Stryper - Against The Law (1990)

The strutting Stryper bounce back bereft of the yellow and black costumes and finally realise it's time to move with the times and get with the '90s. God decides not to appear on backing vocals and the band decide not to include a handful of heavenly hymns for us to choke on, but instead 'Against...' is a cheery, crystal clear rock record, given star dust appeal by Sweet's almost helium infected voice which soars over the percussion. Ballads and anthems unite, but it's not as overtly cheesy this time round, 'Two Time Woman' could belong to the Warrant catalogue and 'Rock The People' is third-rate Kiss, but a band like Stryper, which clear;y has limitations, cannot exist as anything else, so there's no point picking on such an opus, instead one has to appreciate it for what it is. It's pomp rock made of candy, and oh so nice that several tracks, in their naivety somehow work, i.e. 'Not That Kind Of Guy', although the lyrics are hilarious in their stupidity. Mind you, it's Stryper, so what else was you expecting ? Overwhelmingly harmless!

6/10