According to the To Hell With The Devil Songfacts, Stryper took their name from a Bible verse Isaiah 53: 5, which says "….by His stripes we are healed." Stryper they explained was an acronym meaning "Salvation Through Redemption Yielding Peace, Encouragement and Righteousness."
In 1983 they were signed by Enigma Records and released their first album The Yellow and Black Attack. By the mid-1980s, Stryper saw their most successful period starting with the release of To Hell with the Devil which achieved Platinum sales status.
The band earned their stripes (pun intended) on the Los Angeles metal club circuit and in 1984, after recruiting bass player Tim Gaines, signed with Enigma Records and released their debut mini-album, The Yellow And Black Attack (Y&BA).
Their first full-length release, Soldiers Under Command, sold over half a million units worldwide in the eighties, and stayed on Billboard's Top 200 album chart for over forty weeks. In addition to the hard-rocking tunes that Stryper's core audience has come to expect, the ballad "Honestly" from their platinum selling 1986 release To Hell With The Devil hit the Top-40 charts. The video for "Honestly" rapidly became the number one most-requested video on MTV. 1988 saw the near-platinum release of In God We Trust, as well as renewed success on MTV, which was bombarded by thousands of phone requests for "Always There For You".
Coming off the acclaim of the 1989 tour supporting IGWT, the band released Against The Law which shipped gold in the fall of 1990. Despite its sales success, some fans were confused by Stryper's change in appearance and lyrics. This lead to numerous rumors and questions about the sincerity of Stryper's faith. "We were making a grab for musical freedom," says Robert Sweet, Stryper's drummer. "But we never should have let that been misinterpreted as a change in our beliefs."
In 1991, Enigma Records went bankrupt, and Stryper was left without a record company. This was short-lived, as they were quickly picked up by Hollywood Records. In the summer of 1991 they released Can't Stop The Rock, a "best of" album with two new tracks.
In January of 1992, Michael Sweet left the Stryper to pursue a solo career. Although officially Robert Sweet, Oz Fox and Tim Gaines continued as a three piece for another year, there were no further studio recordings as Stryper once Mike left.
Michael Sweet was the first to re-appear back on the scene, when he secured a record deal with the Christian label Benson Records. (Benson distributed Stryper to the Christian retail stores in the 80's.) This union produced two albums: the self titled Michael Sweet, and Real. In 1998, Mike put out a full length demo by himself titled Truth. This generated label interest, and he was soon signed to Restless Records. The remastered and updated version of Truth was released early in 2001.
Tim Gaines and Robert Sweet joined legendary Christian guitar player Rex Carrol in the band King James. Although King James released two releases to date, Tim and Bob only performed on the first album which was released in 1994 on the Christian label Star Song.
Absent from the limelight for many years was Oz Fox, who last was seen making guest appearances on several Christian releases including JC & The Boyz, Bride, and Ransom. Oz and Tim joined forces once again in 1995 to form Sin Dizzy. Together with Bobby MacNeil on guitar and John Bocanegra on drums, they released He's Not Dead in 1998. Tim left Sin Dizzy in 2000 to continue working musically with his wife, Irene Kelly.
Robert Sweet released his solo release titled Love Trash in 2000, in which he plays all the instruments on the album and features Larry Worley on vocals. (Ex-lead singer of Christian rock band Fear Not.) Robert recently formed Blissed with fellow members David Pearson, Trevor Barr, and Jeff Miller. Their album, Waking Up The Dead, was released in early 2003.
On May 21st of 2000, history was made when Stryper hit the stage again for an informal jam at the first annual Stryper expo in New Jersey. December 16th of 2000 marked the first full blown set performed by Stryper in 9 years, held in Costa Rica. The second annual Stryper expo was held in Azusa, California on May 18th and 19th of 2001. The two day expo featured multiple bands and vendors, with Stryper closing the expo with a concert. Shortly after, Stryper played to one of their largest crowds at Cornerstone at Bushnell, Illinois on July 7th, 2001.
