Style: Heavy metal; compare to Ozzy Osbourne, Deep Purple, UFO
Top Tracks: “Heaven and Hell” (Black Sabbath), “On Fire” (Van Halen), “Breaking the Law” (Judas Priest)
It’s been a long time since Stryper released its 1984 debut EP The Yellow and Black Attack and launched a groundbreaking career that showed how hard Christians could rock. Now reunited with its original lineup, the iconic band delivers a definitive album of cover songs spanning the 1970s-1980s metal scene that helped shape its own multiplatinum sound. Highlights include a ferocious, galloping version of Iron Maiden’s “The Trooper” and a gospel-like take on Kiss’ “Shout It Out Loud” that’s pure jubilee. Final track “God,” the only new original composition, offers frenzied fretwork and high-octane vocals that inject faith amid the fun.
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