Formed in 1983 in La Mirada, California by brothers Michael and Robert Swee… Read Full Bio ↴Formed in 1983 in La Mirada, California by brothers Michael and Robert Sweet and guitarist Oz Fox as Roxx Regime, they would change their message and name to Stryper to go on to be the first Christian rock band to be recognized by the mainstream.
According to the To Hell With The Devil Songfacts, Stryper took their name from a Bible verse Isaiah 53: 5, which says "โฆ.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.
According to the To Hell With The Devil Songfacts, Stryper took their name from a Bible verse Isaiah 53: 5, which says "โฆ.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.
Together As One
Stryper Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now.... is the time....
that we stand...together as one
A new life... inside us will shine....
as bright... as the sun
Let's bring... bring in the new...
and do... away with the old
A new love... a new love that's true...
A love that's never cold... a love that never dies
A love that fills our souls... we will survive
Together as one... we'll stand for the world to see
Together as one... we'll shine throughout eternity
All the dreams... we dreamed before..are now reality
And now the dreams (now the dreams) of a perfect love... will always be...
Together as one... we'll stand for the world to see
Together as one... we'll shine throughout eternity
All the dreams... we've dreamed before...are now reality
You and I... in a perfect love... faithfully
All the dreams... we've dreamed before... are now reality...
You and I... in a perfect love... faithfully
that we stand...together as one
A new life... inside us will shine....
as bright... as the sun
Let's bring... bring in the new...
and do... away with the old
A new love... a new love that's true...
A love that fills our souls... we will survive
Together as one... we'll stand for the world to see
Together as one... we'll shine throughout eternity
All the dreams... we dreamed before..are now reality
And now the dreams (now the dreams) of a perfect love... will always be...
Together as one... we'll stand for the world to see
Together as one... we'll shine throughout eternity
All the dreams... we've dreamed before...are now reality
You and I... in a perfect love... faithfully
All the dreams... we've dreamed before... are now reality...
You and I... in a perfect love... faithfully
In Stryper's song "Together As One," the lyrics call for unity and togetherness. The opening lines emphasize the urgency of the moment, urging everyone to stand together. The next lines express the hope that a new life and love will shine within everyone as bright as the sun, representing the possibility of a new beginning and a brighter future.
The following lines then talk about doing away with the old and bringing in the new, emphasizing the need to leave past conflicts and mistakes behind to embrace a new kind of love that is true, never cold, and never dies. The lyrics repeat the phrase "Together as one," emphasizing the desire for unity and cooperation, and the hope that the world will see everyone standing together.
The final lines of the song highlight the realization of dreams, and the hope for a perfect love that will endure forever. The song ends with the repeated phrase of "You and I... in a perfect love...faithfully," underscoring the message of unity and love.
Line by Line Meaning
Now.... is the time....
This moment is the right time to take action
that we stand...together as one
We should come together as a united front
A new life... inside us will shine....
We will experience a new sense of vitality and energy
as bright... as the sun
This new energy will be as radiant and powerful as the sun
Let's bring... bring in the new...
We should embrace change and welcome new opportunities
and do... away with the old
We should let go of outdated ideas and behaviors
A new love... a new love that's true...
We should strive for a genuine, enduring form of love
A love that's never cold... a love that never dies
This love should be warm and constant, not fleeting or temporary
A love that fills our souls... we will survive
This love will sustain us through the challenges of life
Together as one... we'll stand for the world to see
If we are united, others will take notice
Together as one... we'll shine throughout eternity
Our unified actions will have a lasting impact
All the dreams... we dreamed before..are now reality
What we once imagined can now be achieved
And now the dreams (now the dreams) of a perfect love... will always be...
We can now attain the ideal form of love that we yearned for
You and I... in a perfect love... faithfully
We can achieve a perfect, steadfast love together
Lyrics ยฉ Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: MICHAEL H SWEET
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it
More Genres
No Artists Found
More Artists
Load All
No Albums Found
More Albums
Load All
No Tracks Found
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found
Tyler Donitzen
Now is the time that we stand together as one , a new light inside us will shine as bright as the sun ,
Let's bring ,bring in the new ,and do away with the old ,a new love that's true ,a new love that's true, a love that's never cold ,a love that never dies ,a love that fills our souls we will survive
Chorus 1: Together as one we'll stand for the world to see
Together as one , we'll shine through out eternity of the dreams we dream before
are now reality now the dreams of a perfect love will always be
Chorus 2: Together as one we'll stand for the world to see, Together as one we'll shine through out eternity
All the dreams we dream before are now reality you and I in a perfect love faithfully,
All the dreams we dream before are now reality
You and I in a perfect love faithfully
Romy Ananda Uribe
Now.... is the time....
that we stand...together as one
A new life... inside us will shine....
as bright... as the sun
Let's bring... bring in the new...
and do... away with the old
A new love... a new love that's true...
A love that's never cold... a love that never dies
A love that fills our souls... we will survive
Together as one... we'll stand for the world to see
Together as one... we'll shine throughout eternity
All the dreams... we dreamed before..are now reality
And now the dreams (now the dreams) of a perfect love... will always be...
Together as one... we'll stand for the world to see
Together as one... we'll shine throughout eternity
All the dreams... we've dreamed before...are now reality
You and I... in a perfect love... faithfully
All the dreams... we've dreamed before... are now reality...
You and I... in a perfect love... faithfully
Rhonda Adams
This song was played at my wedding in 1987. โค๏ธ Stryper
Michael Wilferd
Me too
El Uncle Sam PRZ
It was also played at my brother's wedding
1993
Annajette Clayton
We played this at our wedding in 1988! Loved this song. My dear sweet husband, Gregory, passed away 4 years ago last January ๐ข ๐ ๐
I feel so lost without him.
CHIKA
This song is beautifulโคโ๐ฉน
Williams Galea
Que arrecho escuchar canciones que te montan en una maquina de tiempo...te lleva a reencontrarte con rostros que ya no estan, con lugares que ya desaparecieron...con momentos que no volveran...con alguien que fuiste y que yo volveras hacerlo...la magia de lo que vivimos y queda solo en nuestra memoria...Streepers lo maximo!
Gustavo Cardozo
Eres venezolano? ese calificativo del principio del comentario me hace pensar eso. Compatriota, Buen comentario por loacertada de tus palabras, estas canciones tienen una melodรญa que generan una atmรณsfero donde se vuelven a representar todos esos recuerdos.
Josesala M.b
No podรญa estar mas de acuerdo contigo
Richard Wagner
Ive listened to this song so many times...Stryper has put out so many awesome ballads
amandah victer
Apesar da minha idade. Tenho 14 anos e ouรงo desde pequena pelo meu paiโก agora que entendo melhor escuto muitoโฅ e as pessoas perguntam qual meu (a) cantor (a) preferido (a) e eu fico como? Essa geraรงรฃo nova nรฃo sabe o que รฉ curtir mรบsicas antigas sรฃo tรฃo lindos os hinos antigosโโ mas me faz chorar muito quando escuto essa e a Honestlyโก vcs aรญ q gostam de Striper, apresentam pros seus filhos! Nรฃo deixem essa banda se apagar pq daqui a... talvez uns 80 anos ela serรก passageira serรก esquecida e รฉ isso galera. curto muito messsmooo. Curte o comentรกrio por favor me ajudem a reacender essa chama!โกโกโฅโฅ ah e pra quem gosta de rock gospel ouรงam tbm (Casting Crowns.)a mรบsica Slow Fade tbm รฉ mt bonitaโกโฅ