Stryper

Stryper is an American christian metal band formed in 1983 in Orange County California. Upon forming the band they initially were named Roxx Regime but chose to rebrand, taking inspiration from the Bible verse Isaiah 53:5 explaining that it was an acronym that meant “Salvation Through Redemption Yielding Peace, Encouragement and Righteousness.” The band members consist of Michael Sweet (lead vocalist, guitarist, main songwriter), Oz Fox (lead guitarist), Perry Richardson (bassist), and Robert Sweet (drummer). Stryper’s album sales have exceeded over 10 million sales worldwide and include hits like “Free”, “Calling On You,” “Honestly,” and “Always There For You”. In 1986 they released their highest charting-platinum selling album To Hell With The Devil that hit the top 40 charts and received a Grammy Award nomination. They were also the first band to land two songs on MTV’s top 10 list with their songs “Honestly” and “Free”. Most of their albums were released through the label Enigma Records, but they have also created albums with Big3 Records, Frontiers Records, and Hollywood Records. In 2003 they returned from a 13 year hiatus and have continued to make music with albums like Fallen, Live At The Whiskey, and their most recent album God Damn Evil.