When We Were Kings, Stryper's 15th studio album, basically confirms what I've been saying for years...this Christian metal act have only gotten better with age, and I enjoy their more recent output over what is deemed their 'classic' albums of the '80s. While those albums are considered 'iconic' to many, I find their more serious and heavier output in recent years to be much more appealing personally, and When We Were Kings continues that trend. This album just crushes from start to finish, tracks like "End of Days", "Unforgivable", and the title track contain some monstrous riffs, blazing lead guitar solos, and Michael Sweet's still formidable vocal pipes. I'll take 'serious' Stryper over 'happy & preachy' Stryper any day, and the band go for the jugular once again here, living up to the bar they've set with recent gems like God Damn Evil, Even the Devil Believes, and The Final Battle. Sweet and Oz Fox are still blazing on dual lead guitars, and the thumping rhythm section of Robert Sweet and Perry Richardson do their jobs quite nicely.
Other standouts include "Love Symphony," "Trinity", "Imperfect," and "Rhyme of Time," but to be honest, there's not a weak track to be found here, just high-energy heavy metal as only Stryper can deliver. If you thought that Soldiers Under Command and To Hell With the Devil was the be-all end-all when it comes to Stryper, you are missing out on a much leaner, meaner, and heavier Stryper.
Track Listing
1 End of Days
2 Unforgivable
3 When We Were Kings
4 Betrayed by Love
5 Loves Symphony
6 Trinity
7 Rhyme of Time
8 Raptured
9 Grateful
10 Divided By Design
11 Imperfect World
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