Stryper

Stryper is an American hard rock/heavy metal band with Christian themes in their lyrics. The group's lineup consists of Michael Sweet (lead vocals, guitar), Oz Fox (guitar, backing vocals), Perry Richardson (bass, backing vocals), and Robert Sweet (drums). Formed in 1981 as Roxx Regime, the band changed their musical message to reflect their Christian beliefs and became Stryper in 1983. They went on to become the first heavy metal band with overtly Christian lyrics to gain mainstream acceptance. Signing with independent label Enigma Records, they released their debut extended play, The Yellow and Black Attack, in 1984. In the mid-1980s, Stryper enjoyed their most successful period beginning with the release of To Hell with the Devil, which was certified Platinum by the RIAA. Stryper went on to release two more Gold-certified albums before disbanding in 1993. In 2003, Stryper came out of retirement for a reunion tour and subsequently signed a multi-album contract with Big3 Records in 2005. In 2013, they signed a multi-album deal with Frontiers Records and have since released Second Coming in 2013, which includes 14 re-recorded songs from their first three albums, No More Hell to Pay in 2013, Fallen in 2015, God Damn Evil in 2018, Even the Devil Believes in 2020, The Final Battle in 2022, When We Were Kings and To Hell with the Amps, their first acoustic album, in 2024, and The Greatest Gift of All in 2025. Over the course of their career, Stryper has placed thirteen albums in the Top 10 of Billboard's Top Christian Albums chart, with five releases peaking at number 2 and one release—Even the Devil Believes—reaching number 1. The band was described by the Los Angeles Times as the best-selling rock band in Orange County from 1984 to 1990, with five albums during that period selling...