Yep, it's the Jesus-rockers! Now these guys are totally cool -- unlike wimpy-rock Christian bands like Petra, or good rock bands that are only Christian by association (Kansas and U2 instantly come to mind), these guys started off not only as SERIOUSLY metal but also SERIOUSLY Christian. At their concerts they would toss small Bibles into the audience and say "We only want you to love Jesus," etc. Of course, it couldn't last...a few albums later, their sound not only got totally watered down, but they ditched the pro-Jesus routine and tried to become a "serious" metal band. Oh well, I guess Satan finally claimed their souls after all.

"The Yellow and Black Attack!" (+ bonus CDR of original mixes)

At last, my desperate pleas for the unmolested, original, and far superior mix of this debut album have been answered...and by none other than (drum roll please): RALF WALTER!!! Yep, the Stryper nutcase even taught himself how to master vinyl to CDR purely for this collection. And my, what a fine job he did...no surface noise whatsoever, no cracks or hisses or pops, in fact it sounds like it was taken direct from the master tapes themselves!! FAR better than those so-called "vinyl mastering experts" on eBay, to say nothing of the shameless Reborn Classics people! To sweeten the deal, Ralf added some live b-sides, plus a lengthy interview with the Sweet brothers, which is actually rather irritating since they do little but talk about Jesus & all that crap. (Best line from the interview: "We don't intend to beat people over the head with our message...well, we do throw Bibles into the audience, but that's beside the point..." As always, I'm not making any copies of this CDR (at least, not yet), but feel free to bug Ralf all you like. :))

The lame-ass official release isn't even worth talking about...the mix is so adulterated, totally robbed of power, that it makes me purely nauseous to listen to. It's only redeeming feature is the two bonus tracks, "My Love I'll Always So" (a lame ballad) and "Reason for the Season" (a quite inspired Christmas-y tune.)

"Soldiers Under Command"

1. "Soldiers Under Command" (5:03)
2. "Makes Me Want to Sing" (2:51)
3. "Together Forever" (4:03)
4. "First Love" (5:43)
5. "The Rock that Makes Me Roll" (4:56)
6. "Reach Out" (5:21)
7. "(Waiting for) A Love That's Real" (4:36)
8. "Together as One" (5:01)
9. "Surrender" (4:28)
10. "Battle Hymn of the Republic" (2:36)

Some great rock tunes on this one, especially "Makes Me Want to Sing", "The Rock that Makes Me Roll", and the title track. However, the cheeziness that would later dominate their sound is starting to show on such lame tunes as "Together Forever" and "Reach Out"; there's also waaaayy too many ballads. This CD is the original Enigma release that I picked up from eBay for a rip-off price (although I really just wanted to chide the guy for bidding on his own auctions in order to artificially drive up the price...he denied it, of course, but did seem to squirm a bit...)

"To Hell with the Devil" ("Angels Cover" reissue)

1. "Abyss (To Hell with the Devil)"--instrumental (1:11)
2. "To Hell with the Devil" (4:08)
3. "Calling on You" (3:59)
4. "Free" (3:44)
5. "Honestly" (4:10)
6. "The Way" (3:36)
7. "Sing-Along Song" (4:21)
8. "Holding On" (4:16)
9. "Rockin' the World" (3:30)
10. "All of Me" (3:11)
11. "More Than a Man" (4:36)
12. "Winter Wonderland" (3:13)

The original "Angels Cover" CD, released as a VERY limited Japanese import, is one of the hottest items on the trading market, routinely selling for well over $300. Kinda crazy since the Hollywood reissue (which looks like shit) is still in print, but most ebay buyers insist on spending $5-10 over the Amazon.com list price...(jeez! You Christian rock fans are such dipshits...) But I digress. Thing was, I really wanted this CD just for the artwork, and when a dip in the market price coincided with a sudden windfall of cash, I placed bids of $175 on 2 auctions...and lost 'em both! I was gonna go for broke on a third auction, until, the very night before it closed, I got a message from RALF WALTER telling me the CD had JUST BEEN REISSUED!! And not just with the Angels artwork, but with the long-sought, never-before-released-on-CD bonus track, "WINTER WONDERLAND"!!! YES! THERE IS A GOD!! HALLELUJAH!!!! Oh...wait a minute, it wasn't a message from GOD, it was a message from RALF! Therefore, RALF IS GOD! PRAISE RALF!!!!

