Reviewed by Ian Webber

With over 30 years' experience and a raft of awards, these hard rocking Californians seem to be getting more prolific with age, releasing yet another studio album of self-penned expansive rock tracks. Marked by the typical Stryper punctuation of layered harmonies, Michael Sweet's unmistakable vocal delivery and crunching guitar riffs, you could not mistake this for any other band. There is, however, a slightly dirtier, incessant bass drive to the tracks on this recording which I enjoyed. In the opening epic "Yahweh", Tim Gaines' bass sounds particularly tight and assured. Far from getting tired and predictable there is not a single filler amongst the 12 cuts. The single "Fallen" is full of twin guitar solos and a huge drum sound that harps back to classic Stryper, setting the tone for an onslaught of swaggering choruses. As has been the case on recent recordings, the veteran rockers include a cover. This time, Black Sabbath's "After Forever" is given the treatment and ends up sounding bigger and more sumptuous than the original. The weakest moment in what is a most impressive collection is "All Over Again" which harps back to the sound of their classic "Honestly" but in truth ends up sounding a little dated. Having said this, I would encourage any fan of classic rock to give this recording a listen, as it is probably the best release from these pioneers in a good while.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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