Stryper has been making music for nearly 40 years. They are about to release a new record called The Final Battle which ranks with some of the best music of their career. Frontman Michael Sweet returned to the site to talk about his record and the band’s long career.
Please press the PLAY icon to listen to the MisplacedStraws Conversation with Michael Sweet –
On recent health issues for guitarist Oz Fox and himself – Oz is just doing great. (He) seems to be right back on track, I just got back from the eye doctor literally an hour ago, and my eye’s doing really great at the moment. So, so far, things are looking up. If you don’t have your health, obviously can keep you from doing what you want or need to do and. we’re doing okay at the moment. :50
On if The Final Battle means it’s the last Stryper record – Well, my goal was to speak of, or at least with the imagery portray the Battle of Armageddon, and that was the whole point. That in my eyes and mind is the final battle and will be the final battle, if you believe in the Bible and what the book of Revelation says, so that’s what I was going for with the title. Now, as I thought more and more about it, I realized I go, “Oh boy, some people will think that this is our final album”, but then as I began to think about that, I thought, “Well, it could be”. If you really wanna get down to it, for that matter, it could be anybody’s final album, because we’re not promised tomorrow, no man is promised tomorrow. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring for any one of us. So that being said, especially with our health concerns and things going on, I thought, well, it could be our final battle, our final album. I hope not. I’m not saying that it is, but it certainly always could be. I think it’s important for us to never take that for granted and always keep that in mind, we’re going in to make a new album. 1:30
On writing the record with his health issues – So that’s the interesting part. It is wherever my head at the time, This time around, my head was coming out of surgery, and everybody already knows, I assume, the story behind that. I literally came home from Florida, I was supposed to start writing the album and I had to go into emergency surgery for a retinal detachment. The album, everything got postponed, and I started thinking that it was going to basically not only get delayed but maybe get canceled. Because I thought, “How is this gonna happen? I gotta write the album.” I was in surgery, so once I was able to sit up again after two weeks laying face down, I wrote the album, and then after I finished the album, my retina detached again. It was a real white knuckle ride for me. I was thinking, “Lord God, how is this gonna happen?” Because we were supposed to go in and start recording a few weeks after that, so I went and had my second surgery, and after two weeks again of sitting face down, we started recording, to the day. It just worked out. Everything worked out perfectly. According to the schedule, and I think going through what I went through made for a better writing session because I was thinking more about life, I was thinking more about my situation, I was thinking more about longevity and the future. I think it helped me to draw deep within the well, to pull out of myself, some little extra things that might not have been pulled out before. 3:30
On if he takes time to appreciate what the band has accomplished – I’ll be honest with that question, and that response, no, we don’t, unfortunately, because it’s such a blur. We’re always go, go, go, go, go. Did you do this? Did you do that? Can you do this and can you do that? And then all of a sudden a year is gone, and then we’re right into the next year, and the calendar is booked, I look at the calendar and I start to have a panic attack because it’s just filled. I think, “Am I gonna have any time to go lay on the beach with my wife and my dog?” No, there is no time to do that, so I think it’s important to cherish and admire the moment and the past and what we’ve accomplished over the last almost 40 years, but we don’t, sadly, take the time to do that very often. We don’t. 5:40
On what Perry Richardson has brought to the band – Well, I think Perry, obviously, with the recordings, brings a real solid foundation. Not that we didn’t have that before, but he just kind of turns it up a notch and really lays down a super solid foundation. Obviously, Perry’s a great singer. He brings that to the table. Stryper’s always been known for our background vocals, so that’s nothing new, but having Perry obviously, really puts the icing on the cake, so to speak. Live, we’ve always been a very energetic band. The problem with Oz and I lately is we have to be very cautious. When oz starts to move too much he starts to get dizzy. When I start to move too much, I start to get dizzy. I was just talking about this in an interview, when I turn my head to the right, really fast on stage and I turn my head to the left, I see two guitar necks for about three or four seconds. It’s because of my vision and my retina, and it’s very odd. I explained this to my doctor and he says It is a head-scratcher, it’s very strange, but this is what I’m faced with. So for that matter, we can’t move as much, so Perry might be moving a little bit more to make up for our lack of energy on stage. Point being, Perry’s brought a lot to the table, he’s a team player, a great guy, a super talented guy, and we really appreciate and love having him in the band. 7:04
