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Artist: Stryper

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Stryper Homepage

CD Title: Against the Law

 

Category: CCM Hard Rock

Year: 1990

Label: Enigma

Catalog Number: 7 73527-2

Personnel

Michael Sweet lead and backing vocals, guitar
Oz Fox guitar, backing vocals
Robert Sweet drums
Tim Gaines bass, backing vocals

Tracks

1.	Against the Law
2.	Two Time Woman
3.	Rock the People
4.	Two Bodies
5.	Not That Kind of Guy
6.	Shining Star
7.	Ordinary Man
8.	Lady
9.	Caught in the Middle
10.	All for One
11.	Rock the Hell Out of You

If you see any errors or omissions in the CD information shown above, either in the musician credits or song listings (cover song credits, live tracks, etc.), please post them in the corrections section of the Heavy Harmonies forum/message board.

The music discographies on this site are works in progress. If you notice that a particular Stryper CD release or compilation is missing from the list above, please submit that CD using the CD submission page. The ultimate goal is to make the discographies here at Heavy Harmonies as complete as possible. Even if it is an obscure greatest-hits or live compilation CD, we want to add it to the site. Please only submit official CD releases; no bootlegs or cassette-only or LP-only releases.

EPs and CD-singles from Stryper are also welcome to be added, as long as they are at least 4 songs in length.

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Existing comments about this CD

From: KARLOS	Date: July 16, 2001 at 12:41
This is a pretty good cd. I would really recommend to all of you to listen to the song 'lady', it's an incredible ballad. You'll want to listen to it over and over. On a heavier note, 'Two Time Woman' totally kicks ass. Check this cd out as soon as possible.

From: Motley	Date: October 26, 2001 at 7:56
Their greatest cd, especially ROCK THE HELL OUTTA YOU. And ROCK THE PEOPLE. Cant listen to this one enuff.Shame they dont excist anymore

From: T-BONE	Date: October 26, 2001 at 11:48
Actually....they're on tour right now. They've been back together for about 7 months. go to www.metaledgemag.com and check out the Stryper interview.

From: Harvey	Date: November 16, 2001 at 12:55
Stryper do Crue!!! Interesting idea and it kind of works. Almost no references to christianity which, whatever your views, was a refreshing change. Best bits? Check out the riff on the title track and, the man's right, Lady is a very catchy power ballad. Good stuff!!

From: Cephas

Date: March 5, 2002 at 2:46

'To Hell with the Devil' put Stryper on the map; 'In God We Trust' made them money; 'Against the Law' broke them up. Motley Crue were talented bad boy rockers who liked being bad. Stryper take the role of posers & wannabes here: 'Hey, guys, we can be 'bad', too!' The lyrics are incredibly thin and banal. Nothing like the Crue. 'Lady' sounds like an old Journey tune. People laughed at Stryper before this, but admitted there were some good tunes. Now, they were just laughing. And, Stryper's GONE!

From: Todd Barnes

Date: March 21, 2002 at 23:12

Let's not be too harsh. I think this album, musically, is probably their best. Lyrically, most of the tunes are fun. There were misconceptions about Stryper after this disc was released, but no one can truly know a person's heart. So listen to this album the way it was meant to be heard: fun and gritty rock and roll! By the way, I'd say it sounds more like 'Van Stryper' than Motley Stryper. But that's another great thing about this album!

From: motley	Date: May 16, 2002 at 13:48
Best xian band ever. I never paid attention to what they believed in, concentrated more on teh music and i fuckin rocked. I love this album and it is their best-love the image. Dressed as bees?! Hmmm never really thought of that. Everybody had to have their image to break through. love your voice Michael!!!!!!!!!

From: Dusty	Date: June 16, 2002 at 13:32
Hey your right, this CD fuckin rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PS Stryper rulz, its the best christian metal band i know!

From: Shoemaker	Date: June 17, 2002 at 4:17
Hey Dusty, you should take an ear full of music from Neon Cross or Barren CRoss (State of control album) they blew Stryper out of their shoes.

