Strypers history dates back some 20 years. In that period of time they achieved greater success than any other christian band ever.

Originally known as Roxx Regime, the band featured Michael Sweet on vocals and guitar, Robert Sweet on drums,  Timothy Gaines playing bass and Oz Fox on rythm and lead guitar

They built up a carefully constructed image and marketing strategy, they subsequently changed their name to STRYPER and after Robert got an idea about their clothes, the band dressed in matching yellow and black outfits. Robert also came up with the acronym they have used ever since: 

 

Salvation

Through

Redemtion

Yielding

Peace

Encouragement (and)

Righteousness.

They were now a band with a mission to spread the word of God through rock music, especially after their friend Kenny Metcalf witnessed about Jesus Christ and the salvation through Christ.

After signing to Enigma Records, they attracted widespread media attention which generally focused on the "novelty" factor of their beliefs. A debut mini-album, "The Yellow And Black Attack", featured standard hard rock, with simple lyrics and high pitched harmonies, while live shows climaxed with the band throwing bibles into the audience. In 1985 they released their first full lenght album, "Soldiers under command", which soon became a best seller. By their third album they had build up a loyal army of fans and the excellently-produced melodic rock and metal.

"To Hell With The Devil" was released in 1986 and was their most successfull album so far. Their success reached new heights with a massive world tour and more than two million records sold. They got frequently airplay and after some arguing they got their videos shown on MTV, with enormous response. At this time Tim left the band and was replaced by Matt Hurich. To complicate things even more it was`nt Matt  who played bass on the record either, but a session player named Brad Cobb.

"In God We Trust" saw the band mellow with more emphasis on pop-rock. The album was to say the least over-produced, something the guys admitted themselves. Again the bass playing on the record was given to Brad Cobb. The album was a commercial disappointment, failing to build on the success of the previous release. It did reach number 32, but only stayed on the Billboard chart for five weeks. The band took time off for a radical re-think, before entering the studio again.

"Against The Law" emerged in 1990, marking a return to a more aggressive style. The yellow and black stage costumes  had been abandoned and the lyrics were considerably less evangelical. This to the unliking of some of the bandmembers. In my opinion musically this is their best album by far. Lyrically though, I find it dissapointing. I clearly prefer the other albums lyrically because they were more straight to the point concerning their chritian beliefs. However, by this time, most of their original fans had moved on and the album sold poorly.

When Enigma went broke in 1990 they signed to Hollywood records and made a best of album, "Can`t stop the rock" was released. The record contained two new songs ("Believe" and "Can`t stop the rock") and such classics as "To hell with the devil" and "Soldiers Under command".

When Michael Sweet quit in 1992 it seemed only divine intervention could rescue Stryper's career. The other boys continued some time into 1993 under the name Stryper but no records were released. They did some concerts in Europe in 1992 and 1993.

Recently they have played some shows together. Last years first annual Stryper Expo saw them playing together again  after all these years. This may they did a new show at the second Stryper expo and they played the Cornerstone Festival july the 7`th. (The actual day I got married, believe it or not!)

In january 2003 the boys recorded two new tracks for a new compilation album released spring 2003. Hopefully this is the beginning of a new era for Stryper.

Then in the fall of 2003 they embarked on a US tour. They played some 30 shows that fall and released a live cd recorded on that tour May the 18`th.

On March 25th of 2003, Hollywood Records released Seven, The Best Of Stryper that included 2 new songs (Something and For You). That fall, they embarked on a 35 city tour that both fans and critics agreed was one of the hottest tours of 2003. In March of 2004, Stryper triumphantly returned to Puerto Rico to play a sold out show that was recorded for a DVD release. The prayers of Stryper fan everywhere were answered in May of 2003 with the new live CD recording titled 7 Weeks: Live In America.

Then in 2005 a member change took place. Tim Gaines left the band and was replaced by bass player Tracy Ferrie. They went in the studio and recorded "Reborn" which was released on august 16`th. The release was followed by an american tour.

On August 19, 2007, Michael Sweet performed with the Legendary rock band Boston at a concert honoring the voice of Boston, the late Brad Delp.  Stryper then performed with Boston members at the Station Family Fund Concert on February 25, 2008.  Later that year, Boston tapped Michael Sweet to sing for them during their summer tour.

 Exactly 25 years after their ground breaking release of the Y&BA, Murder By Pride (MBP) was released on July 21, 2009. At the time of this writing, Stryper is set to embark on their 25th Anniversary Tour in September of 2009. Reuniting for the tour, Tim Gaines will once again play bass.  Stryper will also reunite with yellow & black clothing designed by Ray Brown, whom created their classic outfits for THWTD and IGWT.

On february 2011 Stryper released "The Covering". An album containing covers from their favourite bands. Among them are classic metal bands as Judas Priest and Black Sabbath.

To put it in simple terms, Stryper is the most successful christian band ever. They have sold in excess of 8 million albums worldwide. That`s an impressive number for any band, especially one with such a clear christian message. The most recent album, "Reborn", sold 10 000 copies the first week and keeps on selling. Hopefully this is a new beginning of an already impressive carrier. Let`s hope so. God willing!