Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Stryper - Michael Sweet Interview
Michael Sweet of Stryper is interviewed on I Testify Online about his life and career in the worlds first Christian Metal band Stryper. In this excerpt Michael talks about performing before hostile crowds who were not receptive to their message about Christ!
Christian Music News Source
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Noëlle music video and Lando Van Herzog with Boys Choir
Michael Sweet sings Christmas Carol Noelle while scenes from the upcoming film (www.entertainmentrevolution.com) about a business minded Catholic priest who closes churches screens; and German pop singer Lando Van Herzog (www.lando-van-herzog.com) sings along with the Cologne Cathedral Boys Choir.
Christian Music News Source
Friday, September 19, 2008
Solo discography
* Unstryped (EP 1992)
* Michael Sweet (July 26, 1994)
* Real (October, 1995)
* Truth (demo 1998)
* Truth (official release 2000)
* Him (2006)
* Touched (2007)
Guest appearances
* Mu5tard - Electra Glide
* Longday - An Explanation For My Behavior
* Mars Hill - Sink or Swim (2003)
* Michael W. Smith
* Guardian
* DC Talk
* Mass
Projects produced
* Mu5tard - Electra Glide
* Longday - An Explanation For My Behavior
* Mars Hill - Sink or Swim (2003)
* Savannah - Forever's Come and Gone
Christian Music Links!
* Michael Sweet (July 26, 1994)
* Real (October, 1995)
* Truth (demo 1998)
* Truth (official release 2000)
* Him (2006)
* Touched (2007)
Guest appearances
* Mu5tard - Electra Glide
* Longday - An Explanation For My Behavior
* Mars Hill - Sink or Swim (2003)
* Michael W. Smith
* Guardian
* DC Talk
* Mass
Projects produced
* Mu5tard - Electra Glide
* Longday - An Explanation For My Behavior
* Mars Hill - Sink or Swim (2003)
* Savannah - Forever's Come and Gone
Christian Music Links!
Biography
Youth
He began his musical career at age 5 playing guitar and at age 12 he began to sing. Sweet also learned to play the drums, piano and bass guitar.
Stryper
Main article: Stryper
In the early 80s, Sweet and his brother started a band called Roxx Regime and started playing in small venues. This band would later become Stryper. The band challenged the
stereotype of Heavy Metal being satanic and took Christian rock fully into mainstream.
With the band, Sweet recorded five successful studio albums that reached gold and platinum status and won him many awards, plus worldwide fame. However, in the early 90s, rock
music was facing serious shifts in itself and the band fell into a steep decline.
Solo
After 11 years as frontman of Stryper, Sweet decided to leave the band in 1992 in order to pursue a solo career. He first released a demo album titled Unstryped which featured
several songs that were allegedly intended to be songs for the band. Sweet later featured some of this in his first full-length album.
His self-titled debut album was released in 1994 and sold over 250,000 copies. He followed it with a slightly softer album titled Real in 1996 which garnered him a nomination for a Dove
Award. However, he left the Benson label with which he had released those two albums.
A single from this self-titled album, "Ain't No Safe Way" was released. The song is about abstaining from sex outside marriage, and the video was rejected by MTV. Much controversy
arose from this, and rock critic J. D. Considine said on the short-lived VH-1 program "4 on the Floor" that "He could have been singing, 'Hi, I'm the devil, let's go have sex' and MTV would
not have played it because it's a terrible song, it's a terrible video, and it isn't the kind of music MTV is playing right now."
During this time, Sweet and his wife moved to Massachusetts, where Sweet worked as a park ranger in his father-in-law's campground called Maple Park.
In 1998, he released an independent demo album titled Truth which received critical acclaim. He was signed to Restless Records and re-released the album in 2000 with a new song-list
and new artwork (see Truth).
On August 19, 2007, Sweet acted as Boston's lead singer in Come Together: A tribute to Brad Delp at the Bank of America Pavilion in Boston, MA. He will be joining Boston during the
band's Summer 2008 tour.
Boston
Michael Sweet currently is on tour performing lead vocals, background vocals, and guitar work for Boston. His first official show with the band was June 6, 2008 in Thunder Bay,
Ontario. Boston will continue their "Greatest Hits" tour through August 31, 2008, where they will play San Juan, Puerto Rico. Michael currently handles lead vocals on roughly half of the
setlist, including Boston staples "More Than a Feeling", "Amanda", and "Peace of Mind". The latter of which was re-recorded by Stryper and released via itunes on June 23, 2008.
Reviews of his performance have been overwhelmingly positive, as it is thought by many his vocal abilities, guitar talents, and stage presence have been very beneficial for Boston
following the untimely death of Brad Delp. While it is unknown how this may materialize for future Boston efforts, Michael may be included on new Boston recordings in the future, but
this has not been confirmed yet.
Stryper reunited
In 1999, Sweet reunited with former Stryper friends, Oz Fox and Tim Gaines during a concert in Puerto Rico. The concert featured Fox and Gaines' band at the moment, Sindizzy, while
Sweet was invited as a solo artist. The three of them got together for a brief set of four songs that showed that they still had the same intensity as before. The next year, the first
Stryper Expo was held in New Jersey and the whole line-up was reunited again.