On the current touring environment – Oh gosh. Well, we’ve been trying really hard to come out of the pandemic and figure out where to go from there. Obviously, like every other band in the world, pretty much, for the most part, we had quite a bit of downtime and being locked in our houses and unable to tour. Still, it’s a problem for bands. You go out and tour, one guy gets Covid, the tour shuts down. That’s just the way it is. I personally think that the music industry was hit the hardest even more than the restaurant, and that’s my opinion, people could argue with me if they want, that’s fine. We’re still feeling the effects of that, the music industry, it’s very tough. But with Stryper, where there’s a will, there’s a way. We always find a way around obstacles, we did during the pandemic. We said,” Well, you know what, we can’t go play live, then we’ll go in the studio and play live”, and we did. We made a bunch of live performances, Live at Spirit House, and they were super successful, and we did some recordings, we released a lot of new merchandise, we found a way to survive during that year and a half period, almost two-year period, despite all the odds stacked against us, Our attitude is like, “Yeah, so what? You’re not gonna stop us. It’s not gonna happen”. 9:01
On if Stryper would tour with a package or if they prefer headline shows – We like doing our own thing, but we also would love to go out on package tours. We rarely, actually probably never, get offers from other bands, and I always scratch my head with that and think “Why?” I’m sure a lot of other people could answer that for me and say, “Well, it’s this, this, this, and that”, but it still doesn’t make any sense to me. If many bands from our genre are out there opening for Judas Priest and Scorpions, and on and on and on, and for some reason, it’s just impossible for us to get arrested when it comes to that. I guess, I only assume it’s the Christian tag. Maybe other people fear that, maybe other people think, management thinks that is gonna hurt their band, which is so silly because Stryper draws tickets and we have a name, people know who we are. We put on a show. If you come to a Stryper show, it’s a rock show, it’s not a church service. So I don’t understand why we don’t get more offers to open for bands, I really don’t, but we would love to, It would be amazing. With the right band…I think (a tour with Queensryche) would be fairly easy to make up, and I think we can make that happen. The difficult one would be like a tour consisting of Stryper, Judas Priest, and pick another band. That would be the difficult one to make happen, but gosh, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t. It would be amazing.10:50
On making sure they play later material in their set – Well, it’s important, and the reason why it’s important is because I believe we’re really seeing some of our best music right now, and we have been for the last 10 years. Not to downplay a song like, say, “To Hell With the Devil”, that’s probably one of the most popular Stryperr songs, classic songs. But when we do “To Hell With the Devil”, and then we do “Yahweh” live, or vice versa, we do “Yahweh” into “To Hell With the Devil”, “To Hell With the Devil” almost pales in comparison. Because “Yahweh” is such a great song, and it’s so powerful and so epic and tells such an incredibly powerful story. But fans often don’t give it the time of day because it’s a new song, and it doesn’t have the memories or the nostalgia that goes along with “To Hell With the Devil”… I think, unfortunately, the majority (of fans) probably would not (want to hear new music) or they might even say, “I haven’t even heard the new song. I’m only familiar with the old songs”, and that’s all the more the point that I’m making. It is kind of sad, but I think starting with To Hell With the Devil and going all way up to The Final Battle, you could go through all those albums and pick out probably 10 songs easily that are as good or better than 10 classics. Again, my opinion, people would fight me to the death on that, that’s what I feel and believe.13:15
