Stryper: Loud N' Clear

by Dale Erickson And Jesse Sturdevant, Jesse Sturdevant

This audiobook chronicles the entire history of this legendary Christian metal band. From the members' childhoods, the Roxx Regime era, the radio and MTV success, and packed arenas, through their triumphant reunion tours and recordings, it covers just about everything there is to know about Stryper - not just the fluff. Such questions as, "How did Stryper evolve?" and "What really happened during the Against the Law time period?" are all answered here. The answers, derived from countless hours of interviews, come directly from the band members themselves and many others.

Audio CD

First published October 2, 2006

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Puff piece. Much of the info in this book has been readily available to any fan of the band. I'm not sure who really decided that this book needed to be written but it really is more of a vanity-style work. It's interesting if you liked Stryper and haven't revised those days in quite a long while (like me), but you won't learn anything you probably didn't already know.

Any critiques I have on the writing style and the actual delivery of the person reading on the audio CD are completely mine and very jaded. I thought that overall the book reads like a VERY long paper written for a High Schooler for his end-of-year English term paper. When you couple that with how it's actually read aloud on the audio book, it REALLY sounds like a High School guy reading his term paper out loud.

All that said, while listening to the book, I enjoyed going back and reliving the memories of my own teenage years (late 80's) when I was a huge fan of the band. Come to think of it, this book seems like the kind of thing I would've written for an English term paper in the 11th grade. ;-)

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

An authorized but rather amateurish biography that I assume was written and performed by a few hardcore fans rather than by industry professionals. Unlike Michael Sweet's vastly superior memoir HONESTLY, this isn't really a "warts 'n all" biography, though it does mention a few controversies surrounding the band without going into much detail. You'll hear about Tim Gaines not being allowed to play on certain albums, but there's not much explanation why. The book hints at infighting among the band, but, in their interview material, everyone is obviously going out of their way to be diplomatic. My favorite part is when Oz Fox states that he and "maybe a few" of the other band members got heavily into alcohol during the "Above the Law" tour. That's a funny thing to say when your band is a quartet, but I suppose it's nice of him not to specifically incriminate anyone.
Stryper's career consists of two eras separated by a 15-year hiatus. Since this book was originally written in 1999, it focuses almost exclusively on the "classic" era, though the updated version does include some stuff on Styper's half-hearted reunion effort "Reborn." (I say "half-hearted" because it was actually a Michael Sweet solo record that the rest of the band was asked to take part in at the last minute. However, I still think it's a very good album.) But as someone who doesn't much care for Stryper's music pre-"Against the Law," I would've much preferred to read about their more recent work. But it is what it is.
If you haven't followed the band all that closely, this book will make for an informative, engaging read despite its uninspired prose, sloppy interviews, and weak audio narration for the mp3 version. It was clearly aimed at Stryper's Christian fan base, giving the band a chance to clear the air about a few things and ignite renewed interest among their audience. Released only on audio and ebook formats, it's far from a first-rate production. Still, it's a decent rock bio from back before many such books were available.

[Chris Goodwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The little things to read you never knew before make it all so good to read.

[Dave Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a lifelong Stryper fan I was very excited to pick up this book. I was very disappointed once finished. This book offers nothing new with no new stories and no new revelations. If you're a fan and you have the time this book is a good time filler. If you aren't a big Stryper fan, I would skip it.