From: d.a.n 69	Date: June 20, 2002 at 18:13
poor kim.est tu un homme ou un enfant avant de passer un tel message stupide di donc que tu les aimes pas c'est toute.....fools p.s i speak french because i'm from quebec (canada). i speak english very well. but i say you're not speak french at all .

From: Kim	Date: June 21, 2002 at 15:46
Youre right. I speak not french at all.

From: 9 CHAMPIONS A 1

Date: July 17, 2002 at 12:16

...Y llegaron los 90.Yo no se que co'o paso con el cambio de digito del 8 al 9 que todos los grupos que venian de los 80 sufren una metamorfosis.Stryper no se libraron,y ojo que este Against the Law tiene temas muy guapos,pero estos no son Stryper,Stryper eran los otros, los que su musica tenia sello propio,en este disco son una banda mas de Hard Rock(este disco si que es Hard Rock,los anteriores NO)tipica de principios de los 90.BUEN DISCO pero no deberia haber salido bajo el nombre de Stryper.

From: jason (FA - Q)	Date: August 16, 2002 at 22:06
This band should be 'Against The Law.'

From:

Date: September 5, 2002 at 11:42

I don't care what many people say. Stryper were true to what they sang about. They did this album to broaden their hard-rock talents. Sure, they weren't as bold on this album, but it's not as if they were praising the devil. Not one song is negative! Being 'Against The Law' is just simply being against the way many people live in society - turning from the one who has offered eternal life - JESUS CHRIST!!

From: Baris

Date: September 6, 2002 at 5:00

A farewell to their preaching good boys image. In this album they leave their yellow-black heaven, come to the real world and begin to commit a little sin. Huh! Call it 'Bad Stryper' or sth., who cares! But the music is pretty good. 'Against the law', 'Two time woman', 'Ordinary Man', 'Lady' and the delightful version of 'Shining Star'. A special congratulation to Oz Fox for the improvement in his guitar. Michael Sweet is a typical glam singer with his 'soul-female' voice. Well done boyzzz!!!

From: Michael Davis	Date: September 19, 2002 at 16:30
This album has given Christian Rock a bad name, I love Stryper, but I mean they would have stayed together if they never made this album.

From: vikingo666	Date: March 7, 2003 at 17:13
SOLO TENGO ESTE DISCO Y NO ESTA MAL,ME GUSTA ESPECIALMENTE LA BALADA 'LADY'.TENDRE QUE HACERME CON LOS OTROS DISCOS DE STRYPER YA QUE TIENE BUENAS CRITICAS Y SI ESTE ES SU PEOR DISCO (Y ME GUSTA) LOS OTROS ESTARAN DE PUTA MADRE,A ESTE DISCO LE PONGO UN 6/10

From: 9 CHAMPIONS A 1	Date: March 7, 2003 at 19:55
Oye vikingo,no lo dudes macho en cuanto puedas ya te puedes estar pillando los anteriores de Stryper,ya te digo yo que no te vas a arrepentir.Si quieres nos vemos en el foro de Universoaor.com Un saludo.

From: toni girona	Date: March 26, 2003 at 0:59
Este disco esta muy lejos de lo que habian sido Stryper, una lastima para una grandiosa banda hipermelodica, con buenisimas guitarras.

From: Gar

Date: March 27, 2003 at 22:46

This was the only STRYPER album I ever owned. It was hyped as a big departure from their Christian metal days, but lyrically it's still too wholesome. I guess I was expecting a little too much, but the very idea of a 'BAD ASS STRYPER' was just too good(or bad depending on your point of view) to be true. Anyways... it's a decent slab of hard rock(with some funky elements to it), but not all that different from what they were doing before. Now if they traded in their bumblebee suits for inverted c

From: Gar	Date: March 27, 2003 at 22:47
cont... inverted crosses and stage blood, that would be a different story!

From: Blue Tequila

Date: March 28, 2003 at 0:44

Yeah this was the only Stryper album I owned also. Like you said Gar, the idea of a Bad Ass Stryper was just too good to be true (should of guessed when 'Shining Star' was the first single but I still bought it). I read a hit parader article back then with Michael Sweet talking about how they were taking a big gamble abandoning the 'Yellow & Black' trademark they were known for to become the typical bad boys of rock. But at the time they felt like they had pretty much exhausted their options.