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 scheduled to come out later in the year. The prayers of Stryper fan everywhere were answered in May of 2003 with the new live CD recording titled 7 Weeks: Live In America.
Stryper went on from there to record a full studio album, "Reborn", in 2005. The album featured a much harder sound than their earlier material. "Reborn" would be offered to pre-order customers complete with an autographed STRYPER pocket bible. To promote the album to distributors, STRYPER's Michael Sweet and Oz Fox took the unorthodox but personal approach of meeting with EMI branch employees in early May in both Atlanta and Philadephia to perform acoustic renditions of 'Open Your Eyes', 'Make You Mine' and 'Passion'. MTM Music took the album for Europe, this version released in completely different cover art. The initial pressing of US copies would unexpectadly give early purchasers a collectors item, as the manufacturer pressed the CD with an incorrect running order to that detailed on the sleeve. 'Reborn' sold over 8,000 copies in its first week of US sales to debut at no. 111 on the Billboard charts.
Notably STRYPER was set to co-headline what was billed as "Hell and Heaven United" alongside arch nemesi SLAYER and DEICIDE for the 'Monterrey Metal Fest', on September 23rd at the Coca Cola Auditorium in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. However, SLAYER withdrew, quoting "personal reasons". Whilst retaining ties to STRYPER, Oz Fox joined the ranks of BLOODGOOD in December.
In early 2007 Sony BMG released a new STRYPER live album, entitled simply 'Extended Versions', featuring live performances from the 2003 reunion tour.
'Murder by Pride' was Stryper's next album. The first single for the album, 'Peace of Mind', a cover of the classic Boston song, debuted at #27 on Christianrock.net on October 24, 2008 and peaked at #1 on February 22, 2009.
Robert Sweet did not play on the album because of some complicated reasons. Musicwise, the singer Michael Sweet has commented that "After years of speaking to fans and hearing comments like 'more guitars,' 'more solos' and 'more screams,' I decided to keep those comments in mind as I wrote each song. It was important to me to try to get back to that early sound of Stryper yet at the same time, to remain relevant today. It's certainly not an easy thing to do but as I listen to 'Murder By Pride', I think that was accomplished."
Stryper's ninth studio album The Covering was released by Big 3 Records/Sony on February 15, 2011. The album is a collection of twelve cover songs from bands that inspired Stryper and helped to shape the band's sound and musical identity. Speaking with Michael Sweet in a 2011 interview, he explained: "It really wasn't a difficult process, because we knew exactly where our history lied and our roots lied, and we knew the groups that influenced us the most. And we were all in agreement. Because, for the most part, it's all the same bands that influenced the four of us."
The band signed a deal with Frontiers Records and released 'Second Coming' on March 25, 2013.
' No More Hell to Pay', was completed on May 29, 2013, and was released on November 5 through Frontiers Records. ' Live at the Whisky', a CD/DVD combination recorded at the Whisky a Go Go, was released in September 2014. Fallen, was released on October 16, 2015.
During an interview with Antihero Magazine in November 2016, Michael Sweet revealed that the next Stryper album, which was planned for a February 2017 release, would be put on hold as the band went on hiatus and while he recorded a Sweet & Lynch album. Sweet also stated that bassist Timothy Gaines was taking time away from the band to deal with personal issues. While Sweet disliked the idea of continuing without Gaines, he was open to filling the bass position with the right person if and when it came to that. Gaines then confirmed that he was no longer a member of the band. Perry Richardson was announced as the new bass player on October 30, 2017.
On February 5, 2018, Michael Sweet announced the band's next album, ' God Damn Evil', which was released April 20, 2018. On February 9, the band released "Take It to the Cross" as a single for the album. The single featured Matt Bachand of the band Shadows Fall.
On September 4th, 2020, the band's next album, ' Even the Devil Believes', was released. The band's latest album as of April 2023, ' The Final Battle', was announced on September 22, 2022, and released on October 21, 2022.
