Stryper still plays by the Book
By ED CONDRAN
phillyBurbs.com
10/30/05
It will almost seem like 1985 all over again when Stryper performs tonight at the Trocadero. The Christian metal band has reformed and will be churning out its righteous rock of yore. The group, which is touring behind its comeback disc, “Reborn,” is even throwing Bibles into the audience as it did during its salad days.
“We toss a small paperback of the New Testament,” guitarist Oz Fox said. “There’s never one left on the floor after a show. People take them home and read them and hopefully dedicate their lives to Jesus Christ.”
The band isn’t worried about fans complaining of cranial injury. If their fans get hit in the head they like it. Metal fans are headbangers. That’s even so for Stryper (Salvation Through Redemption Yielding Peace Encouragement and Righteousness). Before deciding to serve Jesus Christ through its tunes, the band, which includes vocalist-guitarist Michael Sweet and his brother Robert and bassist Tim Gaines, was weaned on such dark forces as Black Sabbath and Judas Priest.
Unlike some of its Christian-metal peers, the quartet didn’t chuck its Sabs or Priest records. Instead the quartet embraced Prince of Darkness Ozzy Osbourne and Priest’s leather clad gay singer Rob Halford.
“The only reason for a Christian to get rid of those albums is if after listening to it you have the urge to take drugs or party,” Fox explained. “For us it wasn’t about the message but the sound those albums had.”
Stryper appropriated some of its favorite secular bands’ sonics as it started its career in earnest in 1984. The band’s melodic guitar attack, which recalls Van Halen and Def Leppard, struck a nerve — and platinum, as well. More than a million copies of the band’s breakthrough release, “To Hell With the Devil,” were sold. Such tunes as “Calling on You” and “Honestly” were MTV staples in 1986.
“It was an amazing time,” Fox said. “We connected with the fans. There was something supernatural going on. It was divine. We can’t even explain it.”
In 1991 Michael Sweet left the band to pursue a solo career. Fox took over as the band’s vocalist. However, the second Stryper incarnation was short-lived. The band splintered the following year after playing a few dates. “We just went out without Michael to honor some obligations,” Fox said. “But it wasn’t the same without Michael.”
After Stryper split the members of the band fell back to Earth. Fox literally went from playing before thousands of devout fans to digging ditches.
“That really happened,” Fox said. “It just wasn’t happening musically for me after Stryper. We weren’t millionaires. We made good money but when you have a family, money goes. I had to support my family and I went to work.”
Fox, a married father of three children, worked in construction after Stryper broke up. “There was no other choice,” Fox explained.
But in 2000, Fox and his former bandmates were asked to take part in a Stryper Expo in New Jersey. “We thought about it,” Fox said. “Then we prayed and it was evident that we should go for it. It went really well. The fans were there for us.”
The following year, the group performed at a Southern California Expo. “We received a lot of encouragement to continue,” Fox said. “We decided to take another step. Now we’re back full-time. We’re loving it and so are our fans.”
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