Stryper
was first known as ROXX, a band started in 1977 by guitarist and singer
Michael Sweet
and
his brother Robert Sweet, who plays drums. Back then Michael was
only 14 years old,
Robert
was 17,
Soon
Oz Fox, a talented guitarist who had gone to high school with the Sweets,
joined the band.
Then,
in 1981, the band's name was changed to ROXX REGIME. After establishing
themselves on
the
grueling Los Angeles metal club circuit and signing with Enigma Records,
the group
recruited
bass player Timothy Gaines and became STRYPER in 1984.
Later
that year, they release their debut mini-album, THE YELLOW AND BLACK ATTACK,
and they've
been
"attacking" -the charts, the airwaves, the stage and MTV- ever since.
Their
second release, 1985's SOLDIERS UNDER COMMAND, sold over half a million
units worldwide,
uncapping
the band's potential as a commercial rock force, as evidenced by a stay
of over forty
weeks
on Billboard's Top 200 Album chart.
Their
third album, TO HELL WITH THE DEVIL, sold more than a million copies, earned
Stryper a
Grammy
nomination, and broke the Top 30 in Billboard's album chart.
In addition to the hard
rockin'
tunes that the band's core has come to expect, they had a Top-40 single
with the ballad
"Honestly".
The video for "Honestly" rapidly became the number one most requested video
on
MTV,
and exposed Stryper to a whole new audience.
1988
saw the near platinum release of IN GOD WE TRUST, along with renewed success
at MTV,
which
was bombarded by phone requests by the thousand for "Always there for you"
and "I believe
in
you".
Coming
off the 1989 tour supporting IN GOD WE TRUST, the band settled into an
8-month routine
of
rehearsal studio, honing their sound to a keener edge for the nineties.
The band has
undergone
fundamental change both in sound and a new look, jettisoning the yellow-and-black
stripe
trademark outfits.
After
auditioning several producers, the band settled on Tom Werman and release
AGAINST THE LAW
in
1990. The album was received by fans with great expectations
but at the same time created
a
lot of controversies.
In
1991, the band released on July 16 their last record CAN'T STOP THE
ROCK - The Collection
1984-1991
as the band - STRYPER.
Heaven's
Metal magazine raised a valid query in their issue # 52 "Christian Metal
. . . . It Dies Out
With
Stryper. . .Right?".
[ Click the button for the answer ]
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