Frontiers Records - 2022
7/10
Ever since Stryper returned from their ten year hiatus, the glam metal powerhouse has been spotty, ranging anywhere from incredible revival to absolute disappointment. Their latest effort Even The Devil Believes was serviceable but boring, the one prior an absolute fluke, and the one before that incredible. So yeah, it’s anybody’s guess, especially when they’ve lately taken the Overkill route of dropping a record every other year (almost). This brings us to last year’s The Final Battle, continuing with the power metal adjacent aesthetic yielding Christian themes, in every way including album art looking nearly identical.
For much of this, it’s fairly business-as-usual without a lot of deviation from the previous handful of records. You’ve got your powerful chanted choruses, high (albeit aged) Michael Sweet vocal energy, heavily distorted but shiny enough guitars, and an atmosphere void of any proverbial clouds. As I’ve stated before, stylistically, Stryper has gone somewhat stale by using the same trick for probably every album since No More Hell To Pay. For that, the only thing that we can rely on is songwriting that fares decently (or not). On an objective front, I’d say that there’s a slight step up in quality from before, a slow incline in writing since the jarring shift from the incredible Fallen to the horrendous God Damn Evil.
And that’s really the one heavier strength with The Final Battle. While nothing new is introduced, what’s being done again has enough catchy material and lead guitar chops to maintain my attention. As predictable as much of this is, I can’t deny the fun flow of “Heart & Soul,” especially mixing the calm chorus with beefy solos and slower rhythms. Opener “Transgressor” lays a faster gallop foundation, and the “Near” ballad is not only soothing but boosted with sturdy foundation, not coming off too corny. In recent years, they’ve done decently with maintaining strong balladry.
While there isn’t too much beyond some notable moments that stands out, there really isn’t much to complain about either. Maybe not the most inspiring stuff, but this is the strongest record we’ve gotten since 2015. Many a black/thrash artist will put out an album in the same vein, a difficult approach to mess up, and for the most part will satisfy a listening itch for a short time. This is no different, other than in the style itself. Probably skippable for most casual fans, but still worth hearing.
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