Rate the Stryper Reunion (2005-present) albums

Not counting Second Coming, how would you rate Stryper's reunion albums? Here's how I would rank them:

1. Even The Devil Believes (Has the heaviness and a good emphasis on melody)
2. Fallen (Definitely a different sound from Stryper, but one that worked well)
3. No More Hell To Pay (Classic sounding and anthemic enough to make a good album)
4. Murder By Pride (A bit too ballad heavy in the second half, but the first half is some of their finest work)
5. The Covering (Good covers, but they needed to be a bit looser on some of them, particularly the Kiss and Van Halen covers. God is a classic though)
6. God Damn Evil (Would have made a good EP, but too many inconsistent songs mean it doesnt really hold up as a full-length for me)
7. Reborn (Probably the weakest, I see what they were going for, but the whole modern rock sound doesnt work well for them)

WildWorld wrote:Not counting Second Coming, how would you rate Stryper's reunion albums? Here's how I would rank them:

1. Even The Devil Believes (Has the heaviness and a good emphasis on melody)
2. Fallen (Definitely a different sound from Stryper, but one that worked well)
3. No More Hell To Pay (Classic sounding and anthemic enough to make a good album)
4. Murder By Pride (A bit too ballad heavy in the second half, but the first half is some of their finest work)
5. The Covering (Good covers, but they needed to be a bit looser on some of them, particularly the Kiss and Van Halen covers. God is a classic though)
6. God Damn Evil (Would have made a good EP, but too many inconsistent songs mean it doesnt really hold up as a full-length for me)
7. Reborn (Probably the weakest, I see what they were going for, but the whole modern rock sound doesnt work well for them)

I agree with your list. Except I would switch The Covering to #4 and Murder by Pride should be #5.

I think I’ll have to spin some of them again to make my decision. I shall get on that.

1. Fallen - Yahweh and Fallen, two of the best ever Stryper songs.
2. God Damn Evil - Underrated album.  The first four tracks are consistent greatness
3. Even The Devil Believes - Would have been top, but the last track just is too annoying for me.  Do Unto Others - ranks as probably the best song Stryper have ever done.
4. No More Hell To Pay - All top four albums in this list are really good.
5. Murder By Pride - Good album
6. The Covering  - Not too keen on covers, but GOD is an epic song.
7. Reborn - Glad to see them back, but this is MS solo with the other guys helping out.

1. Even the Devil Believes. - Not a bad song on it.
2. No More Hell to Pay. - Also not a bad song.
3. Fallen. - Also not a bad song, but not as strong as the previous two.
4. Reborn. - Underrated.  "Modern" was exactly the right move at the time.
5. Murder by Pride. - Stronger individual songs than Reborn but also more filler than Reborn.
6. GDE. - Good, but I could never get into this.  When I listen to this era of Stryper I listen to my #1-3 picks instead.
7. The Covering. - Probably good.  I didn't grow up on secular music so there is no emotional involvement in it.

No More Hell to Pay because after Reborn and MBP I was afraid they couldn't be relevant again and this is great stuff.
Fallen-Almost power metallish? Good stuff here.
The Covering-I'm a sucker for good covers.
Second Coming  I know, I know but I like this better then the next two.
Even the Devil Believes
GDE 

I like Mike's last couple solos better then EtDB and GDE.

Stopped listening to Stryper probably about sometime after Against the Law was released. Have not heard much post that album. There was a time I really liked the band, but I had me a sit down and a nostalgic listen through some of their albums I used to own. Long story short, couldn't stomach it. Oh well. So gave Bloodgood a jam and surprisingly still enjoy that band! Anyway- ramble on.

Against the Law is my favorite by them.

NOTE: the individual albums within each tier are subject to rearrangement, although the tiers are pretty set at this point. 

Tier 1:

1. God Damn Evil 

This sucker dominated my CD player when it came out. To this day it has some of my favorite Stryper tunes and something about it just grabs me.

2. No More Hell to Pay

This turned me from a fan of Stryper to a fanboy of Stryper. Objectively, I might argue it’s actually their overall strongest. No weak tunes.

Tier 2:

3. Even the Devil Believes

Really solid. 

4. Fallen

Might have some higher highs than EtDB, but I find it a bit less consistent. Still fantastic. 

