Legendary Christian Metal Band Plays the Oriental Theater

Satan is unequivocally the most metal character in history. During the 1980s, bands embracing his evil imagery spurred the Satanic Panic, when straitlaced parents were terrified that their children supposedly fell under the spell of the genre. Unintentionally, the movement gave metal a new horned mascot to rally around.

But while such groups as Mötley Crüe and Slayer were publicly pushing pentagrams and carrying upside-down crucifixes, Stryper embraced the Lord, making it the first overtly Christian metal band to achieve mainstream success behind a string of hit albums, particularly the platinum-selling To Hell With the Devil in 1986.

“It’s pretty amazing and miraculous if you break it down. It’s something that should never have happened, our success at the level that it was at — gold and platinum albums, sold-out arenas, No. 1s on MTV,” says lead vocalist and guitarist Michael Sweet, who started Stryper, which briefly went by Roxx Regime, with his brother, drummer Robert Sweet, in 1983. “It should have never happened in this world. But it did.”

As lifelong Christians, the Sweet brothers also grew up loving heavy metal, especially Van Halen, but didn’t align with the lyrical themes often extolled in the sultry and subversive subgenre. So they leaned on their faith, and Stryper was born. The band name is a reference to the Bible verse Isaiah 53:5: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” It’s also become a backronym for “salvation through redemption, yielding peace, encouragement and righteousness.” The more you know...

Stryper took the glam metal world by storm, with two more gold albums — Soldiers Under Command (1985) and In God We Trust (1988) — before taking an extended break between 1993 and 2003, during which there were several sporadic reunions.

Now Stryper, which also includes original guitarist Oz Fox and bassist Perry Richardson, is celebrating a career that spans forty years, as well as a new album, When We Were Kings, released earlier this year via Frontiers Music. The California quartet stops in Denver on Monday, October 21, for a show at the Oriental Theater. For the anniversary concerts, Stryper plays through two sets — the first a “classic” set list, followed by an intermission, then more modern releases since regrouping in 2003.
“It's hard to believe. It makes me feel grateful, and a little shocked, surprised,” Sweet says of the band’s longevity. “That’s quite an accomplishment for any band. Also to have three out of four original members is pretty miraculous. We’re still going strong and making new music and touring. It’s really incredible.”

And that doesn’t happen on reputation alone. Yeah, Stryper may be best known as the earliest Christian metal band, if not the most successful, but don’t get it twisted: Sweet and company kick out some serious glam metal jams. And if you’re a completist, those ’80s albums are required listening. (Don’t worry, you won’t lose any street cred with the metal heathens.)

“We go the extra mile to do our best. I think that shows. Singing about Jesus, you would think we would never break, just because that’s not a popular subject matter, in my opinion. It’s a very select audience,” Sweet shares.

“We did something very different. We went the mainstream path, but with Christian lyrics. It’s not the norm, but we were able to break, and God really blessed us,” he continues. “We accomplished a lot of things that might not have been accomplished by any other band. I think it’s due to the fact that we’re a good band, just coming out and saying it.”

Other than sharing the latest record, Stryper is also working on a documentary, Sweet says.

“That’s been a long time coming. We’ve been talking about and working on that for a few years, and we probably have another year to go,” he adds. “But that’s going to be incredible. Probably our biggest project we’ve ever done.”

Sweet is also looking forward to expanding the Stryper catalogue, which has consistently grown every two years or so, thanks to Sweet’s prolific writing prowess.

“When I sit down and I know it’s time to write a song, I get really excited about it. Once I sit down and start the process with that first song, it just moves right along. Next day another song. Next day another song. And within two weeks, there it is, there’s an entire album,” he explains.

“I’ve written many albums that way. I’m inspired by my life and the things that I’ve seen and experienced. I’m inspired by the Bible,” he continues. “I think it’s a gift, too. I think it’s probably my strongest gift, even more than being a singer or guitar player.”

That’s all to say that Stryper isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

“I know there’s some people out there who probably wish that we would, but that’s not going to happen,” Sweet concludes. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news.”

Stryper, 7 p.m. Monday, October 21, Oriental Theater, 4335 West 44th Avenue. Tickets are $30.