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Sweet & Lynch: Heart & Sacrifice
Sweet & Lynch - Heart & Sacrifice Album Art

Sweet & Lynch: Heart & Sacrifice

Heavy Metal Rock
4.0/5.0

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Frontiers Music
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 09.05.2023 | Released: 19.05.2023

I was surprised. The last we heard from vocalist Michael Sweet and guitarist George Lynch was six years ago. I thought they had done something more current. Nope. Both artists have been busy. Sweet, working with another guitarist Tracii Guns, dropped Sunbomb in 2021. The following year brought a new Stryper album and the super group Iconic. Also busy, Lynch gave us Dirty Shirley (featuring Croatian vocalist Dino Jelusic) in 2020. The End Machine returned in 2021 with their second album. And this year brought The Banishment and Lynch's exploration into a more eclectic and creative guitar style. Now, Sweet & Lynch return with their third collaboration, Heart & Sacrifice.

Sweet & Lynch Click For Larger Image

Lynch & Sweet

This new album has some real power and punch. I once said about a Sweet & Lynch album that you can cast aside any references to Stryper. But listening to Heart & Sacrifice, I might clarify or rewrite that statement. This Sweet & Lynch version is what Stryper would sound like if they had some heavy metal balls. To be fair, recent Stryper albums have been more hard and heavy then their original pop melodic rock stuff.* But I digress ...


When I said power and punch, this album is largely raging heavy metal rock from this duo. The songs are heavy, often fast, Sweet's vocals more assertive, and Lynch's guitar work more traditional in the hard rock and metal style (as opposed to The Banishment experimentation. Roaring rockers arrive You'll Never Be Alone, Heart & Sacrifice (quite raging), Give Up The Night, and It Rains Again. With a more hard rock groove, there's Leaving It All Behind, yet with some vicious guitar work. Something heavy and steady with rock groove is You'll Never Be Alone, still with assertive vocals and tough riffs. A heavy ballad comes with After All Is Said And Done. All things considered, in light of past efforts, Sweet & Lynch's Heart & Sacrifice continues the duo venture into heavy metal rock, with Sweet's assertive vocals and Lynch's raging guitar work. Recommended if you like any of their previous material.

*Addendum 22.05.2023 After another listen, this album sounds more like a clone of current Stryper albums, only with a different guitarist.



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The Take Away

All things considered, in light of past efforts, Sweet & Lynch's Heart & Sacrifice continues the duo venture into heavy metal rock, with Sweet's assertive vocals and Lynch's raging guitar work. Recommended if you like any of their previous material.

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