The Petra Zone

The new Stryper album called Fallen is the best complete album that they have ever done. The lower end is tuned up and has never sounded better; they really focused on Tim & Robert this time without sacrificing the great riff work by both Mike & Oz. The lyrical content is more Christian oriented than I do believe in the past. The one & only drawback I would say is that Mike's voice seems to be on top of the recording and not in the music which at times makes it hard to hear some of the little sounds that you usually hear coming from this type of album. the Black Sabbeth cover is by far the best cover they have ever done.

This is coming close to becoming my favorite Stryper album.

I like the album and listen to it in part daily.

I have listened to Stryper since I was a teen, and I really liked NMHTP, but I really have a problem with them covering a song by Black Sabbath. When I was a kid, Ozzie was my definition of an evil dude, but now he's celebrated like a hero. Why does a Christian band need to cover secular tunes? I have read some of the history of the song and people called it "religious" sounding when it came out, but the band certainly Isn't Christian.

Because the lyrics are "Christian", as are some other Black Sabbath songs.

There are many secular songs like this one with more meaty Christian concepts and thoughts in them than "Christian" tunes on "Christian" radio. It doesn't matter who originated the song. It only matters how it is applied.

Ok, I finally got the Fallen CD in the mail. I had heard a few of the songs on Youtube and really liked them. Now I've listened to this full album 3 times and I've got to say, its AWESOME. I really like the Black Sabbath cover. Not of fan of them, but the tune was familiar and Stryper did a great job with it. I haven't listened to Stryper much in the last 25 years at all to be honest, but I think I'll be buying some of their older CD's now. I bought "Murder by Pride" a few years ago but was not all that impressed with it.

Fallen has me really stoked, and I really hope they tour in Canada, there is no way I would miss that. Even better if they toured with Petra, but I suppose that is unlikely.

This new album is as if they continued in the 80s with a more modern edge to their sound.

Agree

I've listened to a number of the songs several times. I think the boys are finally back with this one.
Yahweh is right there with every epic song they did back in the day. Certainly Robert's finest performance of the current era. Every time I hear the beginning of Fallen it takes me right back to "The Way", and the VHS with Robert standing in front of the Corvette.
It's a shame the Stryper forum no longer exists. I'd love to read the response from other die hard fans. The clamored for a return to the 80's. While I was more critical of production than songs on the previous albums, I agree that they weren't exactly the Stryper of old. If the die hards are not satisfied with this album, then hope is lost.
I love the vibe of Pride with the heavy bell of the ride cymbal. All Over Again is a throwback to ATL and Lady.

Santa will be bringing me this one.

I finally got Fallen and it is really good. The title track is my favorite, and may be one of Strypers' best written/produced songs ever. Yahweh is a good tune, and shows the band can write a lengthy song with different time signatures, but I really like Fallen the best. One song on the album that is a total dud with me is Big Screen Lies. THe lyrics remind me of something a 4th grader might write after he has been told that all of Hollywood is pagan. Sophomoric and not exactly true. One way top justify the lyrics would be to consider the big screen lies from horrible Christian themed movies, then the song has some teeth. The ballads are just so-so. The Black Sabbath cover sounds really good, but then I am not at all familiar with the original version of that song. I was a little disappointed to learn it was a cover because it is a great song and I was thinking that Stryper was really stepping up the songwriting...they still are with songs like Fallen, but the BS cover doesn't really count.