From: Jeremy Witte	Date: May 15, 2003 at 0:33
Kidding? I hope so! This cd is worthy of nothing more than being a coaster!

From: Tony

Date: June 1, 2003 at 5:39

Had this album been released 2 years earlier instead of 'In God We Trust' these guys would have been HUGE!! Has the best 'songs' of any Stryper album but at this point I believe the general music public just didn't care and this disc was meant with complete apathy regardless of musical content. 'Two Bodies' & 'Shining Star' are the best here and Oz Fox plays his ass off. Should be given another shot in 2003 without the stigma of the 'image change' and you'll see it's clearly their best work.

From:

Date: July 16, 2003 at 16:16

I am all for the image and sound of this record, I have listen to and have collected many-a-STRYPER items and will hopefully get to see them on the Reunion tour this fall (2003). This is there best album and again, say it with me VanHalen Sucks ass specially with out David L.R..This is the 2nd band review I have seen a comparison to VH!!!vomit...I am a METALFAN of bands like In FLAMES, OTEP, SOILWORK and MANSON etc..But some Xtian bands really kick ass..try this one BRIDE:Silence is Madness.

From: The Fizzy One	Date: August 5, 2003 at 17:09
I went thirteen years without knowing who did that 'Shining Star' song, just found out today (thanks, Tina!) it was Stryper. Not keen on this band or their preaching ways, and the let's-be-bad-boys idea of this album smacks a little of desperation, but goddammit, I like that song!

From: TIM	Date: August 5, 2003 at 18:04
Yeah, I like that song as well. Email me: rio1harris@aol.com

From: SEBS FOX	Date: August 19, 2003 at 20:59
Stryper is TOURING in 2003! Check the official site for details.

From: Andrew	Date: August 24, 2003 at 21:28
I get a little worried when bands 'tone down' and why they are toning down. The more recent example that comes to mind is Amy Grant. Against the Law in and of itself does not bother me, it's just the motives behind the change that sometimes makes me wonder and sometimes leaves me a bit puzzled. It's not always the media blowing things out of proportion...

From: vikingo666	Date: August 29, 2003 at 13:20
gracias 9 champions 1 me he pillao los demas y estan de putisima madre sobretodo el in god we trust que peazo disco y que temazo el in god we trust y el to hell with... tambien esta molon y tambien con temazo como free,saludos y gracias

From: tomcat	Date: December 22, 2003 at 21:12
my favorite stryper cd...'two time woman' is awesome

From: Johnny Cat	Date: January 8, 2004 at 4:51
Stryper goes secular and grows facial hair!I didnt like this album when it came out.Havent heard it since,so maybe id feel different now.It just seemed like they were denying who they really were...bible-thumpin' bumble bees!The Blue and Black Attack!

From: scorps	Date: March 19, 2004 at 1:54
estoy de acuerdo con todos que cambieron su sonido pero tambien hay temas buenos como el medio tiempo lady y el bombazo rock the hell out of you xd

From: madmax	Date: March 19, 2004 at 3:03
Reconozco q michael sweet canta bien el tio de eso tamos todo de acuerdo pero lo q hace en los directos no tiene nombre es increible que en los estribillos de las canciones sean gravados y el caso es que se nota muchisimo el cambio de sonido supongo que eso sera xq el tio en lo directos se jode la voz en las tres primeras canciones y despues pasa eso por lo demas bien.

From: Rene	Date: March 19, 2004 at 11:01
Like you all know this is not the best STRYPER album but one of my all time favorite STRYPER songs is on this album:ALL FOR ONE. That is just a increible song. Only because that song its already a good thing buying the album in my opinion.

From: Desslar	Date: March 22, 2004 at 4:19
This is probably my favorite Stryper album. Most Stryper album are half great songs and half terrible songs, but here they're nearly all good. Lady is an awesome ballad, and Two Time Woman rocks. Too bad this was the end for the band.

