Stryper - Throne of Thorns (2026)

For the second album in a row, the sound of these Christian metal legends is muffled on the one hand, yet plagued by excessively shrill high frequencies on the other. It’s a strange sound, compounded by the odd, unnecessary vocal tuning applied to Michael Sweet’s voice. He may not be in peak form, but surely not "that" far off. This peculiar sound is presumably intended to harken back to the band's early days, but unfortunately, it mostly results in a loss of the raw energy that characterized the later Stryper era.