Fallen vs God Damn Evil

In 2015, Christian metal pioneers, Stryper released "Fallen", the follow-up to, "No More Hell To Pay". It was thought of at the time that there would be no way to top the 2013 release which, while a throwback to the band's glory days, was much heavier (with a modern production) than such classics as "To Hell With The Devil" and "Soldiers Under Command". However, those initial thoughts soon turned out to be premature as "Fallen" indeed proved to be a superior release. With songs like "Yahweh", "Pride", the epic title track and the incredible closer, "King Of Kings", the Yellow And Black had once again raised the bar on their legendary career. 

Fast forward to 2018, and Stryper is back once again with their new album, "God Damn Evil". While the title alone has been the subject of much controversy, the debate once again has risen as to whether or not Stryper has been able to top their previous release. After much discussion on various fan webpages, it seems the only way to resolve this is to do a song by song comparison of both albums. This does present one small issue as "God Damn Evil" only has 11 songs, while Fallen has 12. However, considering “After Forever” is a cover song (originally recorded by Black Sabbath), I am going to take that out of the equation, which will leave us with 11 original songs on each album. Also, in the interest of being fair, I am going to switch the song order around just a little for comparison's sake. For instance it’s not fair to compare “All Over Again” with “Sea of Thieves”, or “Let There Be Light” with “Can’t Live Without Your Love”, and so on. Therefore, taking all that into consideration, here is my song by song comparison of the 2 albums.

VS.

Yahweh vs. Take It To The Cross. 

I think this one is a no brainer. Many fans, and Michael Sweet himself, have said that “Yahweh” is Stryper’s greatest song. And I agree wholeheartedly. From the opening choir voices introducing the title, to the power metal laden opening riff, this depiction of Jesus' crucifixion has everything you could want, not only in a Stryper song, but in ANY metal song for that matter. From Michael's screeching vocals to the dual guitar solos to the epic finish, this song is an all out assault in every single way. In my humble opinion, it is better than “To Hell With The Devil”, better than “Surrender”, better than “The Way”, and yes..better than “Soldiers Under Command”. I’m sure some will disagree, and that is fine. Just know that I say that with all due respect to the aformentioned Stryper classics. As far as "Take It To The Cross" goes, This is also a great song, with a thrashy guitar riff, and a memorable chorus, complete with death growl vocals. But for me, "Yahweh" is the standard by which any Stryper song (past, present or future), should be measured. 
Winner = Yahweh

Fallen vs. Sorry 

Look, if we’re going on hit single capability, “Sorry” is going to win everytime. But if we’re going on overall song, "Fallen" wins for me. To me, it is a continuation of that progressive/power metal direction Stryper has been pursuing for the past few albums now. From the opening riff coupled with Michael’s high pitched scream, to the lyrics depicting Satan’s banishment from Heaven, to the guttural scream in the chorus, to the solo, this song is an abolute masterpiece. "Sorry" has a great riff, an extremely catchy chorus, and a killer video, so that makes it tough. But I just feel "Fallen" overtakes it.
Winner = Fallen

Pride vs. Lost 

"Lost" wins this one by a mile. This is a song that I feel could have so easily been on Fallen, it's that good. Just a phenomenal track, with lyrics depicting the downward spiral of society, begging the question, "Is there any hope for us?". "Pride" could actually serve as a precursor in terms of theme, with lyrics that call us out on the original sin of Adam and Eve that continues to haunt us to this day. In terms of the overall song itself? "Pride" has nothing to be ashamed of as it is a heavy, crunchy, and downright nasty song. But again..from an epic standpoint? "Lost" wins. It’s my personal favorite off the new album.
Winner = Lost

Big Screen Lies vs. God Damn Evil

The title track from the new album also takes the cake on this one. I like "Big Screen Lies", as it is similar in structure to "Pride" as far as heavy and crunchy goes, but it doesn’t have the anthem like chorus of "God Damn Evil", which has been called a modern day, "To Hell With The Devil" by many people. And deservedly so.
Winner = God Damn Evil

Heaven vs. You Don’t Even Know Me

Probably the toughest one for me to choose. "Heaven" is one of my favorite Stryper songs, and in my opinion would have been a hit for the band back in the early 90’s. But "You Don’t Even Know Me" has a killer riff, and a much deeper meaning, with lyrics depicting the downside of social media and the keyboard warrior mentality that is so prevalent in society today. It really is a tough choice. Most people will go with the newer song from the new album, and I get that. But for me, it’s a toss up.
Winner = TIE

Love You Like I Do vs. The Valley

Another one that is tough for me personally, as I feel “Love You Like I Do” would have also been a big hit for Stryper back in the day, but "The Valley" does win this one, and quite easily. Based on Psalm 23:4 from the Old Testament, this song is heavy, sludgy and absolutely off the charts phenomenal. Another one that could have very easily been on "Fallen". And the video is the greatest Stryper has ever made, flashing back and forth between a church pew, a desert (no doubt representing the "valley of the shadow of death") and a candle lit bedroom (perhaps representing middle ground). I know I keep using the term, "epic" to describe many aspects of Stryper's recent work, but I just feel it is appropriate. The themes in this video are no exception.
Winner = The Valley

Til I Get What I Need vs. Sea Of Thieves

I put these 2 songs together cause they are very similar in terms of structure. I almost feel like they’re the same song, but with different lyrics. However, I always felt like “Til I Get What I Need” was something that belonged on a Michael Sweet solo album. I don’t quite feel that way about “Sea Of Thieves”, but both have that “filler” feel to them. The only difference is they’re actually good songs. I’m going with "Sea Of Thieves" cause it actually feels like it belongs on a Stryper album.
Winner = Sea Of Thieves