On bands and guitarists that inspired him in the LA club days – I wouldn’t even use the word “rivalry”, but a band that comes to mind instantaneously is Yesterday & Today (Y&T). I used to go and see them when I was a kid, and I sneak into the clubs and lie about my age. I wasn’t supposed to be in the club scene. I’d get in ’cause I always looked a little older than I was. They’s ask for my age, I’d say I’m 18 and I get in and I was really only 15. I would see Yesterday & Today, and it always blew my mind, a huge influence on us. I feel one of the most underrated bands of all time, if I had to pick a fault with them, I might say it’s some of the production over the years. Maybe some of the production could have been better, maybe they could have had a few better songs here and there, but in terms of just downright talent, pound for pound, boy, you couldn’t find a more killer band. Every member was outstanding and they made me wanna be a better musician, and they made us wanna be a better band. So I would pick them. Of course, Van Halen inspired us all. We used to play with Ratt. Ratt was always an inspiration, even before they had (Bobby) Blotzer and (Warren) DiMartini, or any of those guys. They had (Robin) Crosby and (Stephen) Pearcy of course, but then they had different guys in the band. I played with Ratt when they had Jake E. Lee in the band it was inspirational to see. Just to have lived that scene and been a part of that scene, I feel very blessed. I do wish we had come out a little earlier. We came out in 84, our first album. I think if we came out with our first album in 81 or 82, we’d be a bigger name and a bigger band right now. 15:58
On if Stryper should have a place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame – Well, it does cross my mind, but whenever it does, it always feels a little self-centered and I don’t know, it makes me feel a little off like, “Man, maybe I shouldn’t be thinking that”. Egotistical, big-headed, whatever catchphrase you wanna put to that. It makes me feel like, “Who are we to think that way?” Because there’s so many other great bands. But at the same time, there is something to be said for the longevity, there is something to be said for how many albums we put out, and the fact that I really think a lot of people would agree that we’re putting out our best lately in recent years. And beating the odds. We’re the band many people have laughed at and mocked and said, “These guys will never do that”, and we’ve done it, so we’ve kind of beaten the odds and won many battles. I think for that reason alone, maybe, justifiably so, but I doubt it will ever happen at least while I’m alive on earth… It would be amazing to see. I tell you, if that day ever came, I think you’d have half of the world party about it, half of the world, probably protesting 19:13
On if there will be more music from Iconic and Sweet & Lynch – Yeah, for sure. I know that the label’s already discussing that, and I know they’re gonna want that. I even heard rumors that they may wanna start early next year, so soon, a few months. I don’t know how realistic that is according to everyone’s scheduling, but there will definitely be a follow-up. I didn’t think there’d be a third Sweet & Lynch album that there is. That’s done. I gotta sing a few more vocals and turn it in and it’ll be coming out next year, and that’s gonna be a surprise album. I think people are gonna be surprised. It’s very different from the first two, in a good way. 21:09
On another Sunbomb record – Good question. I would assume and guess yes, that there will be, but I don’t know. Sadly, a lot of these decisions made are based on finances. How much money was put into the project and how much money was made versus lost? If more money was lost, they most likely won’t be a follow-up. So it is a business at the end of the day, and the label has the right to make that decision. With Sunbomb, I really don’t know, and I don’t know if money was lost or made, but I would assume that it seemed to get a fairly good response, so I would assume that most people would wanna hear another album. 21:55
On upcoming projects – I’m doing the annual Christmas show, which is on the 25th of November, the day after Thanksgiving. It was the only time they had available, and I’m finding out that that’s a bad time for a lot of people, right after Thanksgiving, because you’re busy, you’re just eating turkey sandwiches and watching TV the day after, Black Friday. But a lot more going on. We’ve got the Sweet & Lynch album I’m finishing up, I started on a new album with Alessandro (DelVecchio). I don’t wanna call it a solo album, it’s a Sweet-DelVecchio album. It’s gonna be cool, a little bit more in line with AOR rock like Boston meets Toto meets Journey. Then I’ve got an inspirational solo album that’s been done for a year that will come out next year sometime, and then I’ve already got all the music done for a new hard rock, metal Michael Sweet solo album. 23:00
