Michael Sweet's Worship Album: Him

I've been a fan of Michael Sweet and Stryper since 1985 when I first bought Soldiers Under Command. Released in August 2006, This record represents a different direction as Sweet releases his first worship album. Michael continues to raise the bar with each new album he releases.

Him was originally released independently in 2003 as a "demo" version under the title Hims, as the CD was a collection of hymns and worship songs made available through Michael Sweet's website. Since then, he has done a reunion tour with the original Stryper, recorded Reborn with the band's current lineup as well as a tour for that album. Now, Sweet has re-released his worship project through Infinity Music Distribution, with the album becoming more widely available in stores across the country.

If you're a metal/hard rock fan looking for a CD full of Stryperized worship songs and hard rock hymns, you'll be in for a disappointment. Most of the songs on Him are slow to mid-tempo, but Sweet still brings a lot of energy into them. The only song that even comes close to sounding like Stryper is "Calvary," an up-tempo rock version of the church hymn "At Calvary," with electric and acoustic guitars layered over each other. "Calvary" is the only up-tempo rock track on the album.

The rest of the record is largely acoustic with some electric guitar. My overall favorite song is "Surrender," a beautiful acoustic ballad rendition of "I Surrender All," a hymn that captures the essence of complete surrender to Christ and total dependence on Him. Another great song of surrender included on Him is "Take My Life," a passionate plea for the Lord to take the individual and use that person to shine the Light of Christ to those around him or her.

Some other outstanding tracks include "Every Hour," an updated, contemporary version of "I Need Thee Every Hour", "I Know," "Still," "Alleluia" a peppy pop offering adapted from the hymn "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" and "Gilead," which is adapted from "There is a Balm in Gilead." The album closes with the Christmas hymn "O, Holy Night," in which Michael is joined by a background choir.

If you are a fan of Stryper and/or Michael Sweet's solo work, or if you just love hymns and other great songs of praise and worship, I wholeheartedly recommend you give Him. This is a beautiful album filled with songs that will lift your spirits and encourage you in your walk with Christ. I love this record, and I eagerly look forward to more music in the near future from Michael Sweet, both with Stryper and on his own.