A Love That
Stryper Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She wants to say what's on her mind
Seems like he doesn't want to know it
She says he's always so unkind
But she's not giving up
Until he sees
Her live inside is heavenly
I love you, I want you
But that won't change the way I feel
I love you, I want you
I don't want love that's just not real
It seems like nothing's getting better
She knows she just can't carry on
She always thought it would last forever
But now she knows that it's not love
She waits so patiently for perfect love
She knows someday it will come from above
I love you, I want you
But that won't change the way I feel
I love you, I want you
I don't want love that's just not real
She waits for Godly love
Knowing that someday it will come from above
I love you, I want you
But that won't change the way I feel
I love you, I want you
I don't want love that's just not real
The song "A Love That" by Stryper tells the story of a woman who is desperately in love with a man who doesn't seem to share her feelings. She tries to communicate the depth of her love to him, but he refuses to listen, making her feel as though her effort is unappreciated. She knows that the love they share is not real, and while she still loves and desires him, she is not willing to settle for less than true love.
The lyrics are poignant and heartbreaking, illustrating the pain that can come from loving someone who doesn't reciprocate your feelings. It's clear that the woman has a strong faith in God and believes that true love will come from above. She is patient and persevering, unwilling to give up until she finds the love that she desires.
The message of the song is one of hope and faith in God's plan. The woman is not resigning herself to a life of unfulfilled love but is instead waiting patiently for the right person and the right kind of love to come along. It's a message that can resonate with anyone who has experienced the pain of unrequited love.
Line by Line Meaning
She says she tries so hard to show it
The woman in the song expresses that she puts in a lot of effort to demonstrate her love to her partner.
She wants to say what's on her mind
The woman desires to communicate her thoughts and feelings to her partner.
Seems like he doesn't want to know it
The woman feels that her partner is not interested in hearing what she has to say.
She says he's always so unkind
The woman believes that her partner behaves in an insensitive manner towards her.
But she's not giving up
The woman is not willing to quit on the relationship yet.
Until he sees
She holds the hope that her partner will come to understand her perspective eventually.
Her live inside is heavenly
The woman considers her inner self to be pure and angelic.
I love you, I want you
The singer affirms their affection towards someone.
But that won't change the way I feel
Even though the singer loves and desires the person, it will not modify their emotions.
I don't want love that's just not real
The singer declares that they do not want counterfeit or disingenuous love.
It seems like nothing's getting better
The woman believes that things are not improving in the relationship.
She knows she just can't carry on
The woman recognizes that she cannot continue in the relationship as it is.
She always thought it would last forever
The woman believed that the relationship was meant to be enduring.
But now she knows that it's not love
However, the woman has realized that what she thought was love is not the real thing.
She waits so patiently for perfect love
The woman looks forward to finding genuine and perfect love.
She knows someday it will come from above
She trusts that true love will come from a higher power or authority.
She waits for Godly love
The woman waits for love that is pure and divinely inspired.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: MICHAEL SWEET
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jwguitar
Stryper is by far one of the most talented bands of its era. The fact that they were so successful and played to sold out arenas all over the world despite being a "religious" band is testament (no pun intended) to that.
@StevenMichaelYamnitz
A Brilliant collage* My favorite Stryper song. Get your imagination running.
@yoshikimizukami
I love Stryper forever.
@shawnlusby1538
My personal favorite Stryper song. A depiction of God's unconditional love
@blind_channel_fp
Oh Hello Someone here on 2019
@bluluvsrae
I am a long time Stryper fan. There are a few songs that really are symbolic of their message...I think that this is one of their songs that symbolize what Stryper really means....yes they are a Christian band but they work within the secular world and there is a struggle...this song talks about that....
@blind_channel_fp
Yeah I agree and the video's very funny
@beatleman69
I grew up listening to Stryper in the '80s and they got a bad rap. They were showing the light in a dark place. And still keeping on today!!
@genericnamehere7602
Too true. They caught flak from BOTH sides, one painting them as posers and the other as heretics. The Christian community was absolutely CLUELESS as to what they had in Stryper.
@chrispafrieddreamaster4085
God I love this song, I love Stryper.. I used to listen to this album over & over, I waited for a Love that's real, what, 30 some year's now?Guess what there's only one! UK..