Stryper "The Final Battle" thoughts

Excited to see this showed up in the mail four days early today. I thought it be nice to have a place to collect our thoughts as we picked it up and absorbed the album.

Listening through it just twice, here are a few of my own initial thoughts:

Those complaining about a stagnant sound won't be complaining when they hear the whole album. There are a lot of different sounds going on here. Michael tried a lot more with his vocal delivery and rhythms between verses and choruses. I wasn't as sure the first time through but everything made more sense on the second trip.

This tops Fallen and GDE for what I consider their best sounding albums. The production is monstrous and Perry's thunderous bass work adds even more to their sound than on Even The Devil Believes.

There are two modern "love songs" and both are solid tracks. I wouldn't say "Till Death Do Us Part" is a ballad but it is a great song, the better of the two.

The album is diverse in pace across the whole scope and very well balanced. I'd say the fastest tracks have been released but closer Ashes to Ashes has a nasty, chunky riff that makes it a pretty sweet anthem to end on. Definitely one of my favorite tracks from the band, instantly likable.

Not predicting where this goes in the list of their best but there's no doubt this is a solid release again to my ears.

Not going to post much more on this if others aren't getting theirs yet beyond saying I'm glad this is a grower. All the interesting differences, especially in Michael's vocal melodies and rhythms, added twists that I wasn't sure I liked the first time through. I often enjoy albums more if they aren't automatic on first listen. I've been through this 4 times now and, as this has been getting better with each listen, I'm further encouraged.

Interested in hear what everyone else thinks. I bet some will be disappointed. I'm not disappointed in the least.

This album is GREAT. Amazing choruses, great riffs, and a good amount of variety while still sounding like Stryper.

After a first spin I will say it‘s a solid release. Nothing to really complain about. My favourites are the faster cuts Transgressor, Rise To The Call and Ashes To Ashes which are great. Got to give the other cuts another spin tho.

I am addicted to the song Near.

Tourniguy wrote:I am addicted to the song Near.

Catchy indeed. There are a few of those addictive hooks tho. Dudes know how to write a song…

Ending the album with a stomper like Ashes to Ashes is a bold move and I like the groove on No Rest for the Wicked. Funny, the single, Same Old Story is the weakest song to me. Now, we'll have to see if it matches NMHTP as my favorite from the newer era.

I found it more immediately likable than any since NMHtP, even though I’ve liked all of them.

Very strong album, IMHO.  I like it a lot.  Plenty of money notes from Michael, and a well-rounded collection of songs.

The song that is really connecting with me is Heart & Soul, both lyrically and musically.  Loving the half-time chorus and the song has the coolest sounding solo I’ve heard from Stryper in years.  Instead of going into high notes right away it begins with a middle strings bluesy riff, I absolutely love it.   They nail the time changes in and out of the chorus, it’s just great.

It’s a great album have only listened to it a couple of times and think it will grow on me with every listen. Stryper have released so many great albums in the last few years I am not sure where this album ranks yet, probably on par with ETDB if not slightly better but will see after a few more spins.

Just gave a first spin. “They'rrre Great!” On par or exceeding their previous release is what keeps Stryper at the top.
The band comes up for air on track 5 Near. Reminds me of days of yore when Stryper wasn't so metal. LOL, not a single scream was heard on this song.
BUT....the rest of the album is a scream fest almost to the point of distraction. Michael has very, very strong pipes for a man of 59 years. Dare I say the strongest voice in rock and metal, 5 decades running. Just for grins, I counted the screams: 31 divided by 11 equals 2.82 screams per song. LOL, Ozzy had an album entitled SCREAM that did not contain as many screams.
Now I'm jumping back in for a second spin to enjoy the lyrics and music without being concerned about the scream-0-meter.

oldschooldoom wrote:Just gave a first spin. “They'rrre Great!” On par or exceeding their previous release is what keeps Stryper at the top.
The band comes up for air on track 5 Near. Reminds me of days of yore when Stryper wasn't so metal. LOL, not a single scream was heard on this song.
BUT....the rest of the album is a scream fest almost to the point of distraction. Michael has very, very strong pipes for a man of 59 years. Dare I say the strongest voice in rock and metal, 5 decades running. Just for grins, I counted the screams: 31 divided by 11 equals 2.82 screams per song. LOL, Ozzy had an album entitled SCREAM that did not contain as many screams.
Now I'm jumping back in for a second spin to enjoy the lyrics and music without being concerned about the scream-0-meter.

