Stryper's New Album 'God Damn Evil' will be released 4/20/18

Awesome setlist from the first night of the GDE Tour! I'm glad they finally dropped the cover songs.

Yahweh
The Valley
Calling on You
Free
More Than a Man
All for One
Lady
Revelation / In God We Trust
Sorry
Surrender
Soldier's Under Command
God Damn Evil
Big Screen Lies
Can't Live Without Your Love
Always There for You
Loud 'n' Clear
Honestly
The Way
To Hell with the Devil

3 ballads is too much.

I actually spoke to a customer at work named Michael Sweet over the weekend at work. I mentioned to him that he has the same name as the lead singer for Stryper, which was interesting, because I referenced Stryper at work earlier in the day.

Got my copy of God Damn Evil in the mail yesterday - broke it in on the ride to work this AM.

My quickie first spin impression: if ya liked the last couple of Stryper albums (I did) then you should like this one too.

It'll take a few more listens for it to truly "gel" of course, but at the moment I actually think that mongoloid chorus on "Take It To The Cross" is kinda growing on me. (though I will always sing it as "Chicken in the Crust!")

Oz Fox is having medical issues:

Quote :

Our dear friend and lead-guitarist Oz Fox fell ill Saturday night while performing in Las Vegas with a side project that he sometimes plays in when not touring with Stryper. Oz suffered a seizure causing a fall on stage. After performing an MRI, doctors discovered an area of concern near his brain which they are now running a biopsy on. The doctors have instructed him not to drive or fly for 90 days. No additional information is available at this time. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers and we will communicate additional information as it becomes available.

The logistics and options for current tour dates are being discussed with the respective promoters. U.S. tour dates will play as scheduled and in anticipation of a full recovery will include Oz Fox. The upcoming Australian tour will be performed as a trio (with the blessing of Oz), and will include Michael Sweet, Robert Sweet, and Perry Richardson. For our fans in Japan, please await an announcement from the concert promoter there as to the plans for the Japan tour.

New information will first be communicated via Stryper.com and Stryper's official Facebook page.

I hope he fully recovers.

Poor guy. God bless him.

I hope he recovers fast.

Update...

Quote :

“While performing on stage in Las Vegas, on August 12th, 2018 at approximately 12:30 am Oz Fox had a seizure on stage.  He was taken to the hospital to stabilize his vitals and was given a CAT scan & MRI.  Results showed that he had 2 masses in his head, one by his ear and the other in the back of his brain. The next day he was given a spinal tap. Results stated he had no infections in his spine, so now Oz will go under testing for brain surgery biopsies.

The only problem is–he doesn’t have health insurance.  We are in the process of getting him coverage, but in the meantime, his hospital bills are piling up at an enormous rate! We don’t know how much the brain biopsies will cost, nor what will happen when we get the results back–whether he will need more surgery to remove any tumors or treatment plans for healing.

https://www.gofundme.com/help-oz-fox-pay-his-medical-bills?member=597226

I find it weird that such music stars don't even have insurance coverage in the first place. Too bad.

Man that sucks! Hard to believe he doesn't have health insurance.Hope he gets better.

Doctors who have been treating STRYPER guitarist Oz Fox since his onstage collapse last weekend have found two masses in his head — one by his ear and the other in the back of his brain.

Oz's wife, Annie Lobért, wrote in a Facebook post that doctors told Fox the tumor behind the ear isn't as worrisome as the tumor on his brain. They told him, she said, that they could operate and do a biopsy or wait to see if the growth on his brain grows.

Oh, man. Thoughts and prayers for you Oz.

Leatherface wrote:

Doctors who have been treating STRYPER guitarist Oz Fox since his onstage collapse last weekend have found two masses in his head — one by his ear and the other in the back of his brain.

Oz's wife, Annie Lobért, wrote in a Facebook post that doctors told Fox the tumor behind the ear isn't as worrisome as the tumor on his brain. They told him, she said, that they could operate and do a biopsy or wait to see if the growth on his brain grows.

Awful to hear about this. Wishing him a full and speedy recovery.

I saw where Chris Jericho donated $5000 to Oz's GoFundMe page. Very cool of Chris to do that.

mikeinfla wrote:

I saw where Chris Jericho donated $5000 to Oz's GoFundMe page. Very cool of Chris to do that.

Very nice! That's $3000 more than Michael Sweet gave.

Oz Fox will be returning to the band in October, although on a limited basis due to travel restrictions.  A fill-in guy will be taking his place for the month of September.

(Source: Stryper FB)

Quote :

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.

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.”

So i gave this album a fresh listen today. To be honest, it didn't do much for me. Felt somewhat cold about it.

Glad to hear Oz is up to it and Howie is great too.

Michael Sweet needs to really take some time off, do some writing, rewriting, and really hone some new songs for a new Stryper or solo record in 2020 or 21. GDE just sounds tired. It’s the same riffs and song structures over and over now. He’s stretched too thin from a songwriting standpoint.

FoJ wrote:

Michael Sweet needs to really take some time off, do some writing, rewriting, and really hone some new songs for a new Stryper or solo record in 2020 or 21. GDE just sounds tired. It’s the same riffs and song structures over and over now. He’s stretched too thin from a songwriting standpoint.

True. He definitely needs a break.

FoJ wrote:

Michael Sweet needs to really take some time off, do some writing, rewriting, and really hone some new songs for a new Stryper or solo record in 2020 or 21. GDE just sounds tired. It’s the same riffs and song structures over and over now. He’s stretched too thin from a songwriting standpoint.

I like Stryper's new records, but I notice after they've been out a couple months, I stop listening to them entirely.