STRYPER : ‘The Final Battle’
The legendary US heavy metal band Stryper have announced that their new studio album, ‘The Final Battle’, will be released on 21st October. Fans can pre-order/save it on CD, LP, limited edition colour LP (multiple variants) and digital formats now.
The song ’Transgressor’ is available as the third single lifted from the new record and follows ‘Rise To The Call’ and ‘See No Evil, Hear No Evil’, both of which have received praise from media and fans alike. Frontman Michael Sweet states that “Transgressor is a ride like no other. You take off at 100mph and it doesn’t let up until the very last note. It’s definitely one of our heaviest songs yet we wanted to incorporate melody and structure. We’re really excited about this one and we can’t wait to perform it live!”
‘The Final Battle’ is produced by Sweet and continues the trend established over recent Stryper albums of one-upping themselves, with ‘No More Hell To Pay’ (2013), ‘Fallen’ (2015), ‘God Damn Evil’ (2018) and ‘Even The Devil Believes’ (2020) maintaining an unprecedented streak of releasing arguably the best albums of their multi-decade career. ‘The Final Battle’ sees the band growing heavier while also maintaining their trademark melodies, virtuoso guitar playing and air tight rhythms.
‘The Final Battle’ was also crafted during the most challenging time of the band’s career. However, rather than let the adversity get them down, they accepted the circumstances and channeled it into writing some of their best ever songs.
Stryper are renowned for their distinctive brand of ‘heavenly metal’, extraordinary crossover success and longevity. The group ascended to prominence in the 1980s with Billboard Top 40 hits such as ‘Calling on You’, ‘Honestly’ and ‘Always There For You’, maintaining a loyal global fanbase ever since. Their album sales exceed ten million, including 1986’s multi-platinum ‘To Hell With The Devil’. The band also made history when notching up two videos simultaneously on the MTV Top 10 for their songs ‘Free’ and ‘Honestly’.
Renowned for their religious faith, the group’s extraordinarily long career has made them so much more than just a ‘Christian metal’ band. Ultimately, they are a well respected outfit enjoying a late-career rebirth proving that their musical skills are still fully intact.
Almost four decades after emerging from the southern California nightclub scene, Stryper continues to record, tour and perform worldwide. With three original members – brothers Michael (lead vocals, guitar) and Robert Sweet (drums), plus Oz Fox (guitar) – along with their newest bandmate, the seasoned bassist Perry Richardson (formerly of Firehouse), they find themselves creating their finest, most powerful music ever.
Pre-order/save: orcd.co/finalbattle
Make sure to listen to my 2018 interview show with Michael Sweet.