From: Rycheage

Date: July 25, 2004 at 21:50

Getting out of the shadow of 'God's rock' not withstanding, this is a very good hard rock release. 'Shining Star' (Earth, Wind, & Fire remake), 'Against The Law', 'Two Bodies' and 'Caught In The Middle' are excellent hard rock songs and are worthy of being considered so. 'Lady' is an awesome ballad. This is a very good release that should've garnered more attantion than it got in 1990-91. I won't say 'Buy or die' but it is worth having.

From: Metal Jay	Date: July 29, 2004 at 16:48
The song 'Lady' on this Album, is the best ballad ever. Looking back most people see Stryper as somewhat cheesy. They made some great music, and that that wasn't great, was still pretty damn good.

From: brent	Date: September 13, 2004 at 8:40
Finally Rychage mentioned 'Caught In The Middle'!!!.......what a song! Not a huge Stryper fan but do like this disc but particularly that song with Mr Sweet screaming his head off. And with my fave vocalist ever on backing vox (Jeff Scott Soto) how can you go wrong. The guitar playing in Two Bodies is magical too. Cheers.

From: Dean	Date: September 13, 2004 at 17:02
Jeff Scott Soto on backing vocals? WTF?-man i knew i shouldn't have got rid of this one. I had trouble getting in to this but seeing alot of the praise heaped on it makes me want to get it again. Does anyone know of a list of all Jeff Scott Soto's appearances?

From: Marla (MJ)	Date: September 13, 2004 at 19:06
Dean........go here: http://www.jeffscottsoto.com/jss/jss_disc.htm It's got everything...WOW....what a busy guy!!!!

From: Dean	Date: September 13, 2004 at 21:18
Thanks for the info MJ-that list is insane! I was suprised how many i had that i didn't know he was on.

From: Geoff

Date: September 13, 2004 at 21:22

Before this CD: Musically,I had always loved Stryper.Lyrically,I had always hated Stryper.Ballads- hated all Stryper ballads.But this CD changed things for the better.'Two Time Woman' is a side of Stryper I'd not seen,and I love it.Commercial hard rock at it's best.'Two Bodies' continues the high commercial standard,'Lady' is the perfect track a million times better than all Stryper ballads.'Caught in the Middle' is KILLER hard rock,'All for One' is another commercial gem. Great hard rock CD!

From: phaffas	Date: September 13, 2004 at 23:21
does anyone know the connection between jeff scott soto and stryper?? why did he do backing vocals on two of their releases?? just because hes a great singer, or is he christian???

From: jessica96fish	Date: September 21, 2004 at 4:09
this is were they leave the holy thing behind.very strong album.a real kick in the pants from these guys.but unlike geoff.i like it with or without the holy lyrics.top band ever.

From: Def rose	Date: December 30, 2004 at 7:15
Poucos sabem mas Jeff Scott Soto fez backing vocal na m'sica Shining star, por isso ' um dos melhores 'lbuns de Hard do mundo...

From: razorsharp2467	Date: March 7, 2005 at 10:58
probably their best cd as a whole......music is great but some of the lyrics are pretty bad!!

From: well gee	Date: April 29, 2005 at 8:00
i was thinking the exact same thing! amazing! :P

From: (CZ)mark-t	Date: August 27, 2005 at 14:06
Hey people all albums from STRYPER is magical try all very very good 10/10 all albums.Very heart very pomp.I LOVE YOU STRYPER.And new album REBORN very BAD.Bad sound not like old alb.(very bombastic Sound)this bad sound.

From: Javi MR	Date: November 12, 2005 at 6:13
Great Album. Michael sounds incredible and the production is amazing. The cd have classis songs like 'Lady', 'Shining Star', 'Two bodies', 'Ordinary Man' (Van Halen's sound everywhere). In my opinion it could be possible another great album after that but... we have 'Reborn' fifteen years after.

From: poproxx2007

Date: February 6, 2006 at 20:25

'All For One' is one of Stryper's best songs....I liked this one not as much as 'In God We Trust'. They took off the yellow and black and perfomed more straight ahead rock here ala Hurricane, XYZ, and Lynch Mob. Some good songs including 'Two Time Women', title track and the cover of Shining Star. For some reason it seems to peter out of momentum until All For One. In reality this release seemed to alienate they're hard core christian following and any new fans they had hoped to jump on board.

