HighNDry wrote: ↑Tue Nov 17, 2020 4:47 pm
How about Stryper? Not sure if they’ve been mentioned and I’m too lazy to search.
Get ready to giggle.i fucking
love Stryper! Like, you have no idea. I have
all their shit. Even the demos they did as Roxx Regime back in 1983. And, one of my prized possessions, a guitar signed by Robert Sweet, Oz Fox, and Tim Gaines. I actually went as "Stryper" for Halloween when I was 5; I hadn't yet become cognizant of the concept of a band, so I thought those songs I loved were all by one guy, whose name was Stryper. But I thought I looked cool as shit in my black and yellow rock star costume.
Michael Sweet is one of the best pure singers in metal. Sharp, clean, operatic, powerful, and able to hit notes most of his peers can't even approach. Oz Fox is everything Eddie Van Halen would've liked to be as a guitarist. He shreds like a thrash metal guy, but keeps it melodic and tight to the song. Robert Sweet keeps time perfectly and doesn't masturbate with the drum fills. Tim Gaines, when he actually plays the bass, is solid as fuck -- it's a shame he didn't actually play a lot of the songs he's credited for. He has some shit going on in his life that I'm unaware of, so he's away for now, but it'll be nice to have him back when he's ready.
Okay, yes, the Christian metal gimmick is a little hokey, but it's no more embarrassing than Metallica wandering around pretending to be musicians. And all the yellow and black striped shit actually looks pretty cool in my opinion.
They write heavy songs that still manage to have humongous hooks, their melodies are clear, they harmonize perfectly, and their songs are epic. Check out "Calling on You", "Free", "Soldiers Under Command", "I Believe in You", and for a good time, the all-covers album
The Covering. Their versions of Iron Maiden's "The Trooper" and Deep Purple's "Highway Star" are fucking incredible.
Their next-to-latest album,
God Damn Evil, is a masterpiece as well. 5 out of 5.
"Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids. Wealthy kids, black kids, Asian kids... no I really mean it, but think how we think about it.” -- lifelong segregationist Joe Biden