STRYPER's MICHAEL SWEET Is 'Absolutely' Open To Making Fourth Album With SWEET & LYNCH

In a new interview with Jorge Botas of Portugal's Metal Global, guitarist/vocalist Michael Sweet of STRYPER was asked if there is "any chance" of a fourth album from SWEET & LYNCH, Michael's collaborative project with legendary guitarist George Lynch (DOKKEN, LYNCH MOB). Sweet responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Absolutely. There's always a chance for that. And I think that's going to depend on the label knocking on our doors and asking for it. They haven't yet. That doesn't mean it's not gonna happen. But I will tell them when they do knock that it's gotta be done different. I don't wanna do it like the last record, is what I'm saying."

Sweet continued: "I personally think the first [SWEET & LYNCH] album was the best of the batch. It had [drummer] Brian Tichy on it, [bassist] James LoMenzo, a little more money was spent. And that's what I mean by that. I don't wanna compromise the quality. And I'd wanna go back and do it just like the first album… And that team was the best team you could ask for. There was something magical about that team. James, his playing is insane. Brian, I don't even know what to say. [He's] just one of the best I've ever worked with. George [is amazing], obviously. So it was a very special team, and we created a really cool album, I think… And I think that one, overall, had the best songs too. There were a few more doozies on that one, and I'd like to repeat that and do something. And I loved it, 'cause it's kind of that cross between DOKKEN and STRYPER and something else. And it's kind of cool hearing that."

SWEET & LYNCH's third album, "Heart & Sacrifice", came out in May 2023 via Frontiers Music Srl.

Alessandro Del Vecchio, who co-produced the LP with Sweet, played bass on the album, while Jelly Cardarelli (LALU) played drums.

SWEET & LYNCH, which has yet to play a single concert, first emerged with its debut album, "Only To Rise", in 2015. The album cracked the Billboard 200 and came in at No. 6 on the Top Hard Rock Albums, No. 17 on Independent Albums, No. 18 on Top Rock Albums, and No. 4 on Christian Albums charts. SWEET & LYNCH's sophomore album, "Unified", followed in 2017, landing at No. 53 on Top Current Albums, No. 13 on Top Current Rock Albums, and No. 8 on Record Label Independent Current Albums. While plans for a third album were always on the table, the project went on a slight hiatus while the guys concentrated on their other musical endeavors. 2022 proved to be the year where the creative juices for SWEET & LYNCH began to flow again and work on what would ultimately become "Heart & Sacrifice" began.

Seven years ago, Michael expressed his frustration about SWEET & LYNCH's lack of activity, telling the "Focus On Metal" podcast: "I've gotten to the point with SWEET & LYNCH where I'm almost sensing and feeling like maybe it's run its course. We did two albums. I talked about doing a third and a fourth and a fifth, but there is kind of no point to it if we don't tour. We really should be touring and playing those songs live. It's kind of pointless, after a while, if you're not doing that."

Sweet said in the aforementioned 2018 interview that another reason SWEET & LYNCH hadn't played any gigs is the fact that the LYNCH MOB leader and former DOKKEN guitarist "has his hands in so many different things. When the first album came out and the second album came out, I promoted the snot out of 'em and was really pushing, pushing, pushing, pushing," he said. "George didn't do a lot of promoting and a lot of pushing with those albums. It gets to be exhausting for me when I feel like I'm the only guy really pushing it. And that's not to take anything away from George — it's just a fact. It's a simple fact that I'm stating in saying that that becomes an issue.

"I'm one of those guys where I want everybody in the band pushing and promoting equally as much, as they should be," he continued. "Or why are you doing it? So I'm at that stage right now where I'm just kind of feeling like the fire is kind of dwindling. I don't want it to — I wanna pour some gasoline on the fire and ignite it again. Maybe that'll happen, but it's quite possible that it won't."

Sweet helms the Grammy-nominated Christian hard rock outfit STRYPER, which he co-founded more than 40 years ago, as the band's vocalist, guitarist, and main songwriter. To date, the band has more than 10 million career album sales worldwide. The venerable band ascended to prominence in the 1980s with Billboard Top 40-charting singles like "Calling On You", "Honestly" and "Always There For You" and has in more recent years enjoyed an unparalleled career renaissance, delivering arguably the best albums of their storied career, including 2024's "When We Were Kings".

Michael has released multiple solo albums, including a self-titled release in 1994, which yielded five No. 1 singles, "Truth" in 2000, the critically acclaimed 2015 project "I'm Not Your Suicide" (which peaked at No. 10 on Billboard's Hard Rock albums),and 2019's "Ten", which reached No. 4 on Billboard's Top Christian Albums chart. He also partnered with Joel Hoekstra (WHITESNAKE),Nathan James (INGLORIOUS),Marco Mendoza (THIN LIZZY, WHITESNAKE) and Tommy Aldridge (WHITESNAKE, OZZY OSBOURNE) in the supergroup ICONIC, which was greeted with much adoration by rock fans around the globe.

Lynch emerged from the '80s hard rock scene with the L.A. based group DOKKEN and went on to become a world-renowned guitarist. Aside from DOKKEN, he also enjoyed great success with LYNCH MOB, the group he founded after leaving DOKKEN.

Lynch has gone on to become a prolific (that is an understatement, to say the least) music creator, continuing with LYNCH MOB, releasing solo albums, and a wealth of collaborative efforts over the decades. Those include, but are not limited to, KXM with Doug Pinnick (KING'S X) and Ray Luzier (KORN),THE END MACHINE with Jeff Pilson (FOREIGNER, ex-DOKKEN),Mick Brown (ex-DOKKEN),and Robert Mason (WARRANT),SWEET & LYNCH with Michael Sweet (STRYPER),ULTRAPHONIX with Corey Glover (LIVING COLOUR),DIRTY SHIRLEY with Dino Jelusick (ANIMAL DRIVE, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA),and THE BANISHMENT with Joe Haze.