STRYPER: Michael Sweet said he is 95% suspicious of having cancer.

[Samsara]

So I picked it up at lunch. I haven't heard any of the songs except for Take it to the Cross (once). I only got through "Sorry" - that track is GREAT. Going to listen to the rest in a few minutes. But if its anything like the quality of "Sorry," my goodness this will be a good one.

[bosk1]

I'm about halfway through this album, and I am noticing a pattern:  Most of the songs, at least on the first half of the album, feature heavy, aggressive verses and bridges, and switch to more soaring, melodic choruses.  (Sorry, God Damn Evil, The Valley)  Two things to say about that:  (1) This is really what Styper does well, and IMO, they are often at or near their best when they follow this pattern.  (2) I'm a sucker for this general format.  So, suffice to say that this album is shaping up to be a winner so far, at least after one (partial) listen. 

Take It To the Cross remains the one track I don't like thus far.  Maybe I'll eventually warm up to it.  But even if I don't, there is plenty to like elsewhere on the album.

[jjrock88]

The local music store had one copy in stock!

Once through and I'm impressed with it.  First impression is that I like it better than Fallen, but not as good as No More Hell to Pay.

But I'll see what I think after another listen.

[gzarruk]

Haven’t listened to the whole album yet, but i’m reslly enjoying it so far

[wolfking]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duEBraRtteo

Now this is a cool song.

[jjrock88]

That's one of the standouts for me on the album. I think Michael sounds the coolest on this one

[MinistroRaven]

The Valley has become my favorite STRYPER tune from their entire discography.

[ProfessorPeart]

I know there are plenty of Stryper fans here. Oz Fox suffered a seizure on stage and now is in need of a brain biopsy.

https://bravewords.com/news/stryper-guitarist-oz-fox-in-need-of-brain-biopsy

[bosk1]

   Oh, wow.  I had no idea.  Hope he is okay.

[MinistroRaven]

Yup, I read the news from Annie Lobert (Oz’s wife) praying for him

[gzarruk]

Annie and the band have launched a crowdfunding campaing to help with Oz’s urgent medical bills: https://www.gofundme.com/help-oz-fox-pay-his-medical-bills

[wolfking]

I know there are plenty of Stryper fans here. Oz Fox suffered a seizure on stage and now is in need of a brain biopsy.

https://bravewords.com/news/stryper-guitarist-oz-fox-in-need-of-brain-biopsy

Oh well, that's awful.  Thoughts are with him and his family.

[Samsara]

Annie and the band have launched a crowdfunding campaing to help with Oz’s urgent medical bills: https://www.gofundme.com/help-oz-fox-pay-his-medical-bills

Sucks he doesn't have insurance. Wasn't that required by Obamacare? Did it roll back and I've been out of the loop or something?

[MinistroRaven]

Ex bassist Tim Gaines wrote:

Apparently my words of hate and discontent directed at MS & family, got misconstrued into a blow against my former good friend Oz. Actually, my words were in support of Oz. How could you tour without him? In 2015, MS was going to kick Oz out of the band... because in MS own words... " I just can't work with him." We all knew about it, but said nothing because that's just how it is in a "one man freak show" like Stryper.
 You walk the MS straight and narrow or you get the axe... It's very cultish.. and sick.

I haven't spoken to Oz since Feb of 2017.  I wish no ill feelings towards him. I love Oz and pray for him.  I wish a speedy recovery for whatever ails him. He was once a very good dear friend.  We shared many years of great moments together. He would crash on my living room floor for a few hours when his kids were babies, because he was so tired from being a new parent, and he needed a place of refuge. He'd come over with his guitar in hand.. "hey lets jam" and then next thing he'd be sawing logs... We lived about a mile from each other and set up CB radios in our homes so we could talk to each other.  We started Sin Dizzy together, and helped each other during our terrible downtimes. Oz is a good guy. He doesn't deserve any of this.. sickness or poverty. He should be a well known guitarist living in a mansion. Instead he ended up with Stryper and poverty.  He has a good wife who loves him. Pray for her too. Annie has tried to help Oz in healthy eating and exercise. she loves him very much.  I can only imagine how Brandee would be if I were going through this. It's very hard on the wives. Pray for the spouses that have to deal with this.

