Every Stryper song ranked

You do have them in Def Leppard’s “Let’s Get Rocked”  .

seth wrote:

Black Rider wrote:Why does violin riffs even mean? Now we're just making stuff up.
And nothing Stryper did early on was very heavy.

I don’t think you’ll find any violins with Stryper (or most metal bands for that matter), but they do exist in some symphonic metal bands. I agree it’s not fair to judge Stryper for their lack of violins though

I'm not judging them for it, I'm just saying that those are one thing that often put them higher

Black Rider wrote:Why does violin riffs even mean? Now we're just making stuff up.
And nothing Stryper did early on was very heavy.

Listen to the beginning of Skillet's Awake and Alive. A "violin riff" is a melodic but somewhat aggresive repeated violin section played over a distorted guitar riff.

The beginning of Ecthirion’s Chariots of Elysium is what first comes to mind for me when I hear “violin riff”

StevenCressler wrote:

seth wrote:

Black Rider wrote:Why does violin riffs even mean? Now we're just making stuff up.
And nothing Stryper did early on was very heavy.

I don’t think you’ll find any violins with Stryper (or most metal bands for that matter), but they do exist in some symphonic metal bands. I agree it’s not fair to judge Stryper for their lack of violins though

I'm not judging them for it, I'm just saying that those are one thing that often put them higher

I suspect you’d like Biogenesis’s Prelude (Nocturnal Images) if you haven’t heard it then, there’s a couple of violin/guitar combination solos that make for an interesting sound, the ending one has piano harmonizing with the other two

seth wrote:

StevenCressler wrote:

seth wrote:

Black Rider wrote:Why does violin riffs even mean? Now we're just making stuff up.
And nothing Stryper did early on was very heavy.

I don’t think you’ll find any violins with Stryper (or most metal bands for that matter), but they do exist in some symphonic metal bands. I agree it’s not fair to judge Stryper for their lack of violins though

I'm not judging them for it, I'm just saying that those are one thing that often put them higher

I suspect you’d like Biogenesis’s Prelude (Nocturnal Images) if you haven’t heard it then, there’s a couple of violin/guitar combination solos that make for an interesting sound, the ending one has piano harmonizing with the other two

I probably would, I'll check it out.

seth wrote:The beginning of Ecthirion’s Chariots of Elysium is what first comes to mind for me when I hear “violin riff”

Aside from Skillet's violin riffs, I think of the middle of that song.

Horses of war
Chariots of salvation
In the name of justice
To judge all creation
Horses of war
Chariots of fire
In the name of justice
Vanquish their empire
*very simple but surprisingly great violin riff*

StevenCressler wrote:

seth wrote:The beginning of Ecthirion’s Chariots of Elysium is what first comes to mind for me when I hear “violin riff”

Aside from Skillet's violin riffs, I think of the middle of that song.

Horses of war
Chariots of salvation
In the name of justice
To judge all creation
Horses of war
Chariots of fire
In the name of justice
Vanquish their empire
*very simple but surprisingly great violin riff*

And then the trombone solo, the only one I’ve ever heard in a metal song

Did someone say trombone metal??

https://youtu.be/fXw7GBIhvgQ?si=rN-yRgM-Jg0CfmHw

Good try but it's still Skillet.

Black Rider wrote:Good try but it's still Skillet.

Let me guess... you've only heard Unleashed? Put on Fingernails or Forsaken, those are legitimately heavy songs. Then listen to Awake and Alive's violin riff.

Nah, I've heard lots of Skillet from my girls playing it, just formulaic modern rock. If you like it that's cool and I respect Jon, he's taken a strong stand for Christian music but not my thing.

Ecthirion and Illuminandi are the best examples I can think of for real metal with violins, although even Tourniquet and Believer incorporate them in some songs

Black Rider wrote:Nah, I've heard lots of Skillet from my girls playing it, just formulaic modern rock. If you like it that's cool and I respect Jon, he's taken a strong stand for Christian music but not my thing.

Didn't mean to sound so defensive there lol
Seriously though, at least try listening to Fingernails. Even if you like it less, Collide is a much different album than any of their other work. It's got a metal tinge to it.

I enjoy, even when I respectfully disagree with your rankings.  What criteria do you use?  Ranking songs is always going to involve some subjectivity, but what do you look for and what makes a difference?  High school/college me would have LOVED to do this!  Life is just too busy right now.

eatbugs wrote:I enjoy, even when I respectfully disagree with your rankings.  What criteria do you use?  Ranking songs is always going to involve some subjectivity, but what do you look for and what makes a difference?  High school/college me would have LOVED to do this!  Life is just too busy right now.

As far as criteria, when I first started I kind of just compared it to my idea of a perfect song; now that I have a lot of songs ranked I compare them to the other songs (which is why I had to redo a lot of my rankings of some of the earliest bands I ranked, because the definition of certain number rankings had changed for me). I mainly look at how much the songs balance being melodic and powerful, but there are many things. A song without heaviness can still get high if it has good melodic hooks/sequences and lyrics. I mainly love deep, emotional lyrics that are very poetic and/or introspective, and focus on important things that aren't often touched upon, or tell a good story. The overall sound of the guitars, bass, drums, and voice affect the score some, and violins often boost a song a lot. I also look for creativity, as I very much enjoy songs that do things you don't hear often (part of why I love Tourniquet so much). With Stryper, most of their top-rated songs had good choruses that make me feel something, decent riffs that have some power, etc. With the highest one being an 8.6 I obviously don't like them as most people, as I prefer heavier bands with more minor chords and diverse melodies, but Stryper is still a band I enjoy listening to a lot, with some great songs. "Lonely" is one song that seems higher than it should be, but I love the melody of the chorus, the emotions of the song, the opening solo feels different than most other songs I know, and I actually like the simple but relatable and uplifting lyrics, and then MiB is heavy and has a cool sounding chorus. A lot of criteria goes into it, but the basic thing is, "how much did I enjoy listening to that?"

This isn't possible for me lol. NMHTP is my fav album. They've never been one of my top bands though. Fear Not is like a slightly heavier Stryper.

Christian Thrash Rules wrote:This isn't possible for me lol. NMHTP is my fav album. They've never been one of my top bands though. Fear Not is like a slightly heavier Stryper.

NMHTP is my #2 behind GDE, and had my favorite song (Marching Into Battle)