Album Review: Stryper, God Damn Evil

God Damn Evil

God Damn It All

God Save the People

But God Damn the World

2018. Its turning out to be quite the year for 80's bands releasing stellar material. Judas Priest just released Firepower, which earns a spot in the band's top 5 albums. Queensryche is dropping a new album later this year. I'm sure there have been more, and there definitely will BE more. But, we're talking about Stryper. They too have released a new album that is in my opinion, top 3 best. God Damn Evil easily fits with their two best, To Hell With the Devil, and Soldiers Under Command. As a life long fan, this is the Stryper album I've been waiting for.

Michael Sweet

I'll start with the news worthy issues and briefly give you my take on them before diving into this new masterpiece. First, bass player, Tim Gaines is no longer with them, and was replaced by ex Firehouse bassist, Perry Richardson. He didn't play on the album, but will be on future releases and tours. Second, there is all sorts of controversy over the name of the album. Walmart has refused to carry it, and blah blah blah. Its simple. Its a play on words, just like To Hell With the Devil. That's it. I don't understand how people can insist that Stryper is satanic, or using occult symbolism, or anything like that. Their message on this album is as powerful as any other album they've released.  There's honestly nothing more to see here. Move along. 

Oz Fox

Now, the album. If this had been the followup to To Hell With the Devil, Stryper would have been headlining stadium concerts, and it would have been their highest selling album to date. Its the heaviest album in their discography, and the songs on it seem to be a natural progression from THWTD. Track 2, Sorry for example is a heavy, yet commercial Stryper anthem complete with the big chorus and stellar vocal and guitar harmonies. It starts with a heavy chugging groove, with vocal power right off the bat. But, the chorus has a feel similar to that of Free on THWTD. The video for it is very well done as well. 

Perry Richardson

There are no power ballads on GDE, but there are some 'balladish' songs, like track 5, You Don't Even Know Me. Its verses and intros are slow, but the bridge and chorus have a Soldiers Under Command feel to it, and it speeds up toward the end. And, when I say it has a feel, all I mean is that it could have been on that album. It doesn't sound like any one song in particular. Track 8, Beautiful is another one. The guitar in my opinion sounds like a result of Michael Sweet jamming with George Lynch. There is definitely Lynch influence there in the rhythm of the song. It could have fit on Dokken's Under Lock and Key. (But it sounds like Stryper, not Dokken.) 

Robert Sweet

Now, on to the heavies. The title track, God Damn Evil is an 80's style anthem. Simple, powerful, with a 4 part unison chorus. Chunky rhythm, flashy guitar, spectacular guitar solo, and even a nasty little breakdown in the middle with a low pitched sneery chorus. It takes me back. Track 3, Lost is probably my favorite song on the album. It has a SUC feel, complete with the twin axe harmony intros, powerful vocals, and a blistering high chorus. It may even be in my top 5 favorite Stryper songs. Oz Fox is amazing, and the dueling and harmony solo is everything you'd expect from them. Track 11, The Devil Doesn't Live Here, I think Robert Sweet channeled his inner Scott Travis on the intro. The first thing it reminded me of was the intros from Painkiller by Priest, and Scarified by Racer X. The guitar is super fast, and borderline thrash metal. The whole song is an Oz Fox guitar clinic, and its easily the heaviest Stryper song to date.

I remember last year sometime, Michael Sweet asked on social media if there was anything in particular we fans would like to hear on the new album. I replied, saying I'd like an anthem that compares to Soldiers Under Command. I got that in Lost. But, what I also got was an entire album that compares to their two best. If I had gotten this on vinyl or cassette, I think it would be worn out within a month. You want to own this one. Get it. There's no better time than now. You've got the right to choose. You can't lose....

...with God Damn Evil.

Concert Review: Judas Priest, 4-17-18 Portland, Oregon

In the shadow of Mount Hood,

We were all waiting....

For Lightning to Strike!

