Absolutely stunning gem of sound! The quality of sound of The Final Battle is simply a joy to behold, and is straight up a delicious slice of Hard Rocking Heaven from start to finish. Stryper never lets their fans down and this album will exceed any expectations their fans could possibly have. God’s Band has delivered again!
Stryper not only stays true to their roots but they grow them ever deeper into the sands of time as well as into the unrivaled depths of Rock ‘N’ Roll genius. Ever since the release of No More Hell To Pay, which I’ve long seen as the greatest album of all time, for any band, and a measuring stick to measure all other music by, I’ve wrestled with each new Stryper release, comparing each of them to NMHTP in time. Each subsequent release, for a time, seemed to me to be their best effort yet, but as time passed the magnificence of NMHTP always resurfaced as their greatest effort and, possibly, an unreachable pinnacle that no band could ever surpass.
Each new Stryper album takes them further into excellence and contains songs that may equal or surpass the best of NMHTP, but overall the measuring stick of NMHTP has stood the test of time.
However, after just the first listening of The Final Battle, it is CLEAR there is a NEW MEASURING STICK in town, or at least one of EQUAL GREATNESS to NMHTP.
There is a rawness to The Final Battle, a hunger that meets that of NMHTP, which, as good as they are, Stryper’s other albums do not quite match up to; not to diminish each their own excellence in any manner as every Stryper release to date has been utter genius.
Stryper has single-handedly taken the rock world and lifted it from the clutches of darkness, bringing it to the foot of Heaven’s Gate over the years; they’ve not only knocked the ball out of the park but they’ve knocked the park itself off its foundations and relocated it in the Kingdom of Heaven.
The Final Battle paints fresh new stripes on the ball park in Stryper’s fabled colors, Yellow and Black. Heavy hitting ‘black’ tracks such as Transgressor, Rise To The Call and the addictive No Rest For The Wicked lay a solid foundation of sound that the rest of the album is built upon. Golden ‘yellow’ tracks such as Same Old Story, Heart & Soul, and See No Evil, Hear No Evil, are interspersed between the heavier tracks, though they are themselves heavyweights in their own rights. The album is rounded out with the playful, upbeat track Out, Up & In, the power balled Near, the lofty Till Death Do Us Part, the Judas Priest reminiscent Ashes To Ashes and the unique, ‘strutty’ The Way, The Truth, The Life, which is definitely one of my favorites on the album.
All in all every song is a keeper and worthy of carrying the hallowed name of Stryper in their credits.
Buy this album and throw all your less worthy ones away … your Heart & Soul will be ever grateful.
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