It isn’t Christmas yet, but American Christian heavy metallers STRYPER keep their gift-bringing streak without breaking a sweat. Even though they just released two very different albums last year (To Hell With The Amps and When We Were Kings), the Sweet brothers and co. channel their most festive spirit with The Greatest Gift of All, their long-awaited Christmas album, coming on November 21st through Frontiers Music Srl.
Forty years after originally recording a couple of holiday-themed songs on their debut album, band leader and lead vocalist/guitarist Michael Sweet decided it was finally the right time to put out a full Christmas album with their own spin. This release features half of the tracklist being traditional classics and the other half being originals, all arranged with the band’s signature style.
So now the question is: can STRYPER deliver an essential Christmas album that pleases their fanbase? Let’s find out.
Instantly recognizable Christmas bells open the album for a couple of seconds before Robert Sweet’s powerful drums kickstart the rest of the band. The title track, “The Greatest Gift Of All,” brings us STRYPER’s unmistakable classic sound with a Christmas flavor: heavy riffs, melodic hooks, and vocal harmonies, without forgetting those classic bells who set the pace at the start.
“Go Tell It On The Mountain” follows, raising the energy a few notches. This classic tune sounds so good reinvented by the band, with Sweet’s always amazing vocals, dual guitar leads, and a very rocking finale. The band is firing on all cylinders with this one.
The next song, another original, “Heaven Came (On Christmas Day),” reminds the listener more of modern-day STRYPER. A heavy and fast start, followed by a short and mellower middle section, and a powerful ending fly by, leaving us an instant classic.
As should be, the drums take charge once again for “Little Drummer Boy.” Recorded in an epic mid-tempo, we can feel every drum hit, coupled with the bass and guitars as support.
“Still The Light” was the first single release from this album and feels like it could’ve been included in any of the last few STRYPER albums. While it’s a great new rocking STRYPER song, this is the one that feels the least “Christmasy” of the bunch so far.
We’re already over halfway through the album with track number six, “Silent Night.” Arranging this version as a soft acoustic ballad was definitely the right way to go. Clean guitars and a gentle keyboard pad perfectly highlight the very emotional and nuanced vocals on top.
After a nice little breather, we’re welcomed by a haunting guitar riff and choir with “On This Holy Night.” Other than the lyrics, this is another one that doesn’t quite feel like part of a Christmas album, but that’s no comment on the quality of the song, which is top-notch as usual.
The band’s version of “Joy To The World” is a bit more straightforward and not as heavy or complex as most of the other songs in the album. There’s a notable moment where it seems like they’re about to head into a guitar solo section, only to go back to the chorus instead—which is worth mentioning as there are no real “solos” so far, only their trademark dueling guitar harmonies, but a lot less prominent than usual.
The last two tracks, “Reason For The Season” and “Winter Wonderland,” go back to the group’s early years, as these were originally included in their first album, The Yellow and Black Attack. They appear here as re-recorded versions with better sound quality and production. The former is a now classic original song, while this version of the latter was released as this album’s second single. There’s not too much to add about these two, since the new versions are pretty faithful to their original counterparts arrangement-wise.
Overall, this is a very good album that brings us the joy of the holiday season with a great dose of that signature STRYPER heavy metal style all their fans will be delighted to hear. While nothing here is groundbreaking or genre-bending, this is a very solid group of Christmas covers and originals that definitely doesn’t disappoint.
Pre-Order ‘The Greatest Gift of All’ HERE
‘The Greatest Gift of All’ Track List:
1. The Greatest Gift Of All
2. Go Tell It On The Mountain
3. Heaven Came (On Christmas Day)
4. Little Drummer Boy
5. Still The Light
6. Silent Night
7. On This Holy Night
8. Joy To The World
9. Reason For The Season
10. Winter Wonderland
STRYPER are:
Michael Sweet – Lead Vocals/Lead & Rhythm Guitar
Robert Sweet – Drums & Percussion
Oz Fox – Vocals/Lead and Rhythm Guitar
Perry Richardson – Vocals/Bass