As most of you know, I became a truck driver last year. Well, last Friday, I delivered to Portland, Oregon. I am a trainer, and since we were going to here until Monday, my student wanted to go see a Portland Trailblazers playoff game on Saturday. I told him to go ahead, and I realized that all I ever did on downtime was sit in the truck. I decided to see if anything was going on that I would want to see. Tuesday, April 17th, Judas Priest was in town. DAMMIT, I was leaving on the 16th! Son of a...

It would take an act of the Metal Gods for me to get to go to that concert. Well, they decided to smile on me because my truck broke down on Sunday. Had to be towed Monday, soooo, I was PRIEST BOUND!

I got to the arena, and Saxon was playing. I was late for them, but that couldn't be helped. While waiting in line for my $11 beer, I met a proud father, taking his 9 or 10 year old daughter to her FIRST concert. I wrote about that meeting as well because it was really cool. I went in, and my seat was appropriately in section KK. I knew it was going to be an awesome night. 

If you don't already know, guitarist, Glenn Tipton has left the band because of health issues with Parkinson's Disease, and couldn't tour anymore. He has been replaced by guitarist, Andy Sneap, along with Richie Faulkner who replaced KK Downing after he retired. He's played for some amazing bands, so I wasn't worried about him playing Glenn's parts. He's done production work for Megadeth, Accept, Testament, and many other bands known for exceptional guitar ability, not to mention been members of various heavy hitting guitar bands. 

Rob Halford and Andy Sneap

The band opened with the title track of their latest album, Firepower, which is in the top 5 albums of their entire discography. Glenn Tipton played the songs on the album, and if anyone had any doubts about Sneap and Faulkner carrying the torch, they were quickly erased. The crowd accepted both guitarists with enthusiasm. Rob Halford's vocals were piercing, and strong as ever. I had never seen Faulkner with Priest before, but I was amazed. He is one HELL of a showman. I couldn't really see Scott Travis from where I was, and Ian Hill just did his normal performance, just staying on his side of the stage, beating the deep darkness from his bass that gives Priest songs the scary essence that they are known for. 

Showman Extraordinaire, Richie Faulkner 

The band played a wide variety of hits, classic gems, and several songs from Firepower. They played Sinner, Freewheel Burning, Grinder, The Ripper, and a couple other classics. I was a little surprised to hear Turbo Lover, but it was still great. Of course, they played Painkiller, which Rob nailed, and the solo was done perfectly by Faulkner and Sneap. After Painkiller, something happened that we were all hoping for, but not expecting. Sneap joined Ian Hill at the back of the stage, and none other than Glenn Tipton emerged from side stage. The place erupted with applause, and Glenn stood there with his hand on his heart and pointing at the audience. You could tell that our enthusiasm for him met the world to him. They finished the set with Tipton playing his signature Hamer guitar. His first song with them? Metal Gods of course. He then played Breaking the Law, You Got Another Think Coming, and Living After Midnight with the band. 

Rob and Glenn

That was an incredible concert, mixed with excitement, and emotion. The band sounded great, and everyone enjoyed it. I'm sure the people in attendance were a lot happier leaving than the Trailblazers fans were who had just watched them drop a second playoff home game in a row, going to a 0-2 deficit to the Pelicans. That arena is right next to Veterans Memorial Coliseum, where Priest played. You don't get many options for a personal life out on the road. I'm glad I had this opportunity, and it was a concert that I won't forget any time soon.

Rock and Roll Children: Parenting Done Right!

The (Metal) Kids Are Alright  

Everyone knows that the 80's metal children grew up with a level of intelligence that fans of other genres just simply didn't have. Its because the music made by iconic bands like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Dream Theater, Savatage, Megadeth, Metallica, and countless others was simply put, intelligent. Especially those kids who became musicians themselves. Metal fans don't just listen to their music. They absorb and ingest it, analyze it, and dissect it. They break every single little riff down individually, and know the most simple high hat ting as much as they know the lyrics and guitar solos. And, they know every single note of the guitar solos too. This intense studying of the music later turned into brains that are extremely attentive and sensitive to detail. 

