The Yellow and Black Attack

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The Yellow and Black Attack
Studio album by Stryper

Publication
(s)

July 1984 ( EP ), July 1986 (album)

admission

1984

Label (s) Enigma Records

Format (s)

EP (1984); LP, CD (1986)

Genre (s)

Christian Metal ("White Metal"), Glam Metal

Title (number)

6 (EP), 8 (LP, CD)

running time

24:56 (EP), 34:08 (CD)

occupation

production

Ron Goudie, Stryper

Studio (s)

Amigo Studios, Clover Studios

chronology
Soldiers Under Command (1985) The Yellow and Black Attack To Hell With the Devil (1986)

The Yellow and Black Attack (also: The Yellow and Black Attack! ) Is the 1986 expansion of the mini album ( EP ) of the same name from 1984 by the white metal band Stryper .

History of origin

The songs on the Stryper demo tape appealed to those in charge of Enigma Records, so they signed the group and provided a budget of $ 6,000 for professional recordings. What they didn't know was that the lyrics had been reworked in a Christian direction before the studio recording . After the label had cautiously only had a small edition pressed of the debut EP in 1984, given the daring combination of heavy metal and Christian manifestations of faith, it was expanded by two tracks due to the great sales success of the one-album successor Soldiers Under Command Re-released as vinyl LP and CD and also sold excellently. The yellow 1984 vinyl record and the Japanese CD edition are coveted collectors' items. In addition to the two titles previously released on a 12 "single and 7" picture disc, the latter also includes the track Winter Wonderland , which was also previously available as a single.

Cover artwork

The front of the mini album's record sleeve is a drawing by Mike Lemos. The universe is shown with the earth and the moon. The continents of the earth are striped yellow and black. The moon can be seen entirely on the side of the earth. From the lower edge of the cover, so to speak from the “depths of the universe”, a transparent aura-radiating hand points towards the earth. It is easy to interpret as God's hand. Four different types of cruise missiles, each labeled with the initials of one of the band members, aim at the earth following the pointing hand. The destructive rockets are also kept in yellow and black, and in addition to their initials they all have the numerical sequence “777”, which represents an “equivalent” to the “ number of the beast ” mentioned in the biblical apocalypse , namely “666”. The record title is in the middle between the globe and the approaching cruise missiles, the band logo is between the upper edge and the earth-moon team. When it was first pressed, the picture was too dark and the lower edge was cut too much so that only the outstretched index finger of God's hand can be seen. The cover of the following album Soldiers Under Command then adorns a martial motif: The band poses heavily armed in front of a yellow and black striped armored car .

The new edition shows an earth that takes up almost the entire front of the cover, drawn by Tom Utley, with several - depending on the interpretation - comet-tail-like influences or radiations. The band logo and (only on the CD) album title are placed diagonally across the picture.

The backs of both versions show the band. For the mini album, it's a group photo taken by Jackie Salow, for the re-release it's four full body photos of the members. These photos are from Glen La Fermin. The metal expert Martin Popoff said that he had never seen such feminine male metal musicians.

Title List (EP, 1984)

  1. Loud 'N' Clear (Michael Sweet) - 3:34
  2. From Wrong to Right (M. Sweet, Robert Sweet, Oz Fox) - 3:51
  3. You Know What to Do (M. Sweet, R. Sweet, Fox, Tim Gaines) - 4:47
  4. Co'Mon Rock (M. Sweet) - 3:46
  5. You Won't Be Lonely (M. Sweet) - 3:43
  6. Loving You (M. Sweet) - 4:15

Track List (Japan CD, 1984; LP and CD, 1986)

  1. Loud 'N' Clear (Michael Sweet) - 3:34
  2. From Wrong to Right (M. Sweet, Robert Sweet, Oz Fox) - 3:51
  3. My Love I'll Always Show (M. Sweet) - 3:38
  4. You Know What to Do (M. Sweet, R. Sweet, Fox, Tim Gaines) - 4:47
  5. Co'Mon Rock (M. Sweet) - 3:46
  6. You Won't Be Lonely (M. Sweet) - 3:43
  7. Loving You (M. Sweet) - 4:15
  8. Reason for the Season (M. Sweet, R. Sweet) - 6:30
  9. Winter Wonderland (Japan CD only) - 3:16

style

The music magazines Faces Rocks (USA), Metal Hammer (Germany) and Crash (Germany) emphasized the quality of the music in 1986/87 when there was more or less skepticism towards the text messages and the poser-like appearance and assigned them to "melodic heavy rock" . Alex Gernandt classified the majority of the songs in the crash as "crashing HM-Fetzer" ( Loud 'N' Clear , From Wrong to Right , Co'Mon Rock ) and "melodious heavy rockers with a pithy guitar sound" ( You Know What to Do , Loving You ). He called You Won't Be Lonely a "beautiful ballad " and My Love I'll Always Show a "harmonious, calm ballad". Finally, with Reason for the Season, there is still “pounding power rock”.

