Stryper - When We Were Kings

Arrived today. Still on my first listen, about four songs in. The opening track is solid, reminiscent of the Against the Law. Not the near power metal of the last couple albums, but more the straight melodic metal of those middle years. In fact, I’d say that’s true for all of the tracks so far.

Of course I am horrible at “genresizing.” LOL! Others will no doubt disagree with my assessment. I’ll say this, though: Michael shows no signs of slowing down, despite the recent health issues.

New album is ok, but doesn’t hold me. They’re really starting to sound very samey. Most of the songs are kinda just there and sound like rehashes of prior albums. This is the second album in a row like that. I really believe they could do better with more time spent on the songs in pre-production and maybe even playing some live before they’re recorded. I also think they could benefit from an outside producer. They’ve been on a tear since 2011, but with the last two albums I feel like they’re running out of steam.

Judas Priest took a long time to record Firepower and another long time to record Invincible Shield, and both blow the doors off Stryper’s latest albums. I’m convinced Stryper has that kind of greatness in them, but it’s not reaching its potential because they write and record so quickly. It used to work but it doesn’t seem to be anymore.

Again, some time taken to write more and better songs, more time in pre-production really fine tuning them, and an outside producer (Andy Sneap?) would all make a big difference.

All that being said I do like a few tracks on WWWK. The title track is probably my favorite. I also like Trinity, Rhyme of Time, and Imperfect World.

I got mine yesterday but haven't played it yet.

Follower of Jesus: I agree with the "samey" comment. That's why I haven't ordered the new album yet. I'm not hearing anything stand out to me... yet. I wanna give it a few spins first before I buy it.

I haven't ordered the new album.  I think I'm in a similar place.  For me, their standout album of recent years was GDE, love that one.

They write some amazing stuff, but maybe I'm just at saturation point, as I have lots of Stryper and Michael Sweet albums.

This album is killer. I’m surprised how much I like it, despite being a fan of their recent albums in general. Some of the tunes will not leave my head.

Pethead wrote:

This album is killer. I’m surprised how much I like it, despite being a fan of their recent albums in general. Some of the tunes will not leave my head.

I've only listened to it a few times, but I think it has a lot of their 80's sound in some of the songs.  Almost like it could have been a direct follow-up to "To Hell With The Devil".  I am a little surprised with the divided reactions to it though (some really dig it, while others don't seem to like it much at all).

Well, we live in a world divided by design…

I agree about the 80s sound. There seems to be a focus on big, hooky melodies. Since IGWT is my favorite Stryper album, it makes sense that this would appeal to me.