Few would have expected a devout Christian band would be one of the more enduring acts to come out of the 80s metal scene.







Stryper is well in its fourth decade of existence and still going strong, having released their 11th studio album, “Fallen,” late last year. The group, still comprised of the principal original members, is continuing to tour at a frantic pace.







Speaking of frantic paces, frontman and main songwriter Michael Sweet is set to release his 8th studio album, “One Sided War,” later on this summer. Early last year, Sweet and George Lynch, of Dokken and Lynch Mob, released “Only To Rise,” under the name Sweet & Lynch, the duo’s first project together.







Stryper will be making a stop in Pittsburgh at Altar Bar on June 16.







For those not familiar with Stryper’s large catalog of music, the name still may sound familiar as earlier this year, a meme was created and went viral concerning Ted Cruz being Stryper’s lead singer due to the slight resemblance between the senator from Texas and Sweet.



The Swerve Magazine recently caught up with Sweet for a one-on-one interview.







Swerve Magazine: First things first, I just want to make sure that this is Michael Sweet and not Ted Cruz.



MS: It is not Ted Cruz. It never was.







SM: Okay. How crazy was that a few months ago? All the “rumors” on social media about him being the frontman of Stryper and you guys trending all over the place.









MS: It always kind of blows my mind, the internet. I see things that go viral daily, and I just shake my head. Then I see things that should go viral that the world should know about that doesn't, and it's just mind boggling.





SM: With you guys trending and featured on some television shows because of the Cruz thing, maybe you attracted some of the younger generation.







MS: Well, yeah. That's the good side about it. I mean obviously in today's world, and music world especially, it's nice to keep your name out there. As the old saying goes, all press is good press. Hey, it was all over the news, and the name Stryper was out there for people to see and hear.







SM: I guess that is the name of the game. Getting to the music, Stryper’s new album, "Fallen," I must say that I can't recall a heavier Stryper album. Is that something that you guys wanted to do? Or is that just how the songwriting and the music progressed?







MS: Well, it's not just how it's progressed, because I mean I write pretty much most of the songs. The stuff that I'm writing with Sweet and Lynch, my solo stuff, I have a lighter side. I have a different style of writing with other projects. It's not necessarily the progression, it's more so about what the fans have been wanting, and expecting Stryper to do. People have said on Facebook and Twitter time and time again, "We want heavy. We want heavy. We want heavy," so we gave it to them, with "No More Hell to Pay," and even more so with "Fallen."







SM: Speaking about your solo stuff, you have a new solo album coming out this summer, correct?







MS: I do. I think we're going with pre-orders (this month). I think it's going to come out late July, early August. I'm really excited about it.







SM: How do you divide your attention between writing your solo stuff and writing for Stryper? How's the songwriting process writing for two different projects?







MS: You know, I don't really think about it. I think that's the key. It's not like I sit down and say, "Okay, I got to write a Stryper album, let me make this different, and okay, I got to write a solo album, let me make this different." I just write what comes from the heart.



You're going to hear on this new solo album, you're going to hear a lot of similarities, and some of this stuff is going to sound like Stryper, because that's just what I write. I don't sit down and try to break it down and break it apart, and write for this project, or that project. I just do what comes from within me, and whatever comes out, comes out.







SM: Getting back to Stryper, with a few exceptions with guys leaving the band for several years and then coming back, you guys have the same lineup since almost day one. That's very rare in music, especially from bands that got their start in your era. How is it working with the same guys day in and day out?







MS: Well, I mean, I'll be honest, I'm not going to lie to anybody, it's not easy. We have our issues. There are four strong personalities in this band. I'm the most boisterous. I'm the guy that talks a lot and people hear from the most, but I think if you heard from the other three guys, you would know exactly what I'm talking about. Everybody has opinions, and we're not on the same page many times. We don't see eye to eye. We have our arguments and our times of frustrations with one another. We made a pact to stay together.



When we decide that we shouldn't stay together, that's when Stryper will end, because I don't want to continue on without Robert (Sweet), or without Tim (Gaines), or without Oz (Fox). I think that it's important that the four of us stay together, or it's not Stryper.







At that point in time, if we're not getting along we need to call it quits, and not replace each other. I hate it when bands start replacing their band members.







