So I just picked up the new Stryper album, Murder by Pride. And to tell you the truth, I'm kind of disappointed by it. I definitely don't feel that it's their strongest album. They do have a power ballad, Alive, which is kind of an interesting way of stating the dilemma of feeling that God doesn't love us although He has all along. But the words are trite, and rather than being a natural, beautiful song, it really just feels like they were trying to write a power ballad.
Also missing are guitar solos on some of the songs. This is a hair metal band from the 80's. Either they're slowing down in their old age or Christian Contemporary Music is starting to influence them. There are a couple of gems, like the title track Murder by Pride and the opener, Eclipse for the Son, but there are also some poorly written ones like (in my humble opinion) the closer, My Love (I'll Always Show), which it just doesn't seem like they put much effort into writing at all. And they have a song called Everything (as if there aren't enough songs in Christian music with that song title).
Additionally, they recorded a cover of Peace of Mind by Boston, with Tom Scholz on guitar. This was fueled by Michael Sweet touring with Boston last year. I'm glad that despite the cover, we still got eleven brand new songs. I hate it when there's only ten songs on an album and one or two of them are covers (the Newsboys are notorious for this).
So rather than risk creating a music review or critique of the album, I think I'll end it here. I would just say if you're a fan of Stryper, then pick it up. There's still a lot of good stuff on the album. It's just not one of their stronger albums.