[gzarruk]

Ex bassist Tim Gaines wrote:

Apparently my words of hate and discontent directed at MS & family, got misconstrued into a blow against my former good friend Oz. Actually, my words were in support of Oz. How could you tour without him? In 2015, MS was going to kick Oz out of the band... because in MS own words... " I just can't work with him." We all knew about it, but said nothing because that's just how it is in a "one man freak show" like Stryper.
 You walk the MS straight and narrow or you get the axe... It's very cultish.. and sick.

I haven't spoken to Oz since Feb of 2017.  I wish no ill feelings towards him. I love Oz and pray for him.  I wish a speedy recovery for whatever ails him. He was once a very good dear friend.  We shared many years of great moments together. He would crash on my living room floor for a few hours when his kids were babies, because he was so tired from being a new parent, and he needed a place of refuge. He'd come over with his guitar in hand.. "hey lets jam" and then next thing he'd be sawing logs... We lived about a mile from each other and set up CB radios in our homes so we could talk to each other.  We started Sin Dizzy together, and helped each other during our terrible downtimes. Oz is a good guy. He doesn't deserve any of this.. sickness or poverty. He should be a well known guitarist living in a mansion. Instead he ended up with Stryper and poverty.  He has a good wife who loves him. Pray for her too. Annie has tried to help Oz in healthy eating and exercise. she loves him very much.  I can only imagine how Brandee would be if I were going through this. It's very hard on the wives. Pray for the spouses that have to deal with this.

Tim should just shut up. Using Oz’s current situation to stir more hatred towards Michael and the band is as low as he can get.

[MinistroRaven]

Agree, sad to see this happening between some of my favorite musicians

[bosk1]

I kind of agree.  But he is also adding context to his comments about Oz, so...   

[gzarruk]

I kind of agree.  But he is also adding context to his comments about Oz, so...   

I don’t believe he did it the right way. More than giving a good message supporting Oz, it seemed (to me) like he only took the best oportunity he had to speak ill of MS.

[Samsara]

Drama.

IMO, all Tim had to say was: "My love, prayers, and best wishes to Oz, Annie, and their family. Wish him a speedy recovery, and I'm here if he needs an ear."

That would have been classy, and a way to chime in. But instead, Tim makes a point sling mud, when this isn't the time for it. Sad.

[wolfking]

What the fuck is with that first paragraph.  Jeez!  Let it go Tim, there is more to be worried about at the moment, not Michael Sweet's Malmsteen/Mustaine like persona according to you.

[gzarruk]

Drama.

IMO, all Tim had to say was: "My love, prayers, and best wishes to Oz, Annie, and their family. Wish him a speedy recovery, and I'm here if he needs an ear."

That would have been classy, and a way to chime in. But instead, Tim makes a point sling mud, when this isn't the time for it. Sad.

This!

[MinistroRaven]

The other day Tim wished HB to Oz and in the same post he said something more that unless he deleted some posts I just don’t get it





And then his wife started to make more and more comments on the inner living of the band

[MinistroRaven]

UPDATE:

Oz update!

This just happened: Nuerosurgon came in & talked to Oz about his medical history. Nothing shocking to indicate his current situation.

The tumor by the ear is not as much concern as the one by the back of the right brain. They are both inoperable. In other words, she recommends not removing them.

So Oz was given two choices:

1. Operate/do biopsy on the tumor in the back. There will be risk involved, but at least we will have answers to what this mass is. (About an inch)
2. Wait 6 more weeks and see if a new MRI shows growth, or that it stays the same.

Oz wants his quality of life back, and wants to find out what it is. So he has decided to go for option number 1.

Now here is where we need serious, strategic prayer. Please pray for this mass to NOT be cancerous, and that he will recover quickly!
Pray for the doctors hands to be steady & her mind to be sharp with wisdom & Percision skill.

We don’t want to be in fear...we believe that God has a plan for this even though this is a serious & life altering trial!

Please continue to lift us up in prayer! The doctors best guess for cost of surgery is more than we will be expecting—she couldn’t give us a figure.

We love you & thank you for all of your support!

From Oz’s wife FB page

[wolfking]

Terrible.  Doesn't sound good at all.

[Bertielee]

Terrible.  Doesn't sound good at all.

Unfortunately, it doesn't indeed. Hope Oz can make it through anyway.

B.Lee

[MinistroRaven]

STRYPER Guitarist Oz Fox to Resume Touring After Medical Scare
Guitarist Oz Fox intends to return to the road for most of the dates this fall, after suffering an on-stage medical emergency in August. Oz remains under doctor’s care, and additional testing and treatment will be necessary. However, he should be released to work this fall while his medical team decides the best course of action moving forward.