You know what? It degrades the band and the brand. It's not fair to fans. I understand in a situation where let's say somebody passes away, and the other three or four guys want to continue, and they had the blessing of that person. That's a different situation, but what I'm referring to is all the bickering. You've got four guys in the band, and they don't get along, so they all go off and do their own version of that band. I mean, I just think that's a joke, a complete joke.







SM: In October of this year, Stryper has a big 30th anniversary of the release of "To Hell with the Devil." Are you guys going to do anything special, with the anniversary of the album coming up?







MS: We are. We're going to start a tour in September. We're going to be playing the album from front to back, and putting on our old costumes, the yellow and black, head to toe, just like the old days. I think people are going to want to see it. It's going to be really cool. We're really excited to go out and showcase that because it was and is our most celebrated album by far.









It's our biggest selling album of all time, and our most successful album in terms of charting and numbers statistically, and our most popular album. When we go play those songs live, there's a surge of energy from the fans, because it's the most recognized album we've ever done.





SM: With everyone in Stryper being devout Christians, how was it touring with bands that do not share your beliefs?



MS: We've always stuck to our guns, and it's been amazing. Hanging out and touring, and meeting our peers, our friends in the music industry that aren't believers. I just did an album with George Lynch, and from what I understand, for the most part, is that he's an atheist. I think he refers to himself as a free thinker. Obviously, we don't share the same faith. He's my friend. I respect George. I think he's a good person. He has a good heart. He's an amazing musician, and I love him. He's a great guy, and I'm going to work with him, and do another album with him.







SM: You tend to shy away from the label “Christian Metal” that is so often associated with Stryper.







MS: I want to make it very clear why I don't like the term “Christian Rock band.” I mean, I'm proud of being a Christian. I couldn't be more proud of that, and I will always take a very bold stance in my faith, but I cannot stand the labels. I don't like the term Christian Rock. I feel like it separates people. It limits bands. It certainly has limited us over the years. It's helped us in some ways, but it's always limited us in other ways.







For example, when people go into Best Buy, and they're looking for a Stryper album, and it's not up front with the Iron Maiden album or the Megadeth album, but it's in the very back corner under the Christian category. That's when it limits us. It doesn't help us any. I'm trying to get the word out there, and it doesn't help.







That's what I mean by I don't like the labels. I feel that they're silly. If you're going to have those labels, you should have them all the way across the board. Let’s put Slayer in the Satanic catalog in the back corner of Best Buy. Let's make a Catholic category, and put U2 in it. It's just silly to me.







SM: It does seem that Christian music has become somewhat more mainstream over the past decade or so, with cities having several radio stations devoted to the genre and there are several large arena tours annually.







MS: Of course, and I get it. I understand, because Christians want their own little category and their own club. They know the Christians that don't listen to mainstream music when they hear 'oh, that's a Christian band,' they know it's safe for their kids, and blah, blah, blah. I get all the reasons why, but yet at the same time, I don't. I feel like it's just a silly label that shouldn't be applied. At least I don't want it applied to our band.







SM: Then you have people with strong Christian convictions who only listen to Christian music or people who are born again who throw out all of their non-Christian music.







MS: I think it's all about each person's convictions. I'm not going to judge somebody that throws out all of their mainstream music when they become a Christian. If that's what they feel they got to do, hey, go for it. Me personally, I don't feel the need to do that. I don't share the same convictions, so don't come up to me, and tell me that I need to do that.







That's a problem I have, there are a lot of Christians out there that let's say someone was an alcoholic, they become a Christian, they stop drinking, that's great. If I'm sitting there having a glass of wine, don't tell me I need to stop drinking, because you feel that it's wrong.







I'm real cautious about that kind of thinking. I think that when you start to put rules and regulations in a fanatical sense upon people, you got to be real careful of that. I am all about being a good example. I think it's important that you don't cross the line. In other words, you're never going to see Michael Sweet falling down drunk in public because that would be a poor example. It would not represent God properly, or the band properly. I will go out and have a beer or a glass of wine. Sometimes people will come up to me at dinner, and see me drinking wine, and they'll get all over me, and say, "Wow, I thought you were a Christian." Those are the kinds of people, I think, that take it too far, and to the extreme.