All Over Again vs. Can’t Live Without Your Love

Again, trying to keep the similar songs together. The ballads on each respective album should be compared with each other and nothing else. The strange thing with these two songs is that I intially blew both of them off. It took me forever just to even like "All Over Again", as I used to routinely skip over it for the heavier songs on "Fallen". Then one day I decided to give it a shot, surprisingly dug it, and now listen to it constantly. I love Oz's slide guitar on it, and again this would have been a HUGE hit for the band back in it’s heyday. And the video is actually very touching as it depicts the band showing love towards their wives, along with a montage of pictures of them over the years. That’s also where it gets a little dicey as we all know what happened with a certain now former band member and his now ex-wife. I'm not going to delve into an obviously sensitve subject, but I'd be lying if I said the video is easy for me to watch after everything that went down. But keeping that out of the equation, I am going with "Can’t Live Without Your Love" for the simple reason that I feel it’s a better song. More guitar based, and not as "syrupy" as it's "Fallen" counterpart. Now, admittedly I had an issue with this song at first as well, as I felt it was similar to songs from Michael's last solo album, as well as the last Sweet & Lynch album in terms of subject matter. And look, there is absolutely nothing wrong with writing a love song about your wife, as God calls us to honor them. But I guess I just felt he had covered it enough in other, recent projects, and I would have preferred lyrics focused on another world issue, or on the love of Christ, and how He is the only hope in this world. And no, I’m not one of those fans that feels every song must be about God, have a Christian theme, or proclaim the name, "Jesus" ten million times in it, I am actually quite the opposite. I just felt in this instance there was an opportunity to tie in the overall angry theme of the album with a message of hope. However, keep reading....
Winner = Can’t Live Without Your Love

Let There Be Light vs. Beautiful

Speaking of hope, "Beautiful" does offer that. It is a great song, and the lyrics almost feel like a continuation of the Michael Sweet solo song, “I’m Not Your Suicide”. The structure of the song reminds me a little bit of the Scorpions, “Don’t Believe Her”, which was always a favorite of mine. However, the bridge leading up to the chorus seems to be missing something for me, although I can’t quite place my finger on it, and the solo feels very similar to “Love You Like I Do”. So, as much as I do like the song, for me it doesn’t compare to "Let There Be Light", which is Part 1 of the three headed monster that closes out "Fallen". 
Winner = Let There Be Light

The Calling vs. Own Up

Ok, so what we have here is arguably my favorite song on "Fallen" vs. a great track from the new album. Let me first state that the opening riff of "The Calling" is something that needs to be cranked as loud as humanly possible, very much like "Sympathy" off "No More Hell To Pay". Just a fantastic, loud, "road trip" type song with a great solo, and epic screams from Michael. I can't overstate how much I love this song. Others may not feel the same, but I just can't help it. This is the 2nd part of the aforementioned three headed monster, and while probably not the best, my personal favorite.

And then we have, "Own Up" which is a slick, naughty, foreboding tale about a person basically being "caught in a lie". It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who this song may be describing (*wink*,*wink*), but we'll leave that open to interpretation. But seriously, just a great track. Plus it has cowbell in it. And we all know that when you've got a fever, there's only one prescription!

All due respect to "Own Up", but I'm sorry...
Winner = The Calling

King of Kings vs. The Devil Doesn’t Live Here

"Fallen" closes out with what is arguably the best of the three headed monster with "King of Kings", which starts off with another great riff and then delves into the heart of the matter when it comes to Christians, "Is Christ a fake or a fraud?", "Is He the One you choose to hail?". A rhetorical question for some, but for others it's something they need to truly ask themselves. Another great solo follows more epic (there's that word again) screetching vocals as the song pounds towards it's conclusion with a massively awesome drum fill by the Visual Timekeeper, Robert Sweet to close it out. A great song to close out a great album.

However, don't discount the great closer for "God Damn Evil", appropriately titled, "The Devil Doesn't Live Here". You wanna talk about a vicious, heavy metal assault? Give this track a spin (or a thousand). Another modern day revisiting of a previous Stryper song, very similar to "Rock The Hell Out Of You" off 1990's "Against The Law" album, this track pretty much picks up the pace of its predecessor 28 years later, and absolutely rips it to shreds. Say what you want about Stryper, but one thing is for certain, they know how to close an album!

I know, I know...after THAT ringing endorsement, how can I possibly do what I'm about to do here? It's not easy, trust me. But there is just something about, "King of Kings" that puts it over, "The Devil Doesn't Live Here" for me. Not by much though. I mean, literally both songs are neck and neck with each other. But I gotta go with my gut here. I know, I suck....sorrrrrryyy!!
Winner =  King of Kings

So, in conclusion..we have a toss up. 11 songs. 5 for each album that are better than it's counterpart, and then a toss up. I really did try to be as unbiased as I could here, and if I honestly thought, "God Damn Evil" was a better album than "Fallen" I would say so. I did with "No More Hell To Pay". Took me about 8 or 9 months, but eventually I conceded that "Fallen" was the better album, and I maintain that. Maybe in a year or so, I will feel the same about "God Damn Evil", but for now, I'm calling it even.

Winner = Fallen vs. God Damn Evil = TIE

Would love to hear everyone's feedback down below. This is the first of what will hopefully be many reviews by me on great rock and metal albums, past, present, and future. And while I will do reviews on both Christian, and secular music, there will not be anything on albums, or bands, with satanic themes. So don't look for anything from Slayer, Marilyn Manson, or Ghost. Sorry...BUT THE DEVIL DOESN'T LIVE HERE!!!