Tuesday, September 4, 2018 — After heavy touring for the first part of 2018, STRYPER will return to the road this fall for the second half of their God Damn Evil World Tour. And there is good news for STRYPER fans… guitarist Oz Fox intends to return to the road for most of the dates this fall.

This has been a challenging summer for Oz and his bandmates. On August 11th, Oz suffered a medical emergency while performing with a side project in Las Vegas. An on-stage seizure led to the discovery of some previously unknown “spots” on the brain. Oz has been released from the hospital, although additional testing and treatment will be necessary. However, he should be released to work this fall while his medical team decides the best course of action moving forward. You can view STRYPER's original statement here: https://prez.ly/IwM.

Oz was forced to sit out the Australia tour dates earlier this month, and he’ll miss the September dates as well due to air travel restrictions from his doctor. However he intends to rejoin STRYPER on the road in October. Oz handpicked Los Angeles-based guitarist Howie Simon to fill in for him on the September dates, allowing Oz additional time to rest and recover. Simon will be a familiar face to many STRYPER fans with performance credits that include Nelson, Jeff Scott Soto Band, Scrap Metal, Talisman, Eric Martin Band, Winger and more.

"Howie Simon and I have been friends for well over a decade now,” says Oz. "It is great to have him help us out and fill in for me while I am in recovery. I am looking forward to catching some fan videos of him online. He's an excellent performer and his guitar playing outranks so many in the business. In my opinion, it is very important for the band to fulfill dates that have been booked for so long. I am thankful for the continued support of the fans while my STRYPER family and I face this detour in my career, and I look forward to seeing many of you on the road in October and November."

"We appreciate all the support, thoughts and prayers from everyone at this time,” says frontman Michael Sweet. "We look forward to having our brother Oz back as quickly as possible. We're also very grateful to Howie for working so hard learning the material and parts to be able to sit in with us for the time being. We'll do our best to bring you the absolute best show possible until Oz returns.”

STRYPER continues to dominate the hard rock/heavy metal scene with the their critically-acclaimed tenth studio album, God Damn Evil - released in April via Frontiers Music srl. Rocking since 1984, STRYPER is responsible for such classic '80s metal albums as Soldiers Under Command, To Hell with the Devil and In God We Trust. In fact, STRYPER is the first band to ever have two songs in MTV’s Top 10 simultaneously with their hits “Free” and “Honestly.” After a sabbatical for much of the 1990's, STRYPER returned strong in the early 21st century. To date, the Dove Award-winning and GRAMMY-nominated band has sold over 10 million records worldwide.

God Damn Evil is available now wherever you can buy or stream music: https://radi.al/GodDamnEvil

Watch STRYPER's “The Valley” Music Video: https://youtu.be/duEBraRtteo
Watch STRYPER's “Sorry” Music Video: https://youtu.be/ByWWzDl_xrw
Watch STRYPER's “Renewed” mini documentary here: https://youtu.be/69Zxu_LtNRI

STRYPER GOD DAMN EVIL TOUR DATES:
September 7 — Rocktember Music Festival — Hinkley, MN
September 8 — The Arcada Theatre — St. Charles, IL
September 13 — House of Blues Orlando — Lake Buena Vista, FL
September 15 — “Rockin’ Vivo Fest” at Vivo Beach Club — Carolina, Puerto Rico
October 12 — The Vogue — Indianapolis, IN
October 13 — Delmar Hall — St Louis, MO
October 14 — Diamond Ballroom — Oklahoma City, OK
October 18 — Stampede — Aurora, CO
October 20 — LeatherHheads — Draper, UT
October 25 — The Marquee — Tempe, AZ
October 26 — The Rialto Theatre — Tucson, AZ
October 27 — The Club @ Cannery Casino Hotel — North Las Vegas, NV
October 31 — Whiskey A Go Go — West Hollywood, CA
November 2 — San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino — Highland, CA
November 3 — The Canyon Theater — Santa Clarita, CA
November 4 — Ace of Spades — Sacramento, CA
November 6 — El Corazon — Seattle, WA
November 11 — Virginia St Brewhouse — Reno, NV
November 14 — Pub Station Ballroom — Billings, MT
November 17 — Anthem @ Hard Rock Casino — Sioux City, IA
January 31 — Tupelo Music Hall — Derry, NH
February 1 — Wolf’s Den @ Mohegan Sun — Uncasville, CT
February 9 — Kawasaki CLUB CITTA — Tokyo, Japan — RESCHEDULED
February 10 — Kawasaki CLUB CITTA — Tokyo, Japan — RESCHEDULED
**More dates to be added!

