Stryper
September 29, 2016
Atlanta, GA
Center Stage Theater
Let me just get this out of the way first. For over 30 years, Stryper has taken all kinds of shit from the metal community. Nobody seems to give King Diamond or Watain a hard time for their religious beliefs so why should Stryper get shit for theirs? Ok, in all honesty, Satan is probably a cooler looking deity with all kinds of pointy stars and shit while Christianity has a cross but whatever. At the end of the day, only a few things truly matter: Can you rock? Can you write good songs? Can you put on a face melting show of epic proportions that give most other metal bands a run for their money? Well, when talking about Stryper, the answer is yes, yes, and H-E-double hockey sticks YES!
The last time I saw Stryper was in ’88 on the In God We Trust tour in New Orleans with Jetboy opening so asking me if I was excited about this show is an understatement. Stryper chose Atlanta as the launch pad for the 30th Anniversary tour of their most popular, groundbreaking album to date, To Hell With the Devil. If you’re like me, you’re probably thinking, “Has it really been 30 years?” It has indeed been thirty years and getting the opportunity to witness this album performed in its entirety is something that I was not going to miss. Center Stage Theater (declared a sellout at show time) was packed and there was a huge wave of positive energy and excitement in the air. I literally saw three generations of Stryper fans in the audience and this immediately showed me the impact and longevity of Strypers music.
The show opened up with a really fun video documentary on the history of Stryper leading up to To Hell With the Devil. Everyone laughed, cheered, and intently watched the video projected on the screen behind the drums. This was such a great way to get the crowd pumped up and even maybe educate some of the “new schoolers.” Once the video was finished “Abyss” filled the room with a countdown clock on the screen. This had the crowd cheering loudly as the band took the stage and slammed right into “To Hell With The Devil.”
This a really ambitious song in its own right and to open with it right out the gates was nothing short of facemelting. The band sounded and looked absolutely amazing. They played with so much power and so much energy that I couldn’t help but head bang and thrust my fist in the air singing along every word. Michael Sweet’s vocals were so powerful that people almost looked in awe as he let out that closing note of the song. Without even breaking the band went right into “Calling On You” which once again had everyone going nuts and singing along. Michael Sweet addressed the crowd thanking everyone for coming out and selling the place out and then said, “As you can see. We’re playing To Hell With the Devil in its entirety but on the album, there wasn’t all this talking in between songs so we’re gonna keep this thing going.” Stryper then launched into “Free” which took the whole night to a new level as the band stepped up the game and re-set the bar.
Before going into “Honestly”, Michael Sweet said, “The 80’s were a big time for the power ballad. We all had them but we didn’t do one because we had to. We did one because we grew up loving bands like Journey and Styx. This one was a huge hit for us so we hope you’ll sing with us. While I can honestly (ha, see what I did there) say I’ve never liked this song, hearing the audience sing every word back to the band gave me chills and hearing Michael’s amazing vocals on this track was something to really see.
Stryper performed the rest of To Hell with the Devil but the show stoppers without a doubt of this portion of the show was “Sing Along Song” and “The Way.” On “The Way”, Stryper sounded like the ultimate power metal band. From Michael Sweet’s soaring vocals to Robert Sweet’s dynamic drumming and Tim Gaines’ massive bass playing, this was the song where I felt like Stryper poured it all out onto the stage. The ripping dual leads between Michael Sweet and guitarist Oz Fox is the kind of stuff that guitar heroes are made of. Why these guys aren’t respected and recognized for their greatness as much as they should be is an absolute mystery to me.
Stryper was clearly having a great time on stage as they goofed with each other, smiled, and bantered back and forth. The classic Stryper bibles were tossed out to the crowd (sorry King Diamond but nobody’s eye got put out) and picks a plenty were tossed as well. After completing the To Hell with the Devil album, the band exited the stage and returned for another set of obscure, deep cut songs. Newer songs like “Yahweh”, “God”, and “Revelation” stood strong alongside the classic numbers in a truly remarkable way. These new songs not only showed that they can still write and deliver as good as they always have but that the older material still sounds as fresh and as exciting as if they were just released last year.
Stryper closed things out with “Soldiers Under Command” and for the encore had the fans pick one of six songs via a mobile app. To my surprise, the reigning choice was “Reach Out” which I have never heard live. Everyone was singing along, smiles on their faces, and just throwing every bit of energy they had right back to the band. As I surveyed the crowd, I even saw Rich Ward of Fozzy/Stuck Mojo, in the crowd, fists in the air singing along every word to “Reach Out.” You couldn’t have kicked the smile off that dude’s face and trust me, I knew how that felt as I was doing just the same.
30 years later, not only does To Hell with the Devil stand as strong and solid as ever but Stryper as a band seems virtually untouched by time. The hair may be a bit thinner and the waists may be a bit bigger but one thing that hasn’t change with age was their desire, their passion, and their pure love for playing the music that they have made over the years. Stryper is without a doubt like a fine wine that has aged with grace and only grown more sweet and more powerful and tasteful as they’ve gotten older. This was hands down one of the greatest live shows I have ever seen and I’m sure that sentiment is shared with the other 900 people who were in attendance that night as well. It was a truly magical night and it just makes me even more excited to see and hear what lies ahead for Stryper as their best years are very much still ahead of them.
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