STRYPER's OZ FOX On His Latest Brain Surgery: 'I Don't Expect' Any Problems

During an appearance on yesterday's (Wednesday, May 15) installment of Waste Some Time With Jason Green, STRYPER guitarist Oz Fox discussed his latest brain surgery, which will force him to sit out the band's upcoming "To Hell With The Amps" acoustic tour. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We go in at five in the morning [on Thursday, May 16] and they start working on me at seven. And it'll be about a six-hour thing… And we'll see how it all ends up on the other side of it, when they wake me up… They're gonna wake me up in the middle and have me play guitar to guide them as they cut… I'll be playing a song and they're gonna make sure that I don't go off of the song. Like I can play a STRYPER song or I can play a BEATLES song or whatever, something that everyone knows. The last time I played something by STRYPER called 'Calling On You', and this time, I thought, 'Well, let's do a little entertaining,' and I thought maybe I'd try some BEATLES songs, like 'Hey Jude'."

Fox confirmed that his latest surgery will be less invasive than the last one. "Yeah, because this is not as big of a piece of mass that they're taking out," he explained. "So they don't feel that there's gonna be as long of a recovery time, and hopefully I'll be able to go home sooner. The hotel [in Los Angeles] is very expensive, and it's the closest to the [UCLA] hospital, and all of the hotels in this area, which is Westwood, Wilshire, they're all expensive. But if anything, this is the one right next door to the hospital, and in case anything happens or it goes wrong, they can get me in right away from the hotel and try to take care of whatever problem comes up, if there is one. Last time there was no problems. I don't expect there's gonna be any this time, 'cause our team's really great."

When STRYPER first announced Fox's absence from the upcoming acoustic tour on Tuesday (May 14),the band wrote on social media: "We want to share an important update regarding our guitarist, Oz Fox.

"Many of you might remember the challenges Oz faced back in 2018 when doctors found two tumors in his brain. After a couple of successful surgeries, we were all hoping that was behind him. Unfortunately, a recent routine scan brought some disappointing news - there is a concern in the same area where he had the operation before, and Oz's medical team thinks another surgery is needed as part of his treatment.

"As we all know, every operation comes with risks, but the doctors say this one should be less invasive than the first, so we are staying positive.

"In light of this news, we have had to make some tough decisions as we gear up for our first acoustic tour – 'To Hell With The Amps'. It is with a heavy heart that we share that Oz will not be able to join us on this run. We know this isn't ideal, as news came well after we booked the tour, but with Oz's blessing, we've invited Will Doughty to join us — he will be playing keyboards and adding harmonies to the mix. Will is a respected Nashville musician and songwriter, best known for his work as the touring keyboardist for POISON since 2007. While we wish things were different, we're genuinely excited to have Will with us for these acoustic shows.

"We are praying that Oz will make a swift and complete recovery, and he is aiming to be back on the road with us by July. In the meantime, please join us in praying for him. We're all counting down the days until we're back on the road together.

"If you'd like to support Oz during this time, you can do so by purchasing an Oz Fox T-shirt made exclusively for this fundraising campaign."

Oz added in a separate statement: "Hello, folks! I appreciate everyone's prayers and support during this time. As a believer when times like this come up we trust that God will get us through our challenges. So many biblical passages show examples of this and God always prevails. But in some cases the outcome is not what we want it to be. This is where faith comes in. So whatever the outcome we will still trust God. His ways are not our ways. And he always has a plan. Sometimes we don't know that plan till a future time.

"Back in March of 2021, I was told that we would have frequent scans of the area where doctors extracted a 4 cm. astrocytoma. These types of tumors tend to return. I was given a trial medication that had success with most people. But in lieu of recent scans, my wife Annie and I feel it is best to have this suggested procedure with the exact same team of doctors to remove what seems to be regrowth. Thankfully this will seemingly be less risky and a quicker recovery time but not in time to be able to be on the acoustic tour.

"Amazingly our STRYPER boys were talented enough to quickly pull things together to create this awesome and unique lineup with Will on keys and vocals. I'm sure it will be a fantastic experience for all who attend the shows coming up. So while I am recovering, you can support me by being a part of that experience and seeing STRYPER take on the challenge of keeping the show going no matter what!

"I am so thankful to be a part of something God has been doing for 40 years plus with STRYPER and all of you have helped to make that happen. While I'm in recovery there will be updates from my wife so by all means keep watching her social media pages. I will be back on my feet and on my frets as soon as I can! Cheers!"

Fox's 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.

Last December, STRYPER frontman Michael Sweet underwent partial thyroidectomy, the surgery to remove part of his thyroid gland.

STRYPER recently completed work on the follow-up to 2022's "The Final Battle" album for a tentative September 2024 release.

Formed 41 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 albums include "To Hell With The Devil", "Second Coming", "No More Hell To Pay", "Fallen", "God Damn Evil", 2020's "Even The Devil Believes" and the aforementioned "The Final Battle".

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