Tier 3:

5. Reborn 

Underrated. Great tunes and solid lyrics.

6. Murder by Pride

Some great tunes and some I don’t care for. 

Tier 4:

7. The Covering

Really well done, but I’d usually rather pop in the originals. But any band that covers the mighty Van Halen and does it well gets my respect. 


The first 4 on my list are desert island discs and the final three are none too shabby, either. Stryper rules!

1. tie between Fallen and NMHTP: Top notch up there with their old classics
2. tie between GDE and ETDB: solid stuff overall but a tad less memorable 
3. Murder by Pride: Some great cuts but not as coherent as the above

I think I never listened to Reborn or The Covering…

1. Even the Devil Believes - not a single bad track; their best ever.

2. Fallen - the first two songs and last two songs are among my all-time favorite Stryper songs. The opening riff of The Calling is my phone ringtone!

3. NMHTP - fantastic return to form.

4. God Damn Evil - a touch more inconsistent but still quite good

5. The Covering - a fun listen; well done; God is an awesome tune!

6. Murder By Pride - good but not great

7. Reborn - underrated, but not great either

I will mention Second Coming because the two new tracks here, especially Blackened, are very, very good songs. Blackened is in my top 5 Stryper songs ever.

1. No More Hell To Pay - Has some of their best songs; I think this one is so underrated.  
2. Fallen - A bit less memorable but the strong songs are also some of their best.
3. God Damn Evil - Less consistent than the 2 previous, but still a good album overall.
4. Even The Devil Believes - IMO very overrated album as far as song-writing goes, but the production and guitar solos are spectacular.

The remaining albums - Reborn, Murder By Pride, The Covering were not of much interest to me.
Reborn and Murder By Pride in particular I found to be dull, but The Covering was mildly interesting and "God" is a great track. "Blackened" from Second Coming is also a great song.

It’s a testament to the quality of the last 4 that all of them are in someone’s #1 spot.

My ranking:

Even the Devil Believes - their most solid post-reunion album. A great mix of what they'd done over the previous three albums but somehow has a bit more of the 80's melodic feel to it. They took some chances with How To Fly and This I Pray that I think worked well and pulling out Invitation Only from the vault and finishing it was a great touch that reminds me of a better track off of In God We Trust. Perry actually adds more to the band's sound than I expected.

Fallen - was blown away by this album initially. Other than Do It All Over Again (which sticks out like a sore thumb in the middle), this album is outstanding beginning to end. The last three tracks make up the strongest and heaviest ending to any Stryper album. 

GDE - I edited off the huge intro to Take It To The Cross to make the track easily listenable but it's still not a favorite. Other than I really like this album. Sea of Thieves is one of my favorite deep tracks. It has a nice Priest style riff like Till I Get What I Need off of Fallen. Own Up with the massive riff and Robert's thunderous, rhythmic drumming is another sleeper for me. I think this album has Robert's best performance and drum sound.

No More Hell To Pay - some amazing tracks here: Saved by Love, Legacy, Marching Into Battle but the tail end of the album (after Te Amo), while not having a single bad track, kind of washes out with a series of okay tracks.

Reborn - I really like this album. It's not the Stryper sound I wanted. However the vocal harmonies, the songwriting and the chunky production all boost this for me. It's got some great diversity that works for it. 

Murder By Pride - The title track is great, Alive is one of their better ballads in their comeback era, and Mercy over Blame is pretty good too. Unfortunately this album, over all, just floats by. It doesn't have the chunky riffs of Reborn and hasn't been metalized like the last four. It comes off mediocre for me. I wish I liked this better then and now.

1.  No More Hell To Pay

2.  Fallen

3.  Even The Devil Believes

4.  Murder By Pride

5.  Second Coming

6. God Damn Evil

7.  Reborn (I actually prefer the Michael Sweet reissue that shows that this was always meant to be a solo project.)

alldatndensum wrote:1.  No More Hell To Pay

2.  Fallen

3.  Even The Devil Believes

4.  Murder By Pride

5.  Second Coming

6. God Damn Evil

7.  Reborn (I actually prefer the Michael Sweet reissue that shows that this was always meant to be a solo project.)

I agree with this list except No More Hell To Pay and Fallen are a tie for me…either one could be 1 or 2.  

