Stryper - To Hell With The Devil

Released in 1986

When To Hell With the Devil was released in 1986, many Christians and secular metal fans alike were still trying to figure Stryper out. Here was a religious band offering uplifting lyrics about life and Jesus, yet doing so in a metallic format with furious riffs instead of the typical contemporary music usually associated with Christian music. It was a given that metal fans that the same faith as Stryper would be enthusiastic about their work, but the secular market was equally intrigued since there was no denying this band could rock the arena as well as any hair metal band.

Nowadays Christian rock and metal bands such as Creed and P.O.D. are fully accepted in the music world, but it was Stryper that paved the way for those who wished to follow in their footsteps. They were the first Christian metal band to score multiple best-selling singles and a platinum album. Prior to the release of To Hell With the Devil radios were sometimes still a bit skeptical about airing Christian music alongside their regular content; after the success of this album, it became an issue no longer.

Their previous album Soldiers Under Command was a well-produced and commendable piece of work that any hair metal fan should own, but To Hell With the Devil applied yet another dose of polish, making it the best produced album of their career. In addition while the band still rocked hard, Stryper started adding some pop appeal that would really become prevalent in their subsequent album, In God We Trust.

Some of the album highlights are:

• Calling On You – A stirring mid-tempo rocker that drips with melody. Doesn't possess the intensity of some of their other works, but its smooth flow more than makes up for it.
• Free – This anthemic song is vitalizing like no other on the album, due largely to the rousing echoing background chants of "free" in carefully selected places.
• Honestly – Beautiful piano-driven ballad that became an instant favorite on MTV and the radios.

To Hell With the Devil was Stryper's most commercially successful album and far more influential than most 80's metal albums due to the doors it managed to open with its unexpected breakthrough success. Although Soldiers Under Command rocked a little harder, I think this album barely edges it out in terms of quality and appeal, though in my opinion any 80's hair metal fan would probably not care to split hairs and instead want both in their collection.

Rating: 9 stars

Track List Abyss (To Hell With the Devil) To Hell With the Devil Calling on You Free Honestly The Way Sing-Along Song Holding On Rockin' the World All of Me More Than a Man

Additional Resources:

• The Yellow & Black Attack Review
• Soldiers Under Command Review
• In God We Trust Review

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