From: YNGWIEVIKING	Date: November 3, 2007 at 3:52
GREAT CD 95/100 GROOVY HAIR METAL imo this is one the most underated album of the late HAIR METAL scene the songs are HUGE and the musical performances are great too ! if i think previous albums are not for everybody this one stand as an universal classic for the MEODIC ROCK lovers BUY IT

From: rockhardrock	Date: January 2, 2011 at 16:58
their last album before they went on a long hiatus. well they kept their famous melodic metal sound here, but not entairly.here you can hear lots of hard rock hooks which takes them closer to hair metal bands than to melodic metal.great lyrics here too. my faves:two bodies, shining star and lady.

From: rick kerch vzla

Date: January 6, 2011 at 19:36

A change of image/music...musically talking i agree with rockhardrock comment...still this album delivers great tracks such as the rocky ones "Against The Law" & "Not That Kind Of guy",catchy ones such as "Two Time Woman" and other goodies such as "Lady" which is a nice song,"Caught in The Middle" this one is my fave one & "All for One"...probably not as consistent as their previous releases and with this one they closed a chapter at that time...anyway is good too have it though...89/100

From: halfordhughes	Date: April 23, 2011 at 12:07
this is strypers best album ever!!!!!!!!!!!highly recommended!!!

From: hair metal again	Date: April 26, 2014 at 14:58
excellent STRYPER release once again !not their best ,but they surely have their best sound &approach in it as they jump on the hair metal rollercoaster as anybody else back in the day!great songs,production and some fine songs like "lady","two time woman","caught in the middle"!finally maybe this one has their best ever guitar work!essential of course!

From: dany69	Date: August 17, 2020 at 20:08
The Only differences Now is Motley SUXX Big time but Stryper Still ROCK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

From: Auslander

Date: February 27, 2021 at 5:21

If any album deserved rediscovery, maybe a fancy re-release, it is this underappreciated gem of a disc. I challenge anyone who states they love 80s style metal to listen to this album (without preconceived bias) and not enjoy it as an under the radar classic. Two Bodies, Lady, Two Time Woman, Rock the Hell are all singles quality songs and the rest is not filler. The best album by Stryper, and even if you don't own any of their other discs, pick this one up for your collection. You won't be disappointed. 95/100. Seriously.

From: Eric

Date: April 21, 2023 at 12:07

I must agree with Auslander; this is truly a rockin' album with KILLER sound (one of Tom Werman's best, and he's produced so many great-sounding albums, with big help from skilled engineer & mixer Eddie De Lena)! Two Time Woman, Two Bodies (One Mind One Soul), Shining Star, Lady, Caught in the Middle and All for One are all excellent songs to me, and I cannot get enough of that sound. Recently saw clips where Stryper played without Oz (in hospital at the time), and like many I was surprised how good a lead guitar player Michael is! He is awesome, just as good as Oz, who knew right? And he writes almost all good songs and has managed to keep his wide-ranged vocals rather intact (which is rare for 60 something years old lead singers!). I can warmly recommend the very interesting and well-written book "Honestly: My Life and Stryper Revealed" by Michael Sweet. It was a great read and I appreciate the band even more now, knowing how much heat they got from all sides back in the 80s!

From: MelodicRocker

Date: August 11, 2024 at 17:40

Robert Sweet is one of THE best and tightest drummers in rock, always makes sure the drum sound is stellar. On almost all of their albums, the drum sound is huge and very good. And his brother Michael is ultra-talented. He writes like a machine, good songs regularly and no other band from the 80s releases so many new and solid albums as Stryper does. How does he do it? Michael also writes and performs way more of the guitar solos than most realize (Eric said it too), he can certainly shred (even if Oz is just a bit faster), both killer guitarists. To be fair, there are a few fillers here (1, 5, 7), but all others are very good. "You're caught in the middle - And you don't know where to go - Turn it around, come back to the ground, Before you break and lose control". Love this tune on the "Greatest Hits : Live In Puerto Rico 2004 DVD", really good! All for One is also one of the very best songs ever by Stryper/Michael, awesome!

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