Even The Devil Believes could rival the first 2 but I still prefer NMHTP & Fallen. I think Middle Finger Messiah was a weak ending to a great album.

I felt like Stryper was returning to form with Murder By Pride after a weak Reborn album. “Peace of Mind” Boston cover is Stellar! I also like the Metal Version in the album closer “My Love(I’ll Always Show).”

Second Coming has a great song selection….just wished for a little variation in the way songs were played to make it their own, but they pull it off like the pro’s that they are!

God Damn Evil is a good album….just not as memorable as the previous albums…but some great songs on here such as “Sorry, The Valley and The Devil Doesn’t Live Here.”

Yes, I prefer that Michael Sweet reissue of Reborn as well over the Stryper version. It’s their weakest album in my opinion. It definitely was meant as a solo project….I think the Michael Sweet version sounds more complete with the added solo’s and has a richer sound.

Stryper released some great albums since they got back together:

1. Even the Devil Believes: Alot of great songs and mostly consistent.
2. Fallen: Great songs with great production. 
3. No More Hell To Pay: Great songs and I think it has my favorite artwork since 2005. 
4. God, Damn Evil: Another great album. 
5. Murder By Pride: While the artwork don't do much for me, it's much more melodic than Reborn and is a transitional album. 
6. Reborn: Good album but not great. Has some great songs like Reborn, When Did I See You Cry and If I Die and a great version of IGWT.

I wouldn't count The Covering in the ranking like I wouldn't count Second Coming as these are rerecords of their own classics and bands that influenced them. Both are great albums and the 3 new tracks are good, especially God.

I can safely say The Final Battle is now #1 for me.

Most all of you forget about our latest, “The Final Battle”. Also, anyone who says they haven’t listened to or heard our on back albums is really missing out. It’s better than the classic Stryper albums. Most people agree. To write it off based on the past is just plain sad. Oh well, so it goes…….

Just was able to spend time with Even the Devil Believes.


It's very very good! They are as good as ever.

Gipperman wrote:Most all of you forget about our latest, “The Final Battle”. Also, anyone who says they haven’t listened to or heard our  on back albums is really missing out. It’s better than the classic Stryper albums. Most people agree. To write it off based on the past is just plain sad. Oh well, so it goes…….

This thread was started before The Final Battle, so that explains why most don’t have it. 

It’s my favorite, though.

Pethead wrote:

Gipperman wrote:Most all of you forget about our latest, “The Final Battle”. Also, anyone who says they haven’t listened to or heard our  on back albums is really missing out. It’s better than the classic Stryper albums. Most people agree. To write it off based on the past is just plain sad. Oh well, so it goes…….

This thread was started before The Final Battle, so that explains why most don’t have it. 

It’s my favorite, though.

I'll add that I typically have to wait awhile before I can rank a band's latest album. The new album shine has to wear off and then I can see how it holds up when I've fully absorbed it and I go to reach for it (or not) over all the others.

That said, I've been listening to The Final Battle more and more often as of late (often several times a day) and it still continues to grow on me. There again isn't a bad track in the lot. I actually love every song. If I came back to this thread in a year I'd probably put it at the top of my list or second behind ETDB

Some get better.  When I first heard No More Hell to Pay, I thought it was good but nothing special (that thread is out there on this board somewhere).  Now it is one of my favorites, as my ranking above shows.

Gipperman wrote:Most all of you forget about our latest, “The Final Battle”. Also, anyone who says they haven’t listened to or heard our  on back albums is really missing out. It’s better than the classic Stryper albums. Most people agree. To write it off based on the past is just plain sad. Oh well, so it goes…….

As Pethead said this thread predates the Final Battle, which was a fantastic effort. I rank NMHTP and Fallen a tad higher, TFB is on par with GDE and ETDB which are all great, make no mistake.

So you had an amazing five album run.

Are they better than the five classic albums? Hard to say, for me a lot of nostalgia is attached to the first five albums so I can’t be objective. 

What is certain that both runs were fantastic and I do not know another band that can boast to have such a deep catalogue of both old and new records that are simply outstanding.

Congratulations on this and keep blessing us with that Sweet (pun intended) stuff!