Ok, now about the music...well, this is where they really turned to crap. Despite three heavy-duty songs ("More Than a Man", "The Way", and the anthemic title track) and one sappy yet pretty ballad ("Honestly"), the majority of this album SUCKS ASS. In fact, "Calling on You" has got to be their WORST SONG EVER! And it all went downhill from here.

(Oh yeah...don't bother looking for this on CD Universe, or other major vendor...it was a very limited release through Michael Sweet's website, and I'm pretty sure they're all gone by now.)

"In God We Trust" (CDR)

1. "In God We Trust" (3:55)
2. "Always There for You" (4:10)
3. "Keep the Fire Burning" (3:35)
4. "I Believe in You" (3:17)
5. "The Writings on the Wall" (4:17)
6. "It's Up 2 U" (3:50)
7. "The World of You and I" (3:45)
8. "Come to the Everlife" (4:08)
9. "Lonely" (4:10)
10. "The Reign" (2:49)

Well, this is where the band totally lost it. Dripping with sticky-sweet, sappy songs that aren't that far from those horrid "Contemporary Christian" hymns I was forced to sing along with every Sunday, and also had to listen to in the car going back and forth from church!! Just with some guitars included, which don't really change anything. The title track rocks good enough in a GAY sort of way (and I don't mean that in the archaic sense!) but each following song gets DUMBER and GAYER until your brain starts melting and you start BEGGING FOR SATAN TO TAKE YOUR SOUL, JUST TO MAKE IT END!!! Thankfully, Satan does save the day with a final burst of original Stryper heaviness, with the fast and punishing "The Reign". But that's it, that was their last gasp.

On the follow-up, Against the Law, not only did the band become increasingly more generic, they also ditched the religious message and the funky bumblebee-colored outfits. Proving once again, that if all you've got is a gimmick, better stick with it since it's all you've got. (Unless you're a marketing genius like KISS, who knew the right time to take off their masks AND when to put them back on, raking in millions each time, despite music that consistently sucks worse than anything Stryper ever did!) I've already got their cover of "Shining Star" on my self-made Digital Puppies #2 collection, so it's a safe bet that I'll never bother with that album...hell, I passed it right up, when I was shoveling through my brother's collection looking for gangsta rap CDs to burn. (I might upgrade this one to real CD someday, if I ever find another copy in the $1.99 bin. Heck, I already found it there once, and gave it to my brother as an early Christmas present. In March.) But I'm not feeling guilty or anything...because, Jesus will forgive me. :)

"Tokyo 1989: Burning Flame Live" (bootleg CDR)

1. "Intro (Battle Hymn of the Republic)" (1:03)
2. "In God We Trust" (3:38)
3. "Calling on You" (4:12)
4. "Rockin' the World" (2:57)
5. "Sing-Along Song" (5:57)
6. "Lonely" (5:03)
7. "Makes Me Want to Sing" (3:48)
8. "Drum Solo" (1:23)
9. "Keep the Fire Burning" (3:57)
10. "Bass Solo" (2:20)
11. "Guitar Solo" (2:29)
12. "The Writings on the Wall" (4:27)
13. "Always There for You" (5:29)
14. "Honestly" (4:42)
15. "Free" (3:54)
16. "Soldiers Under Command" (5:13)
17. "The Way" (3:24)
18. "Abyss"--instrumental (0:48)
19. "To Hell with the Devil" (4:57)

A live show recorded somewhere on the In God We Trust tour. The band's definitely having an "off" night here, especially Robert Sweet, who can't hold the beat to save his life! (The drum solo is particularly pathetic.) Still, it's a decent concert, focusing mainly on their hard-rock songs with only a couple drecky ballads ("Lonely", "Honestly") thrown in. (And how come they never play songs from their debut album anymore??) Sound quality is outstanding.

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