659. Stryper / Murder by Pride. 2009. 3.5/5

When you come into a new Stryper album, you can be sure of a few things. One, the vocals will be awesome, pitch perfect and sensational. Two, you will come across at least two ballads, ones that will suck the life out of your listening pleasure if only for the fact that they will stall the impetus that the album has made up until the point they arrive. Three, the guitars of Michael Sweet and Oz Fox will constantly surprise and amaze you with their power and force.
Murder by Pride is no different.

The great songs here are brilliant. To be honest, surprisingly so, given the length of time that has passed since their last truly great album, To Hell With the Devil. Sure, they've had some good songs since then, but their appearance has been stagnant and more like potholes on a highway than the highway itself. The opener "Eclipse of the Son" is powerful and gritty. "The Plan" is driven by Sweet's amazing vocals and a great solo by Fox. "Murder by Pride" follows the same path. "Love is Why" and "Everything" are also favourites of mine here.

The ballads, as always for me, are the killer. "Alive" and "I Believe" both come along at their specified intervals and halt the progress of the album. Don't get me wrong, the vocals and the guitars sound strong and spectacular, but they aren't enough to stop that nagging feeling I have with so many albums of this nature, that if they just out these songs aside and didn't allow the momentum to shift, they would be so much better. I'm also not too sure about the Boston cover song, "Peace of Mind". We know you played with them for a few years Michael, no need to remind us of it!

There is a lot to like about this release, and in most ways it not only proves that Stryper the band can still make good albums, it also hopefully points to a resurgence in their fortunes. It is interesting to note the difference that Kenny Aronoff on drums and Tracy Ferrie on bass make on this album, compared to long term members Robert Sweet and Tim Gaines. Both are excellent here. The twin guitars of Michael Sweet and Oz Fox are again just truly awesome, while their vocals also are soaring. Whether or not this is a 'comeback' is worth arguing about, but it is worthy of a listen.