Jimmy Kay and Alan Dixon of Canada’s The Metal Voice recently spoke to STRYPER frontman Michael Sweet about the current AC/DC situation in regards to the rumors of Brian Johnson potentially retiring from the band and who would make a vocalist good fill in on the remaining rescheduled tour dates.
Sweet told The Metal Voice,”First of all, you can’t replace Brian Johnson they have been at it so long they are so classic, they are legendary. I see it as why would you even want to do that? But at the same time, if the other guys want to continue on, they have lives they have a career, why shouldn’t they be allowed to do so. I don’t think you can replace Brian Johnson because but let’s just say Brian can’t tour and the guys decide to replace him and he is in agreement with it and it works out . So the question is at that point in time who? I think there are only a few guys who can pull it off. The guy from Krokus (Marc Storace) yeah no doubt about it, he’s got that vibe, he’s got that tone and he’s got that persona when you see him perform on stage he can fit in right there with AC/DC. The other guy that I think is brilliant, I was floored when I saw him live at Eddie Trunk’s event, I performed with him, the singer for Accept (Mark Tornillo), he is phenomenal he would tear up the AC/DC stuff.”
Lead singer and guitarist Michael Sweet of STRYPER recently joined Jimmy Kay and Alan Dixon on Canada’s The Metal Voiceto review the new album by Avantasia entitled Ghostlights and to give a first impression on the new live DVD/CD/Blu Ray by Judas Priest called Battle Cry
On Michael Sweet’s review on the new Avantasia album Ghostlights
“My first impressions, there are good and bad. The good being there is no denying the talent that is involved in that makes up the band, everybody, the musicianship levels are high, the vocals levels are high. Everything is obviously top notch in that regard . What didn’t do it for me, I guess as a producer, I wasn’t 100% floored by the production. As I kept listening to it, I kept thinking gosh I would have loved to produced this, just to see what it would have sounded like. My first impression it almost sounds like a modern day Meatloaf, that rock opera Jim Steinman, very complicated songs, parts and structures. I just felt like the production was lacking a little bit. I wanted to hear a little more punch, a little more crispness, it just sounded flat in that regard. ”
On Sweet’s first impression on Judas Priest’s new live album/dvd
“My first impression was how great the band sounds, how great the guitar tones sound, the drum tones. Rob being who he is and how old he is, what he has done. I’m thinking gosh this guy sounds amazing, he sounds incredible and I just love Priest. There is an energy, the minute you hear them start playing there is this energy they have that not very many bands have. So I love it, I love Priest. For a live album for what it is it’s awesome.”
Michael Sweet of STRYPER joined The Metal Voice in reviewing the new 2 hour and 11 minute concept album by DREAM THEATER entitled “The Astonishing”.
Sweet tells The Metal Voice,”What is incredible about Dream Theater and they show it so well on this album is everybody is playing for the song. They have all these parts worked out. That is musical thinking from another world. The time changes and the note changes, the chord changes, its insanity, it’s unbelievable. It just shows you the talent of this band.”
“It’s almost like when you read the bible you can read it a hundred times and continue to get something out of it each time you read through it, that is how this album is. You can listen to this album a hundred times and you are always going to hear new things, there is do much depth.”
Michael Sweet goes on to tell The Metal Voice that he will begin a short acoustic solo tour in the first week of February in the US and is just almost finsihed his new solo album which will be coming out on Rat Pack Records in May or June 2016.
Rich’s Rapidfire Recommendations – bite-sized metal morsels to let you know about albums that have grabbed Rich Davenport by the ears, that we hope you’ll enjoy too! ROCK ON!
Artist: STRYPER Album: “Fallen” Label: Frontiers Music Srl Released: October 16th, 2015
Stryper, Fallen Track Listing
1. “Yahweh”
2. “Fallen”
3. “Pride”
4. “Big Screen Lies”
5. “Heaven”
6. “Love You Like I Do”
7. “All Over Again”
8. “After Forever”
9. “Till I Get What I Need”
10. “Let There Be Light”
11. “The Calling”
12. “King of Kings”
Stryper – Fallen. Odd though it may sound, the song with the most in-yer-face Christian lyrics on “Fallen” was written by Black Sabbath! If you’re a fan of the Sabs, you may well own it already, in its original guise as track two on the “Master of Reality” album, “After Forever”. In the Metal genre, most fans are savvy enough to realise that the age of the musicians is irrelevant, and that many bands are maturing like fine wines, improving their playing and songcraft through years of honing their skills. Stryper are a clear case in point, having gone so far as to say that they feel they’re now the band they’ve always wanted to be. Previous album “No More Hell To Pay” was greeted with rabid enthusiasm from their following, with many fans being of the opinion that it was their finest release ever. Would they be able to match that level of quality with their subsequent record? The answer is a resounding “Yes!” “Fallen” rams home eleven strong new original songs and a powerful version of that Sabbath number, and also sees Stryper honing their sound so that the melody of vintage tracks like “Calling On You” is now blended with the heaviness the likes of “To Hell With The Devil”, distilling the best of both worlds into each of these twelve titles. “Fallen” is one of the best classic-style Heavy Metal albums I’ve heard all year.
