Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Sweet, Michael
Label: Big 3 Records
Released: 2014
Running time: 49:58
Rating: 4.5/5
Michael Sweet is known as the frontman, guitarist, singer and main songwriter of Christian rockers Stryper. A polished, refined songwriter, he was good enough that he once even lent his services to rock giants Boston. Now Sweet has decided the time has come for a solo studio release, which he has titled »I’m Not Your Suicide«.
»I’m Not your Sucide« is a typical hard rock album, where Sweet shows off his best moments, with an extraordinary feel for developing the music. Unlike with his mother band Stryper, though, Michael this time pays more attention to sophisticated yet layered dressing-up of the musical arrangements. So the guitars are still rock-»springy« throughout, but on »I’m Not Your Suicide« they sit alongside string arrangements, keyboards, acoustic guitars and even lap steel in a far more balanced way than on Stryper records, where they’re usually dangerously overdriven and metalized.
That’s also what the nature of Sweet’s message demands, as this time it digs deep into his inner self. Once again the man touches on the search for inner peace, holy purity and being bathed in the holy light of purity, which is supposed to absolve him of his sins before the heavenly father takes him into the bosom of the eternal kingdom. However cynical the previous sentence may sound, »I’m Not Your Suicide« delivers a bunch of excellent songs where there’s absolutely nothing to fault, whether in the vision behind the ideas or in the arrangement and production.
Sweet has once again brought together the required variety of lead motifs and chorus melodies, which are often pegged to a mid-tempo groove (Miles Away, Strong) or a tempo with a balladic gaze (Coming Home, Heart of Gold). The album also has a few moments that could sit comfortably on any Stryper album. One is the opener Taking on the World Tonight, where Sweet is joined in a vocal duet by the great singer of Norwegian hard rock veterans TNT, Tony Harnell. Mid-album there’s Anybody Else, with famous American wrestler Chris Jericho (Fozzy) guesting on vocals, followed by All That’s Left. Unsuspecting, right before the album wraps up, undoubtedly joins this bunch. »I’m Not Your Suicide possesses the above-mentioned (excellent) cover of Neal Young’s Haert Of Gold, with an extra »lap steel« arrangement that, through the song’s country sound, evokes a kind of serenity and cheerfulness.
»I’m Not Your Suicide« is an excellent solo studio album from the seasoned Michael Sweet, packed with compositions polished to perfection in both sound and arrangement detail. The album is marked by an actively dynamic, lively sound and a dash of melodicism that ignites instantly. Sweet has once again cleverly worked a moment of bombastic grabbiness into the content of this album too! This is an album that vividly lays bare Michael Sweet’s creative musical identity. »I’m Not Your Suicide« delivers the side of Sweet’s musical outlook that the Stryper stance wouldn’t carry so well, even though it becomes clear right away that »I’m Not Your Suicide« is a close relative of the Stryper discography. So Stryper devotees will snap it up in no time, and so will fans of Michael’s wonderful singing, which is laid bare right here in all its glory! All in all, »I’m Not Your Suicide« proves that the perfection-loving Michael Sweet is one of the strongest rock composers the continent on the far side of the Atlantic pond has produced.
Lineup
Michael Sweet – vocals, guitar
Paul McNamara – piano, HAmmond B3, Moog & keyboards
Pete Adams – steel guitar
John O Boyle – bass
Kenny Aronoff – drums
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Electra Mustaine – vocals
Tony Harnell – vocals
Kevin Max – vocals
Chris Jericho – vocals
Doug Aldrich – guitar
Timothy Gaines – bass
Robert Sweet – drums
Production
Michael Sweet
Track list
1. Taking On The World Tonight (3:45)
2. All That’s Left (For Me To Prove) (3:49)
3. The Cause (4:10)
4. This Time (4:11)
5. I’m Not Your Suicide (3:49)
7. Coming Home (3:57)
8. Miles Away (3:34)
9. Strong (4:00)
10. How To Live (4:15)
11. Heart Of Gold (3:11)
12. Anybody Else (4:04)
13. Unsuspecting (4:09)
14. Heart Of Gold (bonus track) (3:11)
