One Sided War
Michael Sweet
(Rat Pak)
Four stars
If there’s anyone else doing more than Michael Sweet to keep 1980s metal alive and vibrant decades later, I’d love to meet him or her.
The Stryper vocalist-guitarist, who also co-fronted a reborn Boston between 2007 and 2011, has been writing, playing and recording as if his hair were on fire, cranking out a steady stream of molten metal albums, each one better than the last.
Jumping back and forth between Stryper, the iconic 1980s Christian metal band and MTV darlings, Sweet & Lynch, a side project with former Dokken guitarist George Lynch, and a series of solo albums, Sweet has been among the hardest-working and most productive rockers in the business.
His latest solo album majors in "heavy", kicking off with full-speed-ahead battering ram Bizarre. Whitesnake guitarist Joel Hoekstra lends vital six-string assistance throughout. The title track and Can't Take This Life will delight Stryper fans and also interest newcomers.
But the highlight comes on Radio, a tongue-in-cheek ode to rockers who record country albums in an attempt to regain access to the airwaves (I'm looking at you, Bret Michaels, Jon Bon Jovi, Steven Tyler, et al).
If ever there was a one-sided war, it is the assault Michael Sweet is making on the heavy-metal competition right now.
artslife@thenational.ae