Canada’s The Metal Voice recently caught up with vocalist, guitarist of Christian metal pioneers, STRYPER‘s Michael Sweet. In the chat Sweet talks about the band’s new album “Fallen” and gives his opinion on W.A.S.P., Van Halen, Iron Maiden, Geoff Tate and Queesnryche’s new albums. STRYPER’s new Album “Fallen” will be released on October 16
When asked about his approach to writing the new album
“Before we make a new album I start listening to new bands, that range from real heavy stuff, to alternative stuff. I listen to the fans and I ask the question what do you guys want to hear on this album, and they tell us. And I kept thinking Heavy, heavy, heavy that’s why we didn’t do a piano ballad. That why we didn’t do pop metal kind of songs. I wanted this album to consistently be heavy.”
When asked about his favorite track on the album Pride
“The song Pride came together very fast as did all the other songs. That is one of my most favorite songs on the album. The reason why it is it’s because it’s a great merge of the old with the new and it’s got all the Stryper qualities you would expect. Pride is going to be the first music video that hits on release date October 16.”
On his thoughts about recording a concept album in the future
“I have thought about doing a concept album and I just haven’t ever gone down that path and made the commitment to do it. But sure, absolutely I thought about it and I think Stryper would be a great band to do that.”
On the highlights and disappointments of recording ‘Soldiers Under Command’ which is celebrating its 30 year anniversary
“Highlights working with Michael Wagner legendary metal producer. We recorded that album in 10-11-12 days tops and the downside of the album is we didn’t get to be there for the mix.”
On Michael Sweet’s plans for a new solo album
” I start recording a new solo in the next 3 weeks, it’s going to come out next year. It’s going to be a metal album. There is not going to be any poppy stuff. It’s going to blow people away I’m going to try to steer clear of the Styper sound.”
On his thoughts on the new Iron Maiden album ‘Book of Souls’
“I have heard bits and pieces of it and in my opinion it’s not as good as Maiden of old but it is certainly a lot better than some of the things they done in the past 15 years. I think they are getting on track and I would like to see the next album get back to the fire they had like Run to the hills and The Trooper.”
On his least favorite album in the past years
“I’m going to go with the Van Helen-A Different Kind of Truth. I am a huge Van Halen fan about as big as they come. I just feel like the last album you know when you feel like a band is going through the motions and they are not just giving it their best and trying, that’s what I felt about this album. It’s got some good reviews. People are saying this is great. I am just sitting here reading I must be hearing something completely different. I didn’t get it. I would love to get a hold of those guys and take them in the studio and take them back to the old school days and help them make an album that basically is comparable to Van Halen one and two.”
STRYPER are back to reclaim their throne in the hard rock/heavy metal world with the latest song from their upcoming 9th studio album, “Fallen”. The title track “Fallen” can be streamed below.
The original lineup comprised of Michael Sweet (vocals/guitars), Oz Fox (guitars), Tim Gaines (bass) and Robert Sweet (drums) return with an album of all new material showcasing the musicianship that garnered them a huge fan base in the mainstream world and the Christian market. From the opening choral refrains of “Yahweh” to the signature vocal scream at the end of “King Of Kings,” it is apparent that Stryper is back with their heaviest and most inspired work to date that is scheduled for release on October 16th via Frontiers Music SRL. “Fallen” is available for pre-order via digital retailers and can be ordered via iTunes at http://radi.al/StryperFalleniTunes and via AmazonMP3 at http://radi.al/StryperFallenAmazon. It is also available in various physical configurations at http://www.stryper.com/fallen. Fallen was produced by Michael Sweet.
“Fallen is about Lucifer before he became Satan. It’s the story of how he got kicked out of Heaven. He tried to overthrow God and take over,” describes Michael Sweet. “The song talks about how beautiful he was. When he walked, there was music. He was the angel of worship and this incredibly powerful and beautiful being.”
The latest song comes on the heels of the album teaser track, “Yahweh,” that was released last month and has been listened to over 135K times since it went live. “Yahweh” was a musical writing collaboration between Michael Sweet and Sevendust’s Clint Lowery. Tracks like “Pride,” “Big Screen Lies” and “Til I Get What I Need” show that Stryper is back and better than ever. Stryper offer their unique interpretation of the Black Sabbath classic “After Forever.” The band flexes their softer side on the instantly memorable “All Over Again” which continues the journey Stryper fans began almost 30 years ago when “Honestly” was released to mainstream success.
The track listing for “Fallen” is:
1)Yahweh
2)Fallen
3)Pride
4)Big Screen Lies
5)Heaven
6)Love You Like I Do
7)All Over Again
8)After Forever
9)Till I Get What I Need
10)Let There Be Light
11)The Calling
12)King Of Kings
STRYPER is one of the top Christian rock bands of all time. Comprised of the original line-up, Stryper has been rocking since 1984, and is responsible for such ’80s metal classic albums as Soldiers Under Command, To Hell With The Devil and In God We Trust. In fact, Stryper is the first band to ever have two songs in MTV’s Top 10 simultaneously with their hits “Free” and “Honestly.” After a sabbatical for much of the 1990’s, Stryper returned strong in the early 21st century. To date, the Dove Award-winning and Grammy nominated band has sold upwards of 10 million records worldwide. Their last studio album No More Hell To Pay debuted in the Top 40 of the Billboard Top 200 landing at #35.
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