So, what are these attentive brains doing to make me say that this is parenting done right? Its simple. They are exposing their kids to the same music that they grew up with. The result? Smart kids who know the difference between great music, and the over saturated commercial garbage that their classmates and adult drones are listening to on the radio. They have inducted their kids into a family that will be there for life. Metal is more than music. Its a lifestyle, and they (like us) will always have a home at a metal concert. Raising them on metal isn't easy either. You might have a spouse that doesn't like metal, and that can be a difficult hurdle, especially if the parents are no longer together, and share custody of the child.

I have several stories about metal kids that I've encountered over the years, including a story about how I'm doing my part to raise a metal kid. We'll start with last night. I am in Portland, Oregon, and Judas Priest played a concert here. It took an act of the Metal Gods to get me to that concert, but you can read about that in my review here.

I was waiting in the line to get a beer, when I saw a father, age 40, and his daughter who looked about 9 or 10. She was dressed in black, and had a J and a P on each cheek. The father was proud to be taking his princess to her first metal concert. Judas Priest. Not bad, huh? He was beaming with pride, and we started talking about raising kids with metal. He said that his wife was leary about the girl going, to which he told her that there was nothing to worry about. The father told me that his daughter played guitar...an Ibanez, no less, and could play all the notes in Breaking the Law, among others. She even knew who Nita Strauss is, and is a fan. I enjoyed meeting them, and I wish I could hear what she thought of the concert. 

Guys, if you see this, please let me know
what she thought of the concert. She
was awesome!

Next, I'm going to tell you about a couple instances with my youngest daughter, who is 8 years old. The first concert she ever went to was a local band at a July 4th festival in South Carolina. She was still very little, and I spent the majority of the evening with her on my shoulders. There was a classic rock cover band playing onstage, but we were trying to stay away from them because my now ex wife was worried about the volume. (It wasn't that loud) But, she kept making it very known that she wanted to go closer. We did, and she was rocking on my shoulders, and loving every moment of it. A local newspaper took our picture, and it made it in the paper.

A few years later, we took her to a festival in Fayetteville, NC where Warrant was playing. Same thing, even down to the reporter taking our picture. Not sure if that one made it in the paper though.

My daughter,  Warrant,
And me

I've taken her to several concerts, mostly locals including my hometown heroes, Dead Serios, and Geezer, and a teen girl rock band called Good Luck Audrey. She loves all three of these bands. But, my the most special one to me was Dead Serios. I got to join them onstage to sing a part in their hit, No More Pipe For Potato Head. I didn't tell her that I was going to be doing this, so when I got called up to the stage, she had no idea. She was just sitting there in awe because she had heard me talk about how I used to be in bands before she was born, but she had never seen me perform. One guy told me that she looked at him, pointed at me, and yelled "That's my DAD!" Proud papa moment, for sure. But, another proud papa moment happened at that show as well. Guitarist, Doug Gibson, a local guitar virtuoso also had his own son join the band onstage to play guitar as a guest in their cover of Blister in the Sun by Violent Femmes. I talked to him, and he told me that his favorite guitarist growing up was his dad. He's one of my favorites too.

My daughter with Dead Serios

The last one I'm going to talk about happened at a Stryper concert in 2005, in Charlotte, NC. There were lots of teenagers there. I asked one of them why he was there. He told me that his dad listened to Stryper, and he grew up with them. He told me that he was learning to play metal guitar, and he just had to hear Soldiers Under Command live. 

Parenting. You're doing it right!
If you have pics of you and your metal kids,  email them to me at willtelltale@gmail.com subject line Metal Kids. If I get enough of them,  I'll make a folder on this blog for them.  I'm also thinking about doing a radio show on that topic once we bring the show back.

#MetalKids
#ParentingYoureDoingItRight