A definite improvement over
In God We Trust, the grittier
Against the Law is not only a more consistently rockin' album, it's also much more focused and inspired. The CD's standout track is an imaginative cover of
Earth, Wind & Fire's "Shining Star," which works surprisingly well in a metal/hard rock setting. But originals like "Rock the People," "Caught In the Middle," and "Ordinary Man" aren't anything to be ashamed of, either. Because many of the songs don't have overtly Christian lyrics, there was some speculation that
Stryper, like
Amy Grant, was going secular. But
Stryper's members insisted that they were still very much a Christian band. And it's hard to imagine
Mötley Crüe,
Ratt, or
Warrant recording a song like "Not That Kind of Guy," which finds
Michael Sweet turning down the chance to have casual sex with an attractive woman because he doesn't consider it the moral thing to do. ~ Alex Henderson