WITH THE DEVIL but as for the rest of'em, I'm glad CD players have a "skip" button when something like "Together As One" or "All Of Me" comes on. I always wondered why they felt the need to put TWO ballads on each record. One apiece would've been plenty!!

[JustJason]

Against the Law here too. Lady is just about the best ballad ever.

[Fat Freddy]

I actually would rate 'Reborn' 2nd, probably tied with 'In god we trust'. It'd be hard to rank them, but I thought 'Reborn' was a good album.

 

I never liked "IN GOD WE TRUST" much. If you play it back to back with TO HELL WITH THE DEVIL you can tell that's it's virtually a carbon copy of its predecessor. Seriously, "In God We Trust" - heavy opening song, like "To Hell With The Devil." "Always There For You" - radio friendly hard(ish) rock single, similar to "Calling On You." The ballads are even in the same positions in the running order as the two on DEVIL. Obviously since DEVIL was their biggest hit album, it stands to reason that they'd want to continue in the same vein with the follow up, but geez, they could've mixed things up just a little. The formula shows a little too blatantly on IN GOD WE TRUST. Come on, guys! Did they think nobody would notice??

 

One of these days I wish they'd re-issue the YELLOW & BLACK ATTACK EP in its original format (6 songs, with the original cover art of the missiles headed towards a "stryped" Planet Earth)... because aside from AGAINST THE LAW, that EP was the hardest-rocking stuff Stryper ever did. Sadly, when the band started getting big they re-released it with a different cover and "remixed" versions of the songs that totally neutered them (and again, they added a new ballad, "My Love I'll Always Show," to the running order that was totally vomit-inducing...). Back in 2004 I thought it might be cool if they released a special 20th anniversary edition, but no dice. Maybe in 2009 they'll do it for the 25th anniversary?

[eaglesfan3000]

I picked To Hell With The Devil, but I now have voters remorse and I should have picked Against The Law.

[Jez]

'Soldiers Under Command' then 'Against The Law'

[Chris]

Against The Law followed by To Hell With The Devil.

[Geoff]

I actually would rate 'Reborn' 2nd, probably tied with 'In god we trust'. It'd be hard to rank them, but I thought 'Reborn' was a good album.

 

I never liked "IN GOD WE TRUST" much. If you play it back to back with TO HELL WITH THE DEVIL you can tell that's it's virtually a carbon copy of its predecessor. Seriously, "In God We Trust" - heavy opening song, like "To Hell With The Devil." "Always There For You" - radio friendly hard(ish) rock single, similar to "Calling On You." The ballads are even in the same positions in the running order as the two on DEVIL. Obviously since DEVIL was their biggest hit album, it stands to reason that they'd want to continue in the same vein with the follow up, but geez, they could've mixed things up just a little. The formula shows a little too blatantly on IN GOD WE TRUST. Come on, guys! Did they think nobody would notice??

Agreed. Same with Kingdom Come - first 2 albums are identical in set-up and running order with type of track. Lucky for them both kick ass.

 

I cannot believe 'In god we trust' doesn't have a single vote. Wow.

[Fat Freddy]

"To Hell With The Devil" and "Against The Law" are tied with 8 votes apiece!! Somebody needs to break this tie!!

[phaffas]

1. "Soldier under command" ,

2. "Reborn",

Equal 3rd. "To hell with the devil", "Against the law" & "in God we trust"

Last. "The yellow and black attack "

[SEB]

1. against the law

2. in god we trust

3. to hell with the devil

4. soldiers under command

5. the yellow and black attack

6. reborn

[heaven&hell]

Now that I've heard all of the early Stryper discs here's how I rate them:

 

1. Against the Law

2. Too Hell With the Devil

3. In God We Trust(I can't believe this hasnt' gotten a vote yet)

4. Soldiers Under Command

5. The Yellow and Black Attack

 

All 5 of these kick butt and 2 through 4 are all very close but ATL will always be my fav.

[Nick C]

Yellow and Black Attack

then

Soldiers ........ they're the only ones I still have ... probably kept because of the vinyl colours but I still like to spin them once in a while.

[metalmaniac777]

"To Hell With the Devil" was my introduction to Stryper and remains my favorite and most-played to this day. I still remember the "controversy" this album caused in my Christian school, between the "swearing" of the album title and the original "banned" angel cover...not to mention the "unholiness" of the music itself.

[aMetalhead1966]

Soldiers Under Command....