The Rock Hard Encyclopedia from the Rock Hard editorial team calls the album a "hard record, the sales of which even surpass those of Ratt and Mötley Crüe ". The Guinness Who's Who of Heavy Metal by Colin Larkin characterizes it as common hard rock with simple lyrics and high-pitched harmonies . Mark Allan Powell wrote in his Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music that it contained headbanger- style bone- breaking songs along with a typical ballad (only this one in the first edition), which could also pass as an earthly declaration of love. Martin Popoff recognized guitar work as fluid and fiery in his book The Collector's Guide of Heavy Metal Volume 2: The Eighties . In terms of reef technology , however, nothing is innovative. There are melodic recruits to be heard on earth and hymn-like refrains for the heavenly sphere.

Internet reviewers deal most extensively with the work. In his review for the Allmusic platform, Alex Henderson notes that Stryper managed to get a religious message across without preaching with catchy pieces such as You Know What to Do , Co'Mon Rock and Loud 'N' Clear . While the up- tempo songs correspond to the metal standard, the ballads are hard to endure, because You Won't Be Lonely and My Love I'll Always Show are unbearably extremely sweet. Georg Weihrauch from powermetal.de is impressed by the "unpolishedness" in the still simple song structures. The clearly Christian lyrics were "one of the strongest bulwarks against the then rampant Satanism wave in rock music". Loud 'N' Clear and From Wrong to Right are driving rock songs. Michael Sweet sounds "vocally not yet as mature as on the later albums". In return, the melodic guitar solos by Oz Fox are haunting. With My Love I'll Always Show follow a lard ballad. Weihrauch comments on the next track: “ You Know What To Do is a straighter number again, with Stryper-typical riffs and vox, with the song Oz Fox is again given the opportunity to show his virtuosity on the guitar put. Actually the strongest song on the debut. "The following Co'Mon Rock is the piece" with the highest tempo on the album ". Loving You and Reason for the Season are then two more mid-tempo songs that round off a strong album. Christopher Long complains on puregrainaudio.com that the new edition has been remixed and that the original sound has been watered down. Only the first version of The Yellow and Black Attack is raw and resounding, just "solid, heavy rock".

Andrew Rockwell wrote a thorough review for angelicwarlord.com . In it he certifies Michael Sweet a voice with a large range, a lot of power and dynamism, which is why he is one of the best metal singers. As far as his guitar work is concerned, it is not limited to the accompanying rhythm part , but he has also taken over the lead guitar in two songs . Oz Fox is proving to be a great talent contributing a faster and edgier playing technique, which is best used in Loud 'N' Clear and Co'Mon Rock . Robert Sweet and Tim Gaines would provide a solid rhythmic foundation. Rockwell thinks the album is an effective combination of fast melodic metal numbers like Loud 'N' Clear , Co'Mon Rock and Loving You on the one hand and the more commercial hard rock feeling You Know What to Do and You Won't Be Lonely on the other hand. The stormy From Wrong to Right on the other hand pushes into classic metal realms. This is where the Christian message is expressed most clearly ("All say Jesus is the way"). In detail: Loud 'N' Clear shows the vocal harmonies typical of the band right from the start, while You Know What To Do moves the album in a straightforward melodic hard rock direction. Co'Mon Rock is one of Stryper's hardest songs. A “glowing guitar riff” whips the piece forward, energetically and aggressively. The refrain is hymn-like. It should also be noted that the word "rock", which is also used in The Rock That Makes Me Roll (1985) and Can't Stop the Rock (1991), in Stryper's music style literally stands for "rock", which is again means "Jesus", "God" or "Faith". Of the six songs from the first release, the hard rock song You Won't Be Lonely seems the most relaxed, although Oz Fox also plays a fast-paced guitar solo here. Ravishingly melodic, but still heavy metal is Loving You . The piece tells of the transformation of a dissatisfied person through turning to God into one freed from constraints and thus happy. Like Long, Rockwell regrets that the remix turned the angular original version into a watered-down commercial slice.

reviews

The album received good ratings from the rock magazine Crash with 5 out of 6 possible points, from Metal Hammer with 5 out of 7 possible points and the website angelicwarlord.com , whose rating system scored 85%. Allmusic gave weaker grades with 2 out of 5 possible stars and Martin Popoff in his record rating guide with 4 out of 10 possible points.

meaning

Just the unprecedented connection of metal with messages of God and thus representing an antithesis to the devil focus of some metal bands , Stryper made known.

