STRYPER Frontman Says 'It Should Be A Blast' Singing Classic DOKKEN Songs With T&N

STRYPER frontman Michael Sweet has confirmed that he will hit the road next year with T&N (formerly TOOTH AND NAIL),the new project featuring current and former members of DOKKEN (George Lynch, Jeff Pilson and Mick Brown),in support of that band's recently released debut album, "Slave To The Empire", and upcoming follow-up effort.

In a recent interview with Legendary Rock Interviews, George Lynch stated about Michael Sweet's involvement with T&N: "That was the decision we all collectively came up with. We thought he was really the right choice. LYNCH MOB has done quite a few dates with STRYPER and we know Michael as a man and he's just such a wonderful guy, which is important at this stage in the game. I've learned that lesson the hard way over the years and now it's to the point where you just wanna work with people who want to work with you and are dedicated, honest, transparent and have a good work ethic. Michael is obviously talented, we all knew that, but he is also just a good person who has all of those qualities and architecture and is a solid guy, but more importantly, his voice is really suited to what we are trying to accomplish live, which is to recreate the DOKKEN stuff faithfully. Jeff's voice is not necessarily ideal for all of that, because he has a bit of a raspier, harder edge, which is better suited to the original music that T&N has done, Jeff will do some of the DOKKEN stuff, but then Michael will come in and do some of the material that he's better at. The other advantage we have with Michael Sweet, other than him being just a great human being, is that he's a really good guitar player and really suited to playing the rhythm parts we have, which is something we really need collectively in this band and for this material. There's a lot of guitars on this record and we wanna reproduce the record faithfully. Plus, he's not a bad-lookin guy either."

In a new posting on the STRYPER Facebook page, Sweet writes: "[My involvement with T&N wasn't officially announced but I guess if George is talking about it, then it's official. Keep an eye out (and an ear open) for this! It should be a blast and a lot of fun singing those classic DOKKEN tunes."

He adds: "And to ease your mind, I WILL NOT be leaving STRYPER, just having some side fun with George, Jeff and Mick when this actually takes place.

"2013 looks to be a very busy year for me, with two new STRYPER records, a STRYPER tour, a new solo record and book, a solo tour and possibly a T&N tour!"

"Slave To The Empire", the debut album from T&N, contains seven new original songs and five re-recorded classic DOKKEN songs that feature sensational vocal performances by Tim "Ripper" Owens (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH, DIO DISCIPLES),Doug Pinnick (KING'S X),Sebastian Bach (SKID ROW) and Robert Mason (WARRANT, LYNCH MOB). The drum tracks on the new, original compositions were laid down by Brian Tichy (WHITESNAKE, FOREIGNER).