STRYPER:GOD'S METAL SOLDIERS

ORIGINALLY KNOWN AS 'ROXX REGIME', THE BAND CHANGED THEIR NAME TO STRYPER AFTER TIM GAINES JOINED THE BAND, AND AFTER PRESSURE FROM THEIR LABEL, ENIGMA, TO CHANGE THEIR NAME. FROM THE KING JAMES VERSION OF THE BIBLE, STRYPER COMES FROM THE PASSAGE ISAIAH 53:5,"BY HIS STRIPES, WE ARE HEALED". THE VERSE NAME AND NUMBER WERE ADDED TO THE LOGO, AND STRYPER WAS BORN. STARTED BY BROTHERS MICHAEL AND ROBERT SWEET, THE BAND LIKED THE HARD ROCK SOUND OF THE LIKES OF VAN HALEN, BUT DESPISED THE MESSAGE FROM SUCH BANDS. THEIR FIRST RELEASE WAS THEIR 1984 EP,"THE YELLOW AND BLACK ATTACK". THEY TOURED , OPENING FOR BANDS SUCH AS RATT AND BON JOVI. THEIR FIRST FULL LEGNTH LP WAS ENTITLED "SOLDIERS UNDER COMMAND", AND WAS RELEASED IN MAY OF 1986. THE ALBUM WENT GOLD IN THE U .S.. THEIR LABEL, ENIGMA RECORDS, RE-RELEASED "THE YELLOW AND BLACK ATTACK", ADDING TWO SONGS AND NEW COVER ARTWORK. THEIR SUCCESS STARTED TO GAIN FORCE, AND BY THE RELEASE OF THEIR THIRD ALBUM,,"TO HELL WITH THE DEVIL" IN OCTOBER OF 1986,THEY ACHIEVED PLATNIUM STATUS, SPENDING THREE MONTHS ON THE BILLBOARD ALBUMS CHART. IT SOLD MORE THAN 2 MILLION COPIES, MAKING STRYPER THE FIRST EVER CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN BAND AND THE FIRST CHRISTIAN METAL ALBUM TO EVER DO SO. HITS LIKE "CALLING ON YOU","FREE", AND "HONESTLY", WHICH CHARTED AT #23 ON THE TOP 40 CHART.THE BAND ALSO RECIEVED A GRAMMY NOMINATION, AND MTV HAD THE BANDS VIDEOS IN HEAVY ROTATION, AS THEY WERE VERY POPULAR. HOWEVER, ALL WAS NOT AS PLEASING AS IT SEEMED IN THE STRYPER CAMP. BASSIST TIM GAINES DID NOT PARTICIPATE ON THE RECORDING OF THE ALBUM,BUT RE-JOINED THE GROUP FOR THE HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL TOUR THAT FOLLOWED. THIS WAS TO BE A PATTERN IN THE LIFE OF THE BAND WHERE TIM GAINES WAS CONCERNED. STRYPER WERE AT THE TOP OF THEIR GAME. IN JUNE, 1988, THE BAND RELEASED THEIR 4TH ALBUM,"IN GOD WE TRUST". THE ALBUM WENT GOLD, AND GAVE US THE HIT SONG/VIDEO "ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU". AGAIN, MTV ROTATION OF THE FIRST SINGLE WAS HEAVY..BUT THE ALBUM WAS PANNED BY MANY CRITICS AS BEING OVER-PRODUCED ,AND ONLY SPENT 5 WEEKS ON THE CHARTS. AGAIN, TIM GAINES DID NOT PLAY BASS ON THE ALBUM, BUT DID THE MASSIVE WORLD TOUR THAT FOLLOWED. IN 1990, STRYPER DECIDED THAT A CHANGE WAS IN ORDER, SO THEY DID AWAY WITH THE BLACK AND YELLOW....AND THE CHRISTIAN LYRICS THAT SET THEM APART FROM THEIR PEERS. THEY RECORDED A SECULAR ALBUM , ENTITLED "AGAINST THE LAW",AND IT FAILED MISERABLY, THOUGH SOME CRITICS FELT IT WAS STRYPER'S BEST ALBUM TO DATE, MUSICALLY. 1991 SAW THE RELEASE OF A COMPLIATION CALLED 'CAN'T STOP THE ROCK". THEY TOURED OFF AND ON UNTIL 1992, WHEN MICHAEL SWEET WENT SOLO. TO DATE, HE HAS RELEASED 5 SOLO ALBUMS, WHICH HAVE BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL IN THE CHRISTIAN MUSIC GENRE. THE YEAR 2000 SAW THE FIRST-EVER STRYPER EXPO, HELD IN NEW JERSEY. THE EXPO MARKED THE FIRST TIME THE ORIGINAL BAND PLAYED TOGETHER IN 8 YEARS. A SECOND STRYPER EXPO TOOK PLACE IN L.A. IN 2001. HOLLWOOD RECORDS THEN ASKED THE MEMBERS OF STRYPER TO RECORD SOME NEW TRACKS FOR AN UP-COMING GREATEST HITS COMPLIATION CALLED "7-THE BEST OF STRYPER". A 36 DATE TOUR FOLLOWED,THEN A LIVE ALBUM,"7 WEEKS:LIVE IN AMERICA". TIM GAINES LEFT STRYPER IN 2004. IN AUGUST OF 2005,STRYPER RELEASED THEIR FIRST FULL LEGNTH ALBUM IN 15 YEARS, "REBORN" THEY FOLLOWED IT UP WITH "DVD-GREATEST HITS:LIVE IN PUERTO RICO". A FOLLOW-UP TO "REBORN' WAS PLANNED, BUT PUT ON HOLD WHEN MICHAEL SWEET'S WIFE, KYLE, WAS DIAGNOSED WITH STAGE FOUR OVARIAN CANCER.. IN 2007, MICHAEL SANG LEAD FOR THE CLASSIC ROCK BAND BOSTON,AND TOURS WITH THEM ,OPENING FOR STYX. SADLY, ON MARCH 5,2009, MICHAEL WIFE, KYLE SWEET, DIED OF CANCER. "MURDER BY PRIDE" WAS RELEASED IN JULY OF THAT SAME YEAR. IN FEBRUARY ,2011, STRYPER RELEASED "THE COVERING", AN ALL COVER SONG ALBUM FEATURING SONGS BY BANDS LIKE IRON MAIDEN, BLACK SABBATH,KANSAS, LED ZEPPELIN AND MORE. A TOUR FOLLOWED. STRYPER HAVE SOLD OVER 10 MILLION RECORDS WORLD WIDE,2/3RD'S OF WHICH WERE BOUGHT BY NON-CHRISTIANS.