Against the Law is the fifth release, and fourth full-length album, from the Christian metal band Stryper, released on August 21, 1990 (see 1990 in music).

This album marked a radical change in the musical and visual direction of the band. Gone were the yellow and black spandex outfits, the bold evangelical lyrics and the familiar yellow-and-black band logo with Isaiah 53:5. In their place were leather outfits, and lyrics more focused on rock n' roll and relationships, although arguably from a Christian worldview. The album was praised by many critics as the band's strongest work to date, but a large percentage of Stryper's Christian fanbase felt betrayed by this unannounced creative metamorphosis, and many of them accused Stryper of selling out their image and message for greater mainstream acceptance. As a result, Against the Law sold poorly compared to the band's previous gold and platinum releases.

"Shining Star" is a heavy metal cover of the classic Earth, Wind and Fire song.

Track listing

All songs by Michael Sweet except where noted

1. "Against the Law"  3:49
2. "Two Time Woman"  3:40
3. "Rock the People"  3:34
4. "Two Bodies (One Mind, One Soul)"  5:17
5. "Not That Kind of Guy"  3:59
6. "Shining Star" (Philip Bailey, Larry Dunn, Maurice White)  4:22
7. "Ordinary Man"  3:51
8. "Lady"  4:53
9. "Caught in the Middle"  3:48
10. "All for One"  4:31
11. "Rock the Hell Out of You"  3:35

Personnel

Stryper

• Michael Sweet  Lead vocals, guitar
• Oz Fox  Lead guitar, background vocals
• Tim Gaines  Bass
• Robert Sweet  Drums

Additional musicians

• Randy "The Emperor" Jackson  Bass on "Shining Star"
• John Purcell  Keyboards
• Jeff Scott Soto  Background vocals
• Brent Jeffers  Drums, keyboards
• Tom Werman  Percussion

Production

• Tom Werman  Producer
• Eddie Delena  Engineer, Mixer
• Michael Bosley  Assistant engineer
• Lawrence Ethan  Assistant engineer
• Buzz Morrows  Assistant engineer, mixing assistant
• Rudy Tuesday  Art direction, design
• Patrick Pending  Art direction
• David Perry  Photography, photo printing
• Ed Colver  Photography
• Neil Zlozower  Photography
• Jeannine Pinkerton  Typesetting
• Kyle Tucy Sweet  Make-Up
• Fleur Thiemeyer  Clothing/Wardrobe

Alternative versions

The limited-edition cover artwork for Against the Law.

References

ca:Against the Law es:Against the Law it:Against the Law (Stryper) fi:Against the Law