Thanks to the musical quality, Stryper also survived the ridicule that was sometimes poured out over her appearance. Stryper was a band that rocked hard and casually consisted of Christians, rather than a group of Christians looking for ways to reach "devil music lost souls". So was The Yellow and Black Attack , become the seminal event for the Christian music scene by established a new genre that was called the "White Metal".

This mini album, which is now a classic, was the blueprint for imitators like Barren Cross , Bloodgood , Bride , Guardian , Sacred Warrior, Shout or Whitecross .

The Leaderdogs for the Blinds opened their debut album in 1996 with a song called The Yellow and Black Attack . A tribute in particularly paid tribute to the band Guardian Strypers debut work when she 1998 the complete album under the project name The Yellow and Black Attack coverte .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Andrew Rockwell: Stryper - The Yellow and Black Attack. In: angelicwarlord.com. Retrieved June 20, 2020 (English).
  2. ↑ a b Holger Stratmann (Ed.): Rock Hard Enzyklopädie . 700 of the most interesting rock bands from the last 30 years. Rock Hard GmbH, Dortmund 1998, ISBN 3-9805171-0-1 , Stryper, p. 396 f .
  3. ↑ Alex Gernandt: Stryper . In: Crash . The definitive hard rock & metal magazine. February 1986, LP Review, p. 18 .
  4. ↑ a b c d Alex Gernandt: Stryper. The Yellow and Black Attack . In: Crash . The definitive hard rock & metal magazine. November 1986, LP Reviews, p. 66 .
  5. ↑ a b c Christopher Long: Stryper - The Yellow and Black Attack. Retro album review. In: puregrainaudio.com. PureGrainMedia, July 21, 2019, accessed June 20, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Stryper - The Yellow and Black Attack. In: discogs.com. Retrieved June 20, 2020 (English).
  7. ↑ a b c Martin Popoff : The Collector's Guide of Heavy Metal Volume 2: The Eighties . Collectors Guide Ltd, Burlington, Ontario, Canada 2005, ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5 , pp. 344 .
  8. ↑ Elianne Halbersbeg: Stryper. Just Four Ordinary Guys Who Happen to Sing about God . In: Faces Rocks . September 1987, p. 60 f .
  9. ↑ Stryper . In: Metal Hammer . Hard Rock & Heavy Metal Poster Magazine! January 1986, News, p. 8 .
  10. ↑ a b Buffo [Schnädelbach]: Stryper. The Yellow and Black Attack . In: Metal Hammer . Hard Rock & Heavy Metal Poster Magazine! December 1986, Special Service. LP's, S. 10 (the pages of the Special Service have their own count).
  11. ^ A b Colin Larkin: The Guinness Who's Who of Heavy Metal. Second edition . Guinness Publishing, Enfield, Middlesex, England 1995, ISBN 0-85112-656-1 , pp. 347 f .
  12. ^ A b c d e Mark Allan Powell: Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music . Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts 2003, ISBN 1-56563-679-1 , pp. 891 ff .
  13. ↑ a b Alex Henderson: Stryper. The Yellow and Black Attack. AllMusic Review by Alex Henderson. In: allmusic.com. Retrieved June 20, 2020 (English).
  14. ^ Georg Weihrauch: Stryper - The yEllow and Black Attack. In: powermetal.de. Jaeger and Villbrandt GbR, Peter Kubaschk, January 23, 2001, accessed on June 20, 2020 .
  15. ↑ a b Lance Lumie: Stryper. The Yellow and Black Attack. Review. In: sleazeroxx.com. July 21, 2019, accessed June 20, 2020 .
  16. ↑ Daniel Bukszan: The Encyclöpedia öf Heavy Metal . Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 2012, ISBN 978-1-4027-9230-4 , pp. 325 f .

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