Stryper – Reborn (Release Year – 2005)
In 2005, Stryper returned with their seventh studio disc, and the first with new material since 1990′s Against the Law.
I enjoyed some of the past releases by these guys, and decided to check out the latest effort. The guys have returned to their bumblebee like ways (at least this time it is with paint.) On Reborn, former bass player, Tim Gaines has been replaced with Tracy Ferrie. The rest of the lineup of Stryper are all original members: Michael Sweet on vocals, Oz Fox on guitar, and Robert Sweet on drums.
Quite frankly, I expected Reborn to be awful, which is why I hesitated in picking this up. Surprisingly, this is much better than I anticipated it to be.
Open Your Eyes is a tasty cut that has a more modern, heavy rock sound, similar to what Europe is doing these days. I always liked Oz Fox’s guitar sound, but this is a totally different sound, from the 80′s style hard rock of their past releases.
Reborn continues with the borderline Nu-metal sound. Whether you like the style of music or not, the song is definitely another solid track for Stryper.
With a title like, When Did I See You Cry, I expected a cheesy ballad to fall in line, but this is actually a mid tempo song that kind of rocks.
Make You Mine is probably the closest thing to the 80′s sound of Stryper. I like this track.
Sooner or later, I knew I would have to come across a song that a religious aspect about it. That song on Reborn is Passion. This is a very upbeat and positive sounding song. It is a good song, but will probably only appeal to certain audiences.
Whoa, where in the Hell….oops…Heaven did Live Again come from. This song is one of the heaviest on Reborn and the guitar riff is very Black Sabbath like. This song is going to have to into active rotation into the Hard Rock Hideout play list. Nice!
I didn’t really care for If I Die, but I could see this song growing on me if I listened to it more. Wait For You is very upbeat, and is kind of cool.
Rain is one of the more syrupy songs on Reborn. It is a little too light for my taste, but other people may like it.
Stryper is probably the only band in the world that could make a song like 10,000 Years work for them. When the first words “Amazing Grace” are uttered, my itchy trigger finger wants to hit the fast forward button, to move to the next song. I am glad that my patience prevailed. This is a pretty good song.
I.G.W.T is a remake off the ’88 track, In God We Trust. This is a totally different sounding version. The drums rhythms have been changed somewhat and the bass and guitars on this version have been kicked up a notch. I like the original version, and I like this one a lot too.
Reborn is a completely different sounding record than Stryper’s past releases. This updated sound my alienate some of the fans who preferred the old style of Stryper. I like the old sound, and this new disc appeals to me as well. There are a few tracks worthy of a multiple spins. It is another solid effort by the Yellow and Black Attack!
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. Open Your Eyes
2. Reborn
3. When Did I See You Cry
4. Make You Mine
5. Passion
6. Live Again
7. If I Die
8. Wait For You
9. Rain
10. 10,000 Years
11. I.G.W.T.
Thanks man! You should join us in the forum sometime too! Glad you are here!
very nice review! I’ve been slinking around your website and totally love it! We have the exact same taste in music!
I’ve been a huge Stryper fan since 1988 and I’m glad to see someone review them for their music first, and message second. I am a Christian and I love their strong lyrics, but I get soooooooo tired of people knocking them and not giving them any credibility for their musicianship. So – thanks again!
By the way, thanks for getting me hooked on Bang Camaro and Airbourne!! Keep rocking!!