Michael Sweet Says Stryper Wanted To Return To Rock

With the 25th Anniversary of the Christian metal band Stryper upon us, lead vocalist and guitarist Michael Sweet has had an exciting year. The new CD Murder By Pride has been getting plenty of positive reviews and has been called the band's best album since To Hell With The Devil.

Live concerts have also been getting rave reviews, including one written by Darren Boyd for RockStar Weekly. The band will be coming to Vancouver on Nov. 21 for an evening at the Red Room, presented by RockStar Weekly. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.

Michael Sweet took some time out to answer a few questions about Stryper and his involvement with legendary rockers Boston.

It’s great to see Stryper back in action and better than ever. What happened between the release of Reborn and now, that made the band get back to its roots?

Thank you. I’m glad to be back in action. The making of Murder By Pride and its style was a conscious decision. We wanted to get back to our roots and things that people had requested over the years and we felt that we accomplished that. It's really tough to try to merge the old with the new and we gave it our best and hopefully we pulled it off. We just went in and we did what came natural and it worked out. I'm very pleased with the way it turned out ... I couldn't be more pleased.

Murder By Pride sounds like a Stryper greatest hits CD but with songs we’ve never heard. What was the inspiration when you were recording it?

I got the idea of the title Murder By Pride from seeing pride consume dreams, goals and lives. We all deal with pride and it can be crippling. Pride can murder your soul. So I wanted to write a lyric and a theme that would be a constant reminder of that.

I heard somewhere that Tim Gaines is now doing the entire show with you guys and not only one set anymore. Does that mean the two set show is now only one?

That is correct. It is a long one-set show of fan-favorites and new material. Opening for us is Flight Patterns and Manic Drive.

Were there any reluctant feelings to get the original line-up back together?

No, not at all. I love these guys and it feels like coming home when we’re on stage together. It's amazing to look back and to realize what we were a part of. Something on such a huge level as far as what God did with and through the band. As far as why God chose us, I have no idea. He could have chosen anyone for that matter and for some reason he chose the four of us to go out and put together Stryper, tour the world and make music. You know, to look back on it after 25 years and to realize that I am a part of something so spectacular and unusual and such a powerful ministry, and that so many lives have been affected, changed and renewed - that is amazing to me. We’re blessed to still be doing this after 25 years and to have fans that still come to the shows and support Stryper. We’re extremely thankful to God and to the fans for allowing us to continue on.

What will the Stryper shows be like? Will there be elements of the days when you threw out bibles to the crowd?

We hired Ray Brown, the guy who did the original yellow and black outfits to design new outfits for this tour. We’re really happy with them. They’re a modernized version of yellow and black outfits. Musically it’s a combination of hits and new stuff. And yes, we still toss bibles into the crowd. Our lawyers don’t let us “throw” them anymore (laughs). We “toss” them instead.

You must be excited to take Mike’s band out on the road with you. Are you involved at all with Flight Patterns?

I’m very excited. They’re really good. There’s a couple of songs on their new record that could be radio hits. I’m proud of him. Of course, I’m biased, but over the years he’s been pretty honest with me, giving me opinions on new stuff I write, and I’ve tried to be the same with him. And I’m honestly very impressed with how far they’ve come.

Not many people get the chance to answer this question. What was it like playing with Boston?

Ha ha. You’re right. That’s not a question a lot of people get to answer.

Playing with BOSTON is very surreal. I still have to pinch myself. When I first heard the first BOSTON album back in the day, it changed my life. It helped me to strive to achieve better guitar tones, better vocal structures, better production methods and all kinds of stuff. That first BOSTON album was a huge influence on my life. But if you put BOSTON and Stryper aside, I am just so blessed to be in their lives and to be a part of their lives. I am very blessed to have them as friends.

Boston isn’t really a Christian band, and at times they even sing about such things as drugs. How does that fit in with what you do and the ministry?

The members and people in the BOSTON camp are some of the kindest people I’ve ever met. They are all so giving, so polite, and not your typical rock band with booze or drugs. There’s none of that stuff. From my perspective, they are incredible people. They’ve been such an amazing example to me and I’m certainly not going to judge them, nor are they judging me.

Having Tom from Boston on stage with Stryper will be really exciting. And in the city of Boston no less…

That was great. He’s such a talented musician I feel extremely honored anytime I share the stage with him. I’m really thankful that he and Gary took time out of their schedules to come perform with us. It was a lot of fun.

Was Piece Of Mind possible because you are a member of Boston? I’m sure Tom’s heard the finished product. Does he approve?

Tom played on Peace of Mind (the Stryper version). Yes, he approves and likes the version we did. Ironically, we had planned to do that song long before my involvement with BOSTON though.

If you could play with another band other than Boston, who would you love to share the stage with?

I’d love to do a song with Van Halen.

With Stryper on the road and recording again, is there still room for solo Michael Sweet music again?

Yes, I will always record solo records.

Thank you for your time today.