STRYPER's MICHAEL SWEET: 'I'm A Very Blessed Guy That I Can Do What I Love To Do'

In a new interview with Frontiers Music Srl 's "Backstage Unplugged" podcast, STRYPER frontman Michael Sweet spoke about his drive to keep putting out new music, whether it's with his long-running Christian metal band or with the various other projects he has pursued over the years. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "I tell you, all things considered, and what I mean by that is where music is these days. It's not so much about hard sales as it was back in the '80s. [Back then] it was all about hard sales. You'd sell 500,000 copies of an album. Now you're very fortunate to sell 5,000 copies of an album. But where it shines now in the music world, obviously, is through streaming, digital downloads and the whole digital world. But we are very blessed, as a group that's been around for so long, and we're not getting any younger, we're blessed to still be working with a label that believes in us, and they wanna put out our music. And we're able to go in the studio every two years and make an album. And it's been like that pretty much since 2005. And we've released a lot — I mean, a lot — of music. Oh my word. I think something like — since '05, I wanna say maybe 11 STRYPER albums, probably five or six solo albums, maybe more, and then all the other [projects like] SWEET & LYNCH and SUNBOMB and ICONIC and all these [other bands]. It's just phenomenal. I'm a very blessed guy that I can do what I love to do, and [I have] a label [who] wants to work with me."

Michael also talked about the positive response to STRYPER's latest album, 2024's "When We Were Kings", and his mindset going into the writing process for the LP. He said: "The whole goal with that album was to try to go back to the past, but not so much so that we were dating ourselves. It's really kind of a juggling act of trying to be your classic self, but also relevant and step into 2025 as an old band, an old metal band or rock band. That's not easy to do. A lot of bands kind of try to reinvent the wheel and re-establish themselves and they alienate themselves from their audience because they try something completely different. They try to do rap or they try to do country, and that's fine. Whatever. Whatever they wanna do. But we didn't try to reinvent the wheel. We just do what we do. And we try to put little modern touches on it, and that's about it. And so far people seem to still appreciate what we're doing and we're very pleased to know that. It's really cool."

This past weekend, Sweet finished recording the vocals for STRYPER's upcoming follow-up to "When We Were Kings", tentatively due later this year via Frontiers Music Srl.

Earlier this month, Sweet took to his social media to state about STRYPER's upcoming LP: "This album is a little different but not so much so that it's going to necessarily shock anyone. But it does have a few curveballs here and there, [and] I'm really excited about it. Some different tunings, melodies and grooves."

Sweet's new solo album, "The Master Plan", will arrive on April 3, 2026 via Frontiers Music Srl. This deeply worship‑inspired record marks a bold departure from his previous solo work — blending heartfelt devotion with fresh musical textures and melodic depth unlike anything Michael has done before.

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".

Michael is joined in STRYPER by Oz Fox (guitar),Robert Sweet (drums) and Perry Richardson (bass).