AD LINK! Eighties legendary white metal act STRYPER has just released “Acousticyzed“, the band’s first acoustic album and video recorded at SpiritHouse Studios in 2021 – featured in exclusive at plotn08.
This is a very limited pressing collector’s edition and features 11 beautifully recorded fan-favorites and hits like ‘Soldiers Under Command’, ‘Loud & Clear’, Honestly’, etc, including a never before heard version of the spiritual classic ‘Amazing Grace’.
“Acousticyzed” is not available on streaming services – only physical format – and is about to sold out.
The recording feature original members Michael Sweet, Robert Sweet, Oz Fox – along with long-time member Perry Richardson on acoustic bass. Produced by Michael Sweet, “Acousticyzed” sounds fantastic, with the band inspired delivering emotive performances.
“Acousticyzed” features the whole band, which means that, while the guitars are acoustic, the sound is still quite powerful. In fact, Michael Sweet’s lead vocals are at full on most of the songs. If you were wanting a quiet evening with Stryper, this is not – Stryper rocks, always.
After all, Stryper is a metal band, and if the full band is present and the songs are delivered with such power, is there really a point to performing with acoustic instruments? The answer is an unplugged but resounding yes, and here’s why…
The first reason why this is an album to own can be stated with two words: Oz Fox. Oz simply wows with his Latin-influenced solos. We hear this distinctly in “You Know What To Do,” “Soldiers Under Command,” “Loud & Clear,” and in the opening to “All For One.” His solos goes in interesting directions, even with a hint of a western feel in “Make You Mine,” and his opening to the classic “Honestly” is simply beautiful and utterly unlike the original, which leads us to the next reason ”Acousticyzed” should be in your collection.
There may never be a rendition as completely changed and yet equally as wonderful as the original as is Clapton’s unplugged “Layla,” yet the changes Stryper brings to many of these songs do make them worth listening to as genuinely separate compositions from the originals.
Michael Sweet brings a novel solo to “Soldiers Under Command,” and although his solo on “No More Hell To Pay” is based on the album version, it heads into different places.
Nowhere, however, are the differences more significant than on “Honestly.” Oz kicks the song off with a gorgeous opening unlike the original. Michael follows with beautiful, but different, guitar phrasing and a haunting vocal style unlike anything we have heard on any Stryper record. He pulls back the power of his vocals before soaring into the chorus, and when it comes time for his guitar solo, it is wonderfully different from the original.
What the guys do with “Amazing Grace” makes this a standout track on the album. It is laidback, utterly cool, and with even a hint of a country feel at times. Robert Sweet on drums and Perry Richardson on bass lay a solid foundation on which to build, and the whole song gives ample proof of why Stryper should do a Southern Gospel album, a Black Gospel album, an album of hymns, or all of the above. And if that were not enough to convince you that you need this album if only for this song, Michael’s solo and Oz’s solo each brings out what music-reaction-YouTuber Jamel_AKA_Jamal calls “stank face maximus”… you know, when the music just twists the face of the listener into an expression of “awwww, yeah!”
Yeah, Stryper is metal band, but most of these songs born on acoustic guitar.
Whether you would have imagined it or not, “Make You Mine,” “Lady,” “Always There For You,” and “All For One” sound fantastic as acoustic versions, with “Always There For You” and “Lady” being exceptional.
“Lady,” a gorgeous ballad that may have been overshadowed by “Honestly” back in the day, was a welcome return in their live setlist in 2018 and is simply perfect here. One can imagine, had this acoustic version come out thirty years ago, a black and white video of it similar to Extreme’s “More Than Words.” It would have dominated MTV.
Grab Acousticyzed now before it sells out. It deserves a place in the collection of any Stryper fan or of anyone who enjoys acoustic renditions of great rocks songs.
Highly Recommended
You Know What To Do
Soldiers Under Command
No More Hell To Pay
Make You Mine
Loud & Clear
Lady
Honestly
Calling On You
Amazing Grace
Always There For You
All For One