For decades, Styper fans have wanted a proper Christmas album. The band released a few holiday songs over the years and fans have always wanted more- enter 2025 and the band have finally delivered in The Greatest Gift of All.
And it’s everything every fan could have ever hoped for.
They open with the title track and it’s ringing with Christmas bells mixed with signature Stryper guitars and bass, giving the perfect Stryper-infused holiday feeling. You can close your eyes and picture snow falling all around you while you sip hot chocolate or hot apple cider while you headbang (safely) to the music.
The most impressive thing about this record is that Stryper have written four completely original Christmas songs, but they have the signature Stryper sound on all of them.
Then there are the Christmas classics Stryper reimagined. Classic hymn “Go Tell it on the Mountain” is a pleasant surprise finding its way onto the record and keeps the essence of the song, opening with a choir singing the chorus.
Stryper have always been big on ballads and Michael Sweet has been very open about wanting to have a ballad on each record and they live up to the high bar they’ve set with their rendition of “Little Drummer Boy” and “Silent Night,” the latter of which is just beautiful and has the spirit of a snow-covered winter night and brings that scene to life.
“Joy To the World” starts with a worship-style acoustic guitar before going electric and has a jolly, holiday celebratory ambiance before closing the record out with a re-recording of the two songs that got things started in the first place.
For decades, Stryper fans had “Reason For the Season” from the band’s debut 41 years ago as well as their cover of “Winter Wonderland,” which was almost held up in Stryper lore over the years. In 2025, the band reimagined their classic hits but still keeping true to the original songs too.
The Greatest Gift of All is as close to perfect as you can get. We can’t be more thankful the band took their time to make this record. It’s laid out flawlessly and with such attention to detail, it really pays off.
The band alternates between Christmas classic and Christmas original, giving a seamless balance and keeping you really listening as there are so many hidden gems on this record.
Rating: 9.5/10
-Reggie Edwards