MICHAEL SWEET Explains Why OZ FOX Doesn't Appear On New STRYPER Album 'Throne Of Thorns'

In a new interview with George Dionne of KNAC.COM, guitarist/vocalist Michael Sweet of Christian metal pioneers STRYPER explained why STRYPER guitarist Oz Fox doesn't play on the band's upcoming eighteenth studio album, "Throne Of Thorns", which will arrive on September 25 via Frontiers Music Srl. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, believe it or not, it wasn't related to [Oz's] health issues in terms of his [2024] brain surgery. He's been doing great with that. He's been out touring with us and doing great. This was something completely different. This was based on the fact that he stopped taking blood pressure medication 'cause he's supposed to take that every day. He has issues with his blood pressure, like many people do, and he stopped taking it. And we didn't really know that he'd stopped taking it. And Rob [STRYPER drummer Robert Sweet] went into rehearsals with him and discovered, like, 'Wait a minute. Something's not right here.' [Oz] had trouble playing and with his pitch and his hearing. His high blood pressure really affected that, and it was really high — going up, spiky, like go-to-the-hospital high. And we didn't really know this until he came out to the studio, and he was having issues with it. And it was time for him to start playing, and his blood pressure was checked. We had a way to check it there, and it was through the roof. So we were able to get him some medication and get him to lie down and rest and able to get him to feel a little better. But still, when it came time for him to play, he wasn't able to play. He literally couldn't go from chord to chord. He couldn't play. And it was a bad situation. And I knew the songs, so I just said, I suggested, I said, 'Dude, don't worry about it. I'll gladly play the parts,' and he was very relieved to hear that. And then when we got to the solos, the same thing happened. So I wound up, at that point, having to play all the guitars."

Michael continued: "I wasn't prepared for it, being honest. I was moving into vocal mode at that time, and I had very little time — not as much time as I would've liked — to prepare for all the guitars, having to do that, and think like two guitar players. That's a whole other thing. When you're playing a certain style and that's what you do, then you gotta try to think like another player and make it sound like two guys. That's not an easy task. I did my best. I don't know if I pulled it off. Fans will determine that. But I think so far people seem to really like the guitars. And I haven't heard any complaints yet, so it worked out."

After Dionne commented that some of the songs from the new STRYPER album will likely "take a little bit of a new form with Oz playing them in a live setting", Michael said: "Yeah, they will, but we'll only do a few songs live. Maybe the first two singles, maybe three songs to try to fit them into the set. And Oz will be primarily playing rhythm on those songs, so it'll work out. It'll be fine."

In 2018, Fox fell during an onstage performance as a result of a seizure. Doctors soon discovered the musician had two tumors in his brain. By August 2019, Fox said the tumors had grown.

Fox's two tumors — one by his ear and the other in the back of his brain — were discovered when he suffered his first seizure in August 2018 while performing with SIN CITY SINNERS at Harrah's in Las Vegas.

In October 2020, Fox was briefly hospitalized after suffering another massive seizure.

Within weeks of Fox's original August 2018 seizure, STRYPER toured Australia and Japan as a three-piece, and later recruited Howie Simon to fill in while Fox was unable to go on the road.

Oz's latest brain surgery forced him to sit out STRYPER's spring 2024 "To Hell With The Amps" acoustic tour.

STRYPER released its long-awaited Christmas album, "The Greatest Gift Of All", in November 2025 via Frontiers Music Srl.

Formed 43 years ago, STRYPER's name comes from Isaiah 53:5, which states: "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."

STRYPER's other albums include "To Hell With The Devil", "Second Coming", "No More Hell To Pay", "Fallen", "God Damn Evil", "Even The Devil Believes" and "The Final Battle".