656. Stryper / Second Coming. 2013. 4.5/5

On first impressions, you could be forgiven for thinking that this is just a grab for cash, a way to pull in a few more dollars while the band keeps touring without having any more new material out. It was what I was thinking before getting the album.
Well, I was mostly wrong.

For a start, this album contains fourteen of Stryper's greatest songs, all culled from their three first, and best, albums. Two are from the EP The Yellow and Black Attack, six from Soldiers Under Command and six from To Hell With the Devil. All have been re-recorded here, updated and improved as required. For instance, as Michael Sweet also concurred, on the original albums the bass guitar is almost non-existent in the mix, and that is certainly sorted out on these versions. Also with better mastering now than from 25-30 years ago, these songs now sound fuller, brighter and louder than the originals. More than anything else, it also gives you another example of how Michael Sweet can still hit those same ridiculous notes this many years after first singing them (though, again in his own words, he doesn't quite sound like "a helium-induced kid at Disneyland" on these versions as he did to a certain degree on the original albums).

This is a real joy, and barring a couple of songs really is a greatest hits album. Those of you who, like me, are not a power ballad fan will probably still cringe at songs like "First Love" and "Loving You" and "Surrender", no matter how well they are done. But then there are the real gems, the big time songs like "Loud 'N Clear", "Soldiers Under Command", "The Rock That Makes Me Roll", "To Hell With the Devil" and "The Way" that are still just as strong and ballsy and so damn metal as they ever were. Ignore the lyrics and the "message" if you are not that way inclined (I am very atheist), because it is the music that is the star attraction. Not only that, Michael Sweet's vocals are purely awesome. He has one of the greatest voices in all music let alone heavy metal or hard rock or Christian rock. He is an amazing lead singer, and his harmonies with Oz Fox too are spectacular.
There are also two new songs here, "Bleeding From the Inside" and "Blackened" which are both also great.

Even if you have the three albums that these songs are from, this is still worth purchasing for the pureness of the recordings. If you don't, or you have never experienced Stryper in all of their glory, then this album is one you must add to your playlist.