1057. Stryper / Soldiers Under Command. 1985. 3.5/5

Following the path of being a Christian band with a heavy metal twinge is not one that you would have considered to be one that would lead to a following on the scale of the larger bands in the world, certainly in the mid 1980’s where there was a convergence in regards to the genre of heavy metal itself. Stryper had made a good fist of it leading up to the release of their debut EP “The Yellow and Black Attack”, and on the back of that they were the opening act on tours by two of the biggest bands at that time, Bon Jovi and Ratt, and the exposure gained through those tours increased their popularity. It also had parts of their hardcore fan base, and Christian groups who were not necessarily fans of the band’s music, questioning whether they were a true Christian band given the music played by those that they were on tour with. It was a tight line that the band had to walk. Despite the success they had in picking up new fans, either for the message they were spruiking or for the music they were playing, there were just as many people who chastised them for much the same things – that they couldn’t be a Christian band if they played this genre of music, or that they were true Christians if they were touring with these other bands whose morals surely couldn’t line up with what they were espousing.
On the back of the further exposure the band received on those tours, they headed back into the studio in early 1985 to begin work on their first full length album, one that would be considered as their debut studio album. The band brought in legendary producer Michael Wagener, who had started with Accept and Dokken, and would from this point branch out into almost all of the most popular metal bands and albums of the 1980’s. His experience and suggestions helped the band put together what they hoped would be their springboard to their career. What it achieved, released as “Soldiers Under Command” in August of 1985, no doubt exceeded all of their expectations

If you come looking for Stryper albums, then you know what is involved and you know what you are getting yourself in for. You can be Christian and come for the message within the lyrics. You can be... not... Christian... and come to Stryper to hear great songs with wonderful guitars and drums and amazing vocals. Perhaps you’ll come for both of those things. Whatever way it is, coming into a Stryper album, you know exactly what you are going to get – apart from the one album that I reviewed here just a few episodes ago, “Against the Law”. That was the one album that didn’t follow the Stryper script. But here on “Soldiers Under Command”, the template is well and truly set.
So. Let’s get this out there from the outset. There are a couple of… terrible… awful... songs on this album. There’s just no other way I can describe them. They are those terrible awful ballad tracks that for some reason bands insist they must produce in order to sell their records. Or gain airplay. Or whatever reason they come up with. And yes, I know there are those people out there who like them and enjoy the way that they believe that they enhance an album. But if you’ve listened here long enough you know that for me, in MOST instances, that is not the case. In most instances ballads or power ballads or acoustic ballads pretty destroy what otherwise are perfectly decent albums. And is that the case with “Soldiers Under Command?” My WORD it is! So here, Stryper has produced a couple of beauties. The first of those to appear is “First Love”, which is so sickly sweet it encourages a gagging reflex every time I have to listen to it without skipping. And here is a snatch of the lyrics, those that are repeated often through the song: “Tears in the night, filled with pain, you're running from the love that you had before, you cried out for your first love. There is no love like the love of your first love, it's so true, yes true love will never leave you”. Of course, Michael here is singing about God, which is fine. And it is a love song. That’s great. But everything prior to this song is basically upbeat, fun, happy, energetic. And then this song arrives, and kills off the mood of the album entirely. Album killer? Almost. If not for the following track which closes out side one of the album, this song could have been charged with manslaughter at the very least. Zero redeeming features here. Then on the second side of the album we have “Together As One” which is pretty much on the same level. It’s almost a carbon copy of “First Love” with lyrics such as: “Together as one we'll stand for the world to see, together as one we'll shine throughout eternity”. And yes, Michael talking about God again. But it is the music that is the main killer. Once again all of the momentum that the album has created to this point gets washed away in a huge vat-full of sad, soppy wasted material. Now I’m sure that the band and their producer and record company thinks that they are a valuable addition to the album. Well no, they’re not. They destroy the momentum and feel of the album in its tracks. In the days of vinyl and cassettes I used to cut both of these songs out when I recorded it for the car, and it made the album a hell of a lot better. No pun intended.
Okay. Now that we have got this out of the way, we can talk about the far more enjoyable parts of the album. The solid base of the album comes from songs such as “Makes Me Wanna Sing” and “Reach Out” which are the best type that Stryper put forward, hard rock songs that put forth their message but also give it to you with guitars and great vocals. The combination of guitars between Michael Sweet and Oz Fox bring these songs up above average level, as does Michael’s amazing vocals range. These two songs are on the second tier level tracks for Stryper. Along with them, we have tracks such as “Together Forever”, “(Waiting For) A Love That’s Real” and “Surrender”, which are the building blocks of the best Stryper albums. They are solid songs that may not be exceptional, but are good solid songs that fill the gaps between the best on the album, but keep the album moving forward, holding the good feelings that have been produced and not do anything to drag the album down – yes, like those songs I mentioned at the top. are also better than average tracks. “Battle Hymn of the Republic” don’t quite finish off the album as well as it could. It is a grandiose version of this patriotic American song, but it seems over-indulgent and a little bit over the top as a way to conclude the album.
On the other hand, there are two songs here that stack up with the best of anything that was produced by hair and glam metal bands throughout the decade of the 1980’s, the two songs that bookend the first side of the album. The title track “Soldiers Under Command”, which opens the album in style, and the first side closer “The Rock That Makes Me Roll” showcase the best that Stryper can offer, with the twin guitars of Michael Sweet and Oz Fox paired off with their amazing vocal work, and driven by the rhythm of Robert Sweet’s ‘visual timekeeping’ and Tim Gaines bass guitar. These are both anthemic and wonderfully and almost playfully heavy, and perhaps more than the band realised at that time, the songs that best amplify the message they were trying to promote. The choruses of both lead themselves to be sung at loud volumes – almost raising your voice to God, if you will – and as a way of drawing in fans and outsiders to their message, it is a far better method than sending fans into despair and illness by having to listen to ballads. Both are terrific songs that call for pumping fists and banging heads and are the absolute highlights of the album.