The band has continued to work together releasing a new album titled Reborn in 2005. However, Michael has continued with his solo career as well. In August 1, 2006, he released a
solo album titled Him which features traditional hymns re-written and arranged by Sweet, and in 2008 he released another album titled Touched.
Stryper is scheduled to release a new album sometime in early 2009. The title of this album has been confirmed as Murder By Pride and will feature new Stryper material, as well as a
cover of "Peace of Mind.
Christian Music Links!
He began his musical career at age 5 playing guitar and at age 12 he began to sing. Sweet also learned to play the drums, piano and bass guitar.
Stryper
Main article: Stryper
In the early 80s, Sweet and his brother started a band called Roxx Regime and started playing in small venues. This band would later become Stryper. The band challenged the
stereotype of Heavy Metal being satanic and took Christian rock fully into mainstream.
With the band, Sweet recorded five successful studio albums that reached gold and platinum status and won him many awards, plus worldwide fame. However, in the early 90s, rock
music was facing serious shifts in itself and the band fell into a steep decline.
Solo
After 11 years as frontman of Stryper, Sweet decided to leave the band in 1992 in order to pursue a solo career. He first released a demo album titled Unstryped which featured
several songs that were allegedly intended to be songs for the band. Sweet later featured some of this in his first full-length album.
His self-titled debut album was released in 1994 and sold over 250,000 copies. He followed it with a slightly softer album titled Real in 1996 which garnered him a nomination for a Dove
Award. However, he left the Benson label with which he had released those two albums.
A single from this self-titled album, "Ain't No Safe Way" was released. The song is about abstaining from sex outside marriage, and the video was rejected by MTV. Much controversy
arose from this, and rock critic J. D. Considine said on the short-lived VH-1 program "4 on the Floor" that "He could have been singing, 'Hi, I'm the devil, let's go have sex' and MTV would
not have played it because it's a terrible song, it's a terrible video, and it isn't the kind of music MTV is playing right now."
During this time, Sweet and his wife moved to Massachusetts, where Sweet worked as a park ranger in his father-in-law's campground called Maple Park.
In 1998, he released an independent demo album titled Truth which received critical acclaim. He was signed to Restless Records and re-released the album in 2000 with a new song-list
and new artwork (see Truth).
On August 19, 2007, Sweet acted as Boston's lead singer in Come Together: A tribute to Brad Delp at the Bank of America Pavilion in Boston, MA. He will be joining Boston during the
band's Summer 2008 tour.
Boston
Michael Sweet currently is on tour performing lead vocals, background vocals, and guitar work for Boston. His first official show with the band was June 6, 2008 in Thunder Bay,
Ontario. Boston will continue their "Greatest Hits" tour through August 31, 2008, where they will play San Juan, Puerto Rico. Michael currently handles lead vocals on roughly half of the
setlist, including Boston staples "More Than a Feeling", "Amanda", and "Peace of Mind". The latter of which was re-recorded by Stryper and released via itunes on June 23, 2008.
Reviews of his performance have been overwhelmingly positive, as it is thought by many his vocal abilities, guitar talents, and stage presence have been very beneficial for Boston
following the untimely death of Brad Delp. While it is unknown how this may materialize for future Boston efforts, Michael may be included on new Boston recordings in the future, but
this has not been confirmed yet.
Stryper reunited
In 1999, Sweet reunited with former Stryper friends, Oz Fox and Tim Gaines during a concert in Puerto Rico. The concert featured Fox and Gaines' band at the moment, Sindizzy, while
Sweet was invited as a solo artist. The three of them got together for a brief set of four songs that showed that they still had the same intensity as before. The next year, the first
Stryper Expo was held in New Jersey and the whole line-up was reunited again.
The band has continued to work together releasing a new album titled Reborn in 2005. However, Michael has continued with his solo career as well. In August 1, 2006, he released a
solo album titled Him which features traditional hymns re-written and arranged by Sweet, and in 2008 he released another album titled Touched.
Stryper is scheduled to release a new album sometime in early 2009. The title of this album has been confirmed as Murder By Pride and will feature new Stryper material, as well as a
cover of "Peace of Mind.
Christian Music Links!
Michael Sweet - Unstryped: The Post-Stryper Sessions
By rnorton828 "rnorton828" (Riverbend, IL)
Unstryped consists of the first few songs recorded & released by Michael Sweet following his departure from Stryper. Some these songs remind me, musically of "Against the Law" (especially the first 2 tracks). "All I Wanna Do" was, of course, redone for Sweet's first full-length CD. "Unstryped" is actually a very good effort--better than his first full-length release with Benson Music.
By Robert Lunte "Author of The Four Pillars of S... (Seattle, WA USA)
Micheal Sweet is one of the premiere Metal vocalists of all-time. Hes is truly talented. Going solo is a great idea! I hope to see more.
