Sweet to the 10th Power

MICHAEL SWEET IS best known as the frontman for Stryper, the band that invented the concept of Christian metal at a time when, ironically, rock ’n’ roll was at its most hedonistic, the early Eighties. Cynics dismissed the band’s approach as a publicity-seeking gimmick, although Sweet is quick to counter that one: “Why would we choose Christian rock to try to be successful? Surely that would be a terrible stunt when you saw the success of the bands who were clearly not embracing Christianity.”

Stryper enjoyed a run of successful albums until splitting in 1992. Sweet then embarked on a similarly successful solo career and reunited with Stryper in 2003, continuing to record and tour under both banners. His brand-new release, , is, in fact, his 10th solo album. While previous Sweet solo albums have been quite diverse, is a pure metal album with searing shredding scorched across every track by an all-star cast of guitar wizards. Although there are a couple of cuts with a Christian slant, overall the album is a straight-ahead celebration of the power of unabashed rock ’n’ roll that recalls the heyday of metal, when an astounding guitar solo was on every track.