Interview by Kris Peters
There might be a number of bands from the glory period of the 1980s still doing the rounds, but not many as prolific or consistent as Stryper.
From humble beginnings and despite always being a band that lives between two worlds, Stryper have endured through every musical and societal challenge thrown at them.
And, more importantly, emerged triumphant.
Following the success of their most recent album The Final Battle, Stryper are poised to return to Australia for the first time since 2018 with three of the original members still forming the nucleus of one of the greatest rock bands the world has seen.
The band are also celebrating their 40th anniversary, with frontman and founding member Michael Sweet happily joining HEAVY to chat about the tour and the illustrious career of the rebellious Christian rockers.
"We're always blessed that we can still perform and do what we love to do, year after year" he began. "We're pushing our 40th anniversary... it's crazy."
We press Sweet on what special delights Stryper has for Australian fans this time around.
"We're doing a long set," he enthused. "I think it's 21 songs. We're trying to squeeze as many songs into that set that everybody wants to hear from the beginning to now - that's the tricky part. We came as a trio in 2018 and I came as a solo guy in 2019 and then the pandemic obviously, it hasn't been that long but it feels like a really long time since we've been. So we're just excited to come and we can't wait to see everybody."
With so many songs to choose from Sweet admits it's getting more difficult with each new album to compile a set list to appeal across the board.
"It really is," he nodded. "It's like one of those things where it's getting to the point where we need to pull a Bruce Springsteen (laughs) and play for three hours. God bless him for doing that, but man. Bruce, his style of writing, his style of singing is a little easier to pull off for three hours than our style of writing and singing. It's a lot of high register belting stuff and it's not easy on the voice."
In the full interview, Michael talks more about what to expect from Stryper's live show, lasting 40 years in the music industry, the musical climate that gave birth to Stryper, where they fit in, working through musical trends, Stryper's impact on the music scene, what he hopes to leave as their musical legacy and more.