|
Post by Admin on Oct 4, 2015 20:58:39 GMT
STRYPER's cover version of the BLACK SABBATH classic "After Forever" can be streamed below. The song is featured on STRYPER's new album, "Fallen", which will be released worldwide on Friday, October 16 via Frontiers. The CD was tracked at SpiritHouse Recording Studios in Northampton, Massachusetts. During an interview with Cryptic Rock, STRYPER lead vocalist and guitarist Michael Sweet was asked for his opinion on the current Christian metal and rock scene. "I do not really keep up with it," he replied. "I come from a different school of thought and I do not like all the labels. I do not like being referred to as a Christian rock band. "We are not a Christian rock band; we are a rock band comprised of Christians. Just like any other rock band out there, you have rock bands that are comprised of drug addicts, you have rock bands that are comprised of Satanists, and you have rock bands that are comprised of Catholics, like SLAYER.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Oct 18, 2015 20:49:31 GMT
A bunch of guys with long hair playing flashy guitars in a claustrophobic room, with arty images interspersed. If Stryper's new video for "Pride" -- the first single from the group's latest album Fallen (out Oct. 16) -- looks a little old school, the group takes that as a compliment.
"It's hard when you make videos for a band like Stryper these days, 'cause a lot of times you don't have the budget," frontman Michael Sweet tells Billboard about the clip, which Billboard is premiering exclusively below. "Back in the days when we made 'Calling On You,' those big videos in the '80s, you were talking $100,000, $200,000 budgets. Right now you're very fortunate if you have a $5,000 budget to make a video, so you've got to be more creative. Sometimes they're not what you expect them to be or aren't comparable to what you did before, but I think 'Pride' is an exception. We're very pleased with it."
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Apr 8, 2018 18:11:50 GMT
Stryper - "Sorry" (Official Music Video)
STRYPER's video for the song "Sorry" can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's new album, "God Damn Evil", which will be released on April 20 via Frontiers Music Srl. Produced by frontman Michael Sweet, it is STRYPER's most powerful album to date, doubling down on the hard rock/heavy metal sound that earned the group a worldwide fan base.
Regarding the "God Damn Evil" album title, Michael Sweet said: "We thought long and hard about this title. It was actually considered quite a few years ago and it just didn't feel like the right time. Now, with all the evil in the world that we see around us on a daily basis, it made perfect sense. It's a very bold statement yet a prayer asking God to damn/condemn evil. Nothing more, nothing less."
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Apr 12, 2018 18:14:49 GMT
Michael: "[Laughs] Well, controversy follows STRYPER, we don't follow it. It's just kind of par for the course. We do what we do and people talk about it and they get worked up about it." On the band's choice of "God Damn Evil" as the title for their new studio album and why it is "ruffling some feathers": Michael: "Yeah, a lot of people get it and are on board with the title, but some people don't. You would think after 35 years of following us and knowing our hearts and our motives and exactly why we do what we do, that nobody would question what we're doing, unless we came out with an album where we were naked on the cover and it was called 'F-You' or something. But, it's a pretty clear message. 'God Damn Evil', we live in a society that seems to be, we're watching evil go to new levels that we've never seen before. Such as the [October 2017] Vegas shooting. Who in our lifetime could have ever imagined that we would witness such a thing and such a level of evil? So, it's a very bold message in a very bold time. It's a prayer request from us to God asking God to 'damn evil.' We've explained that, the lyrics speak for themselves, we posted the lyrics. People who don't understand it or get it or question our motives, I don't really know what to say. I really don't."
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Apr 21, 2018 18:10:40 GMT
On whether he's at a loss for words over the fact people don't understand the "God Damn Evil" title: Michael: "Yeah. It's just like, it's hard to understand. Those people, you could put a Coke in front of them in a Coke can from a Coke representative and they would still tell you it's not Coke. You're never going to convince them otherwise. And then you got to wonder, 'Why are you a fan? Why are you here? Why do you call yourself a fan?' Because a true fan wouldn't do that, in my opinion." On whether STRYPER had a long internal debate about using "God Damn Evil" as an album title: Michael: "No, it is a title that Robert [Sweet, drums] threw out there a few years back and we didn't go with it. We felt like it wasn't the right time and we certainly contemplated and thought about it for a long period, then I threw it out there again in '17 and everyone is, like, 'Yeah, this is perfect.' It is perfect for the times that we live in. It's a powerful message, makes people talk, makes people think and hopefully makes people pray."
|
|