Gospel Rockers Stryper Announce 25th Anniversary Tour - the Yellow and Black Attack is Back!

Twenty-five years ago, Christian rock band Stryper, turned the gospel music industry upside down when they stormed the stage in 1984 wearing yellow and black spandex outfits, makeup and playing heavy rock music. Stryper's Yellow and Black Attack was NOT your grandmother's gospel music! However, Stryper's music definitely appealed to the younger generation, and their 1986 album To Hell with the Devil went platinum and was named one of the "100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music" by CCM Magazine.

Now legendary rockers and gospel music veterans, Stryper has announced plans for a 25th Anniversary Tour, which will visit 50 cities in North America this fall before starting the international leg of the tour in January 2010.

The Stryper 25th Anniversary Tour, which is scheduled to launch in September 2009, will feature two-sets. The first set will showcase new Stryper material and include current bassist Tracy Ferrie, along with original members Michael Sweet, Michael's brother Robert Sweet and Oz Fox. The second set will feature all four of the original members of Stryper, including original bassist Tim Gaines, and Stryper will once again be donning their signature yellow and black stage outfits and performing the band's hits from the past 25 years.

After losing his wife earlier this year to cancer, Michael Sweet has learned how precious life is and how often we take our time here on earth for granted. "I realized that this tour may very well be the most important tour in the history of Stryper," says Sweet. "Tim, Robert, Tracy, Oz and myself are all stepping out together to show the importance of unity and forgiveness and the only way to show this is to live it. We've been faced with challenges over the past 25 years but two things have remained certain within our hearts and within our lives - the power of God's love and the beauty of God's grace."

The 25th Anniversary Tour will be a family project, as Sweet's son, Michael Sweet Jr. and his band Flight Patterns are opening all the dates for Stryper. Flight Patterns' debut album will release in July. Stryper's own upcoming studio album Murder by Pride will also be released in July.

Michael Sweet has had a solo career and most recently joined legendary band Boston on vocals and guitar for their 54-city summer headlining tour of North America. Sweet says of Stryper's new record and 25th Anniversary Tour, "We decided to go back to what we were known for - vocal harmonies, guitar harmonies, solid grooves and melodic melodies and arrangements. We put our hearts and souls into making this record and we can only hope that it changes a few lives along the way. If so, it was all worth it!"

Read more about Michael Sweet and the Stryper/Boston connection at Stryper 25th Anniversary Tour.

Sources

Stryper 25th Anniversary Tour

Stryper's Michael Sweet to Release Solo Effort

Music 101: What is gospel music?