During a recent appearance on Rock Talk With Emily, Michael Sweet expressed regret over one of Stryper’s albums, calling it a ‘sellout.’
“Well, I think sometimes there’s a misinterpretation of my love-hate for that album,” the singer said when discussing the 1990 album ‘Against the Law.’ “I don’t hate it and I don’t love it. I respect it for what it is. It’s a good album.”
He continued, “We had one of the best producers in the world, Tom Werman. One of the best engineers, Eddie DeLena. We recorded it at the Record Plant, some of the best studios in the world. It turned out great.”
“The thing I’m not proud of with that album is as I was just saying selling out, I feel like we sold out. Lyrically, we started trying to be another band, talking about going to parties, hanging out, ‘Two Time Woman,’ all this stuff. It didn’t feel right for me singing it,” Sweet revealed.
The vocalist added, “Some of those lyrics, they felt wrong. So, it was a sellout for me. Musically, I feel it was a bit of a sellout. It sounded a little bit more Van Halen at times than Stryper at times. Stryper has a very unique sound. We should be proud of that, not try to run from that.”
“And then, we lost the yellow and black which is such an important integral part of who we are. We kind of threw everything out the window and said let’s start over, which is weird. So that’s why I have regrets about and for that album,” Michael further shared about ‘Against the Law.’
‘Against the Law’ is Stryper’s fifth album, released on August 21, 1990. It had three singles: ‘Shining Star’ (a cover of Earth, Wind & Fire), ‘Two Time Woman,’ and ‘Lady,’ but they didn’t get much airplay.
The album marked a shift in the band’s style, moving away from their signature yellow and black outfits and Christian lyrics to leather outfits and songs about rock and relationships, still with a Christian perspective. However, the album sold poorly compared to their previous releases.