My introduction to the band Stryper didn’t come until 1987 when the band first toured Australia on their “To Hell with the Devil” album – a story in itself that will shortly appear on my Patreon page should anyone be interested in signing up and having a listen. It was then that I first got the three albums that the band had released to that point, the EP “The Yellow and Black Attack”, the album they were touring on and “Soldiers Under Command”. And without going into the whole story behind it, being confronted with Christian lyrics on these albums was slightly confronting for a then 17-year-old who had left any pretence at a belief of a higher being behind long ago. But once I heard the music... I was sold enough to continue. And actually seeing the band live so soon into my discovery of their music was absolutely so important. It is still one of the loudest gigs I have ever seen, and hearing them play all of those great songs live brought them to life. That helped enormously.
As you will have guessed, I was not – nor am I now – sold on the two ballads on this album. Terrible tracks, they destroy the album, or at least at much as I allow them to. But the rest of the album is mostly excellent, and because I come to the albums of this band for the music, it has to be good to retain my interest. And it is. All four members are wonderful on their instruments, but it is those melodic and riffing guitars of Michael and Oz that take centre stage, and of course Michael ridiculous vocals, that extend themselves even further on the following album.
I’ve listened to this album a dozen times over the past few days once again. And nothing has really ever changed for me about it over the last 38 years that I have owned it. And the Stryper structure has barely changed over the years, to me at least. There are usually one or two tracks that I just outright hate, there are half a dozen that I think are good, usually better than average songs, and then the 2-4 tracks that are outstanding and continue to be so. That holds up here on “Soldiers Under Command”. Compared to their albums of the past decade this has perhaps dated a bit, but given I was on board at a very early stage with this band, it will always be an attachment that I’m unwilling to let go of.