By J. Wright (San Diego, CA United States)
I like some of Stryper's stuff, but this album is pretty lame. Michael Sweet has a great voice. He even writes good songs, but this 5 song release is pathetic. If you really like Stryper, maybe this is OK for you. As for me, I already plan to trade this one for something else that I would actually listen to now and then....
Christian Music News Source
Unstryped consists of the first few songs recorded & released by Michael Sweet following his departure from Stryper. Some these songs remind me, musically of "Against the Law" (especially the first 2 tracks). "All I Wanna Do" was, of course, redone for Sweet's first full-length CD. "Unstryped" is actually a very good effort--better than his first full-length release with Benson Music.
By Robert Lunte "Author of The Four Pillars of S... (Seattle, WA USA)
Micheal Sweet is one of the premiere Metal vocalists of all-time. Hes is truly talented. Going solo is a great idea! I hope to see more.
By J. Wright (San Diego, CA United States)
I like some of Stryper's stuff, but this album is pretty lame. Michael Sweet has a great voice. He even writes good songs, but this 5 song release is pathetic. If you really like Stryper, maybe this is OK for you. As for me, I already plan to trade this one for something else that I would actually listen to now and then....
Christian Music News Source
Michael Sweet - Michael Sweet
By Justin Gaines "Corporate Rocker" (Atlanta, GA)
I was a huge Stryper fan in middle and high school, but they pretty much dropped off my radar after they broke up. I took a chance on Michael Sweet's 1994 solo debut recently when I saw it in a bargain bin, figuring it was at least worth trying. I'm glad I did.I was prepared not to like this one, expecting a Sunday School style serving of Stryper-lite (essentially Petra), but this one is hard to resist. I don't know how this album got released in 1994, when pretty much the entire music buying public had moved on to all things alternative, but this is an unapologetically upbeat and melodic AOR album. I'm sure that has a lot to do with Sweet's faith, which is apparent throughout the album. Perhaps too much so for those of us who came for the music rather than the message, but you have to respect a guy who stands by his convictions. This is a completely catchy, completely irresistible AOR album, even if it doesn't sound anything like Sweet's more popular previous band. It's got a strong Bon Jovi vibe as well, thanks in part to former Blue Tears man Greg Fulkerson's involvement in songwriting and production. Hard rock fans will no doubt be a bit disappointed, but those of you who still play Journey, Toto, Giant, and Bad English on a regular basis should find a lot to enjoy here.
By rnorton828 "rnorton828" (Riverbend, IL)
This self-titled CD, released in 1994, was Michael Sweet's first full-length solo release following his departure from Stryper. Michael Sweet has long been recognized as a great vocalist by both Christian & secular observers, and his vocals sound great on this CD. Musically this album combines elements of Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi and perhaps even a little Def Leppard. Lyrically, this CD represents a return to the upfront Christian message found on Stryper's early records. There are also a couple of "relationship" songs as well--"Together" & "Tomorrow, Tonight." Some of the better songs here include "Take Me Home," "All This & Heaven Too," "Someday" & "Forever Yours." Altogether, this is not a bad CD, but I still believe it coud have been better. "Real" was more of what I was expecting, and I do think it's actually a better record. "Truth" is Michael's best solo effort to date....
Christian Music News Source
I was a huge Stryper fan in middle and high school, but they pretty much dropped off my radar after they broke up. I took a chance on Michael Sweet's 1994 solo debut recently when I saw it in a bargain bin, figuring it was at least worth trying. I'm glad I did.I was prepared not to like this one, expecting a Sunday School style serving of Stryper-lite (essentially Petra), but this one is hard to resist. I don't know how this album got released in 1994, when pretty much the entire music buying public had moved on to all things alternative, but this is an unapologetically upbeat and melodic AOR album. I'm sure that has a lot to do with Sweet's faith, which is apparent throughout the album. Perhaps too much so for those of us who came for the music rather than the message, but you have to respect a guy who stands by his convictions. This is a completely catchy, completely irresistible AOR album, even if it doesn't sound anything like Sweet's more popular previous band. It's got a strong Bon Jovi vibe as well, thanks in part to former Blue Tears man Greg Fulkerson's involvement in songwriting and production. Hard rock fans will no doubt be a bit disappointed, but those of you who still play Journey, Toto, Giant, and Bad English on a regular basis should find a lot to enjoy here.
By rnorton828 "rnorton828" (Riverbend, IL)
This self-titled CD, released in 1994, was Michael Sweet's first full-length solo release following his departure from Stryper. Michael Sweet has long been recognized as a great vocalist by both Christian & secular observers, and his vocals sound great on this CD. Musically this album combines elements of Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi and perhaps even a little Def Leppard. Lyrically, this CD represents a return to the upfront Christian message found on Stryper's early records. There are also a couple of "relationship" songs as well--"Together" & "Tomorrow, Tonight." Some of the better songs here include "Take Me Home," "All This & Heaven Too," "Someday" & "Forever Yours." Altogether, this is not a bad CD, but I still believe it coud have been better. "Real" was more of what I was expecting, and I do think it's actually a better record. "Truth" is Michael's best solo effort to date....
Christian Music News Source
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