For tour dates, tickets and more information, visit www.stryper.com

[Samsara]

Good news.

[jjrock88]

 

[wolfking]

Positive news.  Good to read.

[Samsara]

Saw the show this weekend. What a great gig. 20 songs, they were on at 8:50, and off at 10:35, so 1 hour, 45 minutes, total. It was really nice to see Oz Fox back with them. He looked healthy, and a little thinner, which is to be expected (and probably for the best). His daughter was next to me, and she was rocking out, and Oz pointed at her a few times, and they mentioned their family in the crowd. Perry Richardson sings great in replacing Tim Gaines. Stryper doesn't miss a beat. The band played great overall, and Michael Sweet had a good night vocally. He took a bit to get warm, but once he did, he hit some good stuff. After a bad Sunday for me, it was nice to hear some metal with a message of positivity to close out the weekend.

They played four songs from their latest album, God Damn Evil, seven from To Hell With the Devil, and a smattering of others, including two from Against the Law, which was a nice surprise (All for One, and Lady). The highlights for me personally were "The Valley," "Revelation," "Surrender," and a couple tunes from In God We Trust, which was my first Stryper record, and still my favorite. Unfortunately, the band just hates the slick production on it, and doesn't really perform much from it, so it was nice to get two songs (the title track and Always There for You). Maybe one day they'll do Writing on the Wall, which would make my year. 

I know they play Seattle tomorrow, and a few other dates before they wrap up in mid-November. But if they are coming near, its worth going to see. Really good show.

[Grappler]

I have always dismissed this band based on two things - the Christianity thing and Michael Sweet's voice.  There's just something about it (maybe his tone?) that sounded a little goofy to me over the years and it's hard to explain.  As for the religious thing, I have no problem with Satan in my metal, but I just never really wanted anything too preachy on the other end.

But earlier this week I looked at my 1,500 album+ collection and honestly could not think of one record that I truly wanted to listen to.  So it was time to look for something different.  I saw Samsara's review above and decided to give them a shot.  Between social media groups and election season, it feels like we're surrounded by constant negativity, so something with a positive message seemed like a nice change of pace.

So far, I've heard the first two records (Soldiers Under Command, To Hell with the Devil) and the last three (Fallen, No More Hell to Pay, God Damn Evil). 

The older records sound and come off as really dated and a touch too glammy (and that chorus to Makes Me Want to Sing that just goes "JEEEEEEEEEESUSSSSS" is so lame.  I love hair bands, but I've pretty much moved on from wanting to hear that style, aside from one or two bands that don't come off as dated. 

The last 3 albums are awesome, with heavier riffs, more modern production and great, catchy songs.  The heavier style really suits them and gives the music a nice crunch while showing off their musicianship.  So call me a new fan.  I still don't really need the overly preachy stuff, but I can look past it just as easily as I the very anti-religious/Satanic lyrics of other bands that I like.

[Samsara]

Grapp,

Glad you're on board. I just take it as a message of positivity. They are really dynamite with the vocal harmonies and the guitar playing is really incredible.

[bosk1]

Grapp, I agree with you on the sound of the latest albums.  And while the writing may not be quite as good as some of the true classics, the production and the slight edginess that Michael has gained in his voice more than make up for it to me.  And it's funny in a way.  It's not like his voice is very noticably grittier or edgier.  But it is enough to push the vocals over the line from cheesy to credible, at least for me.

[Grappler]

Yeah.  I'm starting to loosen up on the lyrics a bit as I listen to the band more.  The re-recorded album (Second Coming) is awesome because it takes those older songs and puts the heavier style and production on them, so it's much more beefed up and less glammy.

[Samsara]

Yeah.  I'm starting to loosen up on the lyrics a bit as I listen to the band more.  The re-recorded album (Second Coming) is awesome because it takes those older songs and puts the heavier style and production on them, so it's much more beefed up and less glammy.

I enjoy Second Coming quite a bit myself. As you dig deeper, you'll find out that they want to re-record In God We Trust, and some other things they want to do. They have a lot of projects on the plate.