Second Coming (Re-Recorded)

Christian metal pioneers Stryper revisit the career-defining songs of their early years on Second Coming with a mixture of mature perspective and still-youthful energy. The band takes advantage of 21st-century studio technology in these re-recordings of classic tunes from its first three albums, managing to infuse them with the same boundless faith and fist-raising defiance that made Stryper a platinum-selling act 30 years ago. Singer Michael Sweet soars above Oz Fox's guitar pyrotechnics with Spirit-filled fervor, anchored by the rock-solid rhythm section of bassist Tim Gaines and drummer Robert Sweet. Together they summon the prayer-warrior heroics of Christian rock’s formative years: favorites like “Soldiers Under Command,” “The Rock That Makes Me Roll,” and “To Hell with the Devil” have lost none of their anthemic punch over the years. From the machine-gun riffage of “Loud N’ Clear” through the worshipful melodrama of “More Than a Man,” the band proves its ability to praise God with headbanging aggression all over again. The new tracks “Bleeding from Inside Out” and “Blackened” are worthy additions to Stryper’s legendary canon of tunes.