What could have ever caused a glam metal band from southern California to put their career into a direction that would almost certainly get them laughed at, mocked, reviled, and vilified, both by Christians and the mainstream? Amazingly, who would have thought that a band that took so much flak from so many people would end up being one of the most talked-about bands to come out of the 1980s?
I'm talking about none other than Stryper.
What people don't often think about in regards to this band is how influential they were to so many, helping to pioneering a style of music in the coming years that would become known as Power Metal. With bombastic vocals, twin guitar solos, and aggressive playing, they were unlike most of their musical contemporaries at the time. Sure, they teased their hair like all the other glam and hair metal bands, and they wore costumes instead of just stage clothing, and their drummer staged himself in a unique way that most drummers didn't . . . but it was Jesus that most people remembered about Stryper, and their commitment to proclaiming His name loudly, proudly, and as often as they could.
To be sure, the band's lyrical prowess had not been fully realized when they burst onto the scene, but it was different enough that when they released their music to the world, the world took notice. Luckily, it was their 3rd release that secured their place not only in Christian music, but also in the annals of rock history as a force to be reckoned with.
In 1986, Stryper released a record nobody was prepared for, and when it hit the ground, nothing in the metal world, or the Christian music world, would ever be the same. After a spooky bit of synthesizer-laden into music, the title track of this landmark album slams into your ears like the most important message ever to be heard.
The song that launched a thousand Christian metal careers . . . "To Hell With the Devil".
To this day, it's a classic of the metal world, but it wasn't quite as welcomed in the Christian arena, even though its very purpose is to present the Gospel to those who have ears to hear. The band had its detractors, but the power of the music on this album was absolutely undeniable.
While "Honestly", "Calling On You", and "Free" got radio airplay and MASSIVE hype on MTV (being only the 2nd Christian band to get airplay on the channel), "To Hell With the Devil" set the tone for not only the songs to come on the rest of the album, but Stryper's future career in full.
Just a liar and a thief
The Word tells us so
We'd like to let him know where he can go
Oddly enough, some people weren't completely convinced that Stryper's message was all that wholesome. Many speculated that the band was using Jesus as a gimmick to make more money, not realizing that to do so would be suicide to pretty much any other band. But here's the thing about anointing . . . you never know where it's going to fall, or on whom. By all accounts, Stryper's message and the way it was presented never should have worked, but for some reason, it did. People embraced the band's music and their message, and as a result, the band's trajectory seemed primed to go nowhere but up.
THWTD gave Stryper the clout to tour the world, sell more than 2 million albums, and perform in front of millions of people throughout their career. The album also remained the number-one selling album by a Christian metal band until P.O.D.'s Satellite album was released in 2001. Since then, Stryper disbanded in the early '90s, then reformed in the mid-2000s and have been recording steadily since then, producing even greater music than what they put out in their early days, and continuing to tour the world to grateful audiences.
None of it would have been possible without the album and song "To Hell With the Devil" thundering through the atmosphere. If you could give a physical weight to a song, this would have to weigh close to a thousand tons. It broke down doors and created pathways, forever changing the landscape of Christian music.
Previous entries in this series:
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #21
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #20
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #19
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #18
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #17
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #16
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #15
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #14
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - Honorable Mention
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #13
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #12
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #11
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #10
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #9
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #8
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #7
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #6
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #5
There Is No Box.
Zach
I'm talking about none other than Stryper.
What people don't often think about in regards to this band is how influential they were to so many, helping to pioneering a style of music in the coming years that would become known as Power Metal. With bombastic vocals, twin guitar solos, and aggressive playing, they were unlike most of their musical contemporaries at the time. Sure, they teased their hair like all the other glam and hair metal bands, and they wore costumes instead of just stage clothing, and their drummer staged himself in a unique way that most drummers didn't . . . but it was Jesus that most people remembered about Stryper, and their commitment to proclaiming His name loudly, proudly, and as often as they could.
To be sure, the band's lyrical prowess had not been fully realized when they burst onto the scene, but it was different enough that when they released their music to the world, the world took notice. Luckily, it was their 3rd release that secured their place not only in Christian music, but also in the annals of rock history as a force to be reckoned with.
In 1986, Stryper released a record nobody was prepared for, and when it hit the ground, nothing in the metal world, or the Christian music world, would ever be the same. After a spooky bit of synthesizer-laden into music, the title track of this landmark album slams into your ears like the most important message ever to be heard.
The song that launched a thousand Christian metal careers . . . "To Hell With the Devil".
To this day, it's a classic of the metal world, but it wasn't quite as welcomed in the Christian arena, even though its very purpose is to present the Gospel to those who have ears to hear. The band had its detractors, but the power of the music on this album was absolutely undeniable.
While "Honestly", "Calling On You", and "Free" got radio airplay and MASSIVE hype on MTV (being only the 2nd Christian band to get airplay on the channel), "To Hell With the Devil" set the tone for not only the songs to come on the rest of the album, but Stryper's future career in full.
Just a liar and a thief
The Word tells us so
We'd like to let him know where he can go
Oddly enough, some people weren't completely convinced that Stryper's message was all that wholesome. Many speculated that the band was using Jesus as a gimmick to make more money, not realizing that to do so would be suicide to pretty much any other band. But here's the thing about anointing . . . you never know where it's going to fall, or on whom. By all accounts, Stryper's message and the way it was presented never should have worked, but for some reason, it did. People embraced the band's music and their message, and as a result, the band's trajectory seemed primed to go nowhere but up.
THWTD gave Stryper the clout to tour the world, sell more than 2 million albums, and perform in front of millions of people throughout their career. The album also remained the number-one selling album by a Christian metal band until P.O.D.'s Satellite album was released in 2001. Since then, Stryper disbanded in the early '90s, then reformed in the mid-2000s and have been recording steadily since then, producing even greater music than what they put out in their early days, and continuing to tour the world to grateful audiences.
None of it would have been possible without the album and song "To Hell With the Devil" thundering through the atmosphere. If you could give a physical weight to a song, this would have to weigh close to a thousand tons. It broke down doors and created pathways, forever changing the landscape of Christian music.
Previous entries in this series:
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #21
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #20
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #19
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #18
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #17
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #16
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #15
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #14
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - Honorable Mention
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #13
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #12
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #11
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #10
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #9
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #8
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #7
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #6
Top CCM Songs of the 1980s - #5
There Is No Box.
Zach
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