Stryper is back with “When We Were Kings,” a solid album with big riffs and an even bigger message. The band’s 12th album, which dropped in September, is just another step in the long Stryper journey.
However, some fans could have doubted that such an album would be recorded, considering the title of the band’s prior album.
Stryper’s “The Final Battle,” released in 2022, sounded like the swan song of an album for veteran the Christian rockers.
“A lot of people assumed that because of the title of the album that it was our last album,” said Stryper vocalist-guitarist Michael Sweet.
But that wasn’t the case.
“The Final Battle,” which was released in 2022, is about Armageddon. “The material is about something much bigger than our band,” Sweet said.
But Stryper, which is on its 40th anniversary tour, has no intention of hanging it up and when the end arrives, fans will know.
“When the time comes, we’ll announce that it’s our last tour and when we announce that, it will be our final tour,” Sweet said. “We won’t be like other bands who claim it’s their last tour when it’s not.”
The candid Sweet, 61, is referring to such recording artists as Kiss, which was on its latest farewell tour in 2023, and Cher, who has had her share of farewell jaunts.
“I don’t understand how you can tell your fans that you’re on a final tour and then a few years later you come back on the road again,” Sweet said. “If I were a fan of a band that did that, I would be upset since I was deceived.”
Deception has never been part of Stryper’s sonic attack. Stryper, which formed 40 years in Orange County, California, has been as transparent as any band.
The straightforward Stryper is a metal band that sings about its faith in God. Sweet grew up on such iconic metal acts as Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. However, Sweet was born again in 1983. Sweet and his brother, drummer Robert Sweet, formed Stryper and remained consistent with its guitar-driven worship to God. Unlike many Christian metal bands, Stryper crossed over to the secular world in 1986 with its third album, “To Hell with The Devil,” which went triple platinum.
“It all has had to do with God’s hand since no Christian metal band found success like we did,” Sweet said.
Stryper, which was clad in black and yellow during its salad days, made a few videos and was surprisingly embraced by MTV, which broke songs from “To Hell with the Devil” a generation ago. “What helped us tremendously was the start of something called ‘Dial MTV,’” Sweet said. “The fans called in and requested songs. The fans made it happen for us, not the program directors at MTV. Thanks to those fans, we shot past Mötley Crüe and Bon Jovi to the top of the album charts. We took it and ran with it and part of the appeal is that when you got down to it, we always put on regular rock shows like Van Halen.”
But there were some obvious differences from the debaucherous Van Halen. Stryper’s lyrics were nothing like what Van Halen’s provocative David Lee Roth penned. Van Halen would toss out backstage passes to select female fans while Stryper threw Bibles into the audience. In Spinal Tap fashion, a fan sued Stryper after being struck in the head by the Good Book. However, the case was dismissed.
“Some people did get hurt when we threw out Bibles back then,” Sweet said. “We still toss out Bibles but we do it in a careful manner. We are a kinder, gentler Stryper.”
The Bibles, which are emblazoned with the Stryper logo, are not for sale. “They’re free,” Sweet said. “People have asked if they could buy our Bibles but no, they’re not for sale,” Sweet said.
At other shows, items are sold at a ridiculous price at show merchandise tables. Tickets are more expensive than at any point in music history, but Stryper refrains from gouging fans.
“Unlike a lot of bands, we cannot take advantage of those who support us,” Sweet said. “We do our best to not be in the red but we’re not going to inflate prices just because we can. A Stryper shirt might be $35, unlike a Kiss shirt, which is $65. We make less money than other bands, but we have a conscience. We do meet and greets but it’s not like Bon Jovi where a fan might spend $5,000 to meet Bon Jovi. That’s ridiculous. A fan will do it because they’ll do whatever it takes to meet their favorite band. Fans might save five years for that $5,000. That’s exploiting fans and that’s just not right.”
When Stryper performs Saturday at the rialto Theatre on Wednesday, Oct. 30, expect the band, which also includes guitarist Oz Fox and bassist Perry Richardson, to showcase material from most of its albums.
“We certainly have a lot to choose from,” Sweet said. “That’s the best part of being together for so long and creating so many songs. But we’re not done yet. We’ll be making more music.”
He laughed when he was asked when the final tour and album might be. “I see us playing together for another ten years as long as we’re still on this Earth,” Sweet said. “There’s no reason to stop. God has given us such an opportunity and we’re going to make the most of it.”
Stryper
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30
WHERE: Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress Street, Tucson
COST: Tickets start at $29.50
INFO: 520-741-1000, rialtotheatre.com