Funny, I noticed the screams more often on the first listen because I was trying to capture every detail. They seemed excessive. I haven't noticed them much since except when they really elevate, like the end of Ashes to Ashes. In that latter case, it is one of the best moments on the album and adds to perhaps the best ending to any Stryper album to date (More Than A Man was always my favorite Stryper track before the new era).



On a somewhat separate note, once people have had time to pick up the album and absorb it for a little while, I'd be interested in how people would rank their closing tracks. Stryper has made a long habit of closing albums with something extraordinary. I always felt like Queensryche of old did that with something epic/outside the box. Stryper tends to go out blazing. I love it!

Count me underwhelmed after first listen. I like a handful of songs but many just don’t connect with me. Even the songs I like won’t challenge for anywhere in my Stryper top 10. I think it’s a well done album. I just don’t connect to the songs.

I think I shouldn't have preordered from Amazon. They are saying I won't get mine until Nov. 2.  

My thoughts after giving it a first spin; I was just listening once but very deep and closely:

This is the best Stryper since "In God we trust". It is close to their benchmarks "Soldiers" and to hell with the devil".

The only thing that is missing is a monster hit
like "Soldiers", "To hell with the devil", "In God we trust", "God" or "No more hell to pay", which I consider their hits.

The rest is just stellar and everything you love to hear from Stryper is there: great songwriting and production, cutting rhythm guitars, excellent solos, perfect and tight drumming, fantastic bass, wonderfull and extraordinary vocals and above all shining and wonderful harmonies.

I think "the final battle" will grow the more you listen to it.



P.S. By the way, I like the cover

I don’t think it tops Fallen and NMHTP, but it’s the best since those. GDE and ETDB were solid but a bit run of the mill for me with few standout tracks. I think Final Battle gives us back-to-back great songs.

The end of the song "Ashes To Ashes" is probably right up there with my favourite parts of any song they've ever done.  What an ending!!!

Fundy wrote:The end of the song "Ashes To Ashes" is probably right up there with my favourite parts of any song they've ever done.  What an ending!!!

Yeah, crazy how Michael pulls it off.

I might have been a bit hasty to say I don’t like this. Listening more and it’s definitely a grower. That’s unusual for Stryper, at least for me. I’m gonna keep listening.

I've only heard a few songs but so far it sounds like the best they've done since IGWT.

Temple of Blood and cailen, do you guys rank In God We Trust high? Its near the bottom for me around #9 in ranking the 12  original Stryper albums. There are many albums that are way better than IGWT.

Temple of Blood wrote:I've only heard a few songs but so far it sounds like the best they've done since IGWT.

So you didn‘t like Against The Law? 

I like the new album and rank it similar to GDE and ETDB but not quite as high as Fallen and NMHTP. 

I am not even going to compare it to the old albums, it wouldn‘t be fair because I have so much nostalgia attached to those.

@Soldier777

(In God we trust): It depends on your taste if you like it or not. If you aren‘t into glam metal you shouldn‘t like it .   
The musicianship on that album is top notch. The most thing I like on IGWT are the harmonies they choose, both vocals and guitars. I don‘t know if you can hear this kind of canto with several voices and part music in the guitar harmonies from any other band.

I am exited to hear this on the final battle again. They have put a lot of work into this and I appreciate this very much. AND the songs are more METAL on „the final battle“. 



By the way normally I prefer darker and faster music but sometimes I give IGWT a spin.

At the current time I prefer GDE to ETDB and NMHTP (and possibly Fallen too).

Probably won't be receiving TFB until Christmas, so can't really comment on that, even though I have heard most of the tracks on youtube!