It’s my 40th birthday, and I can’t think of a better gift than this: after four decades of melting faces and lifting hands, the legendary yellow and black attack are going red and green. Yes, Stryper, the pioneering faith-forward metal band that taught a generation of believers how to headbang for heaven, have finally released Read More
It’s my 40th birthday, and I can’t think of a better gift than this: after four decades of melting faces and lifting hands, the legendary yellow and black attack are going red and green. Yes, Stryper, the pioneering faith-forward metal band that taught a generation of believers how to headbang for heaven, have finally released a full-length Christmas album.
Michael Sweet actually let me in on this secret earlier this year, and I had one of those “how has this not happened before?” moments. One of the most important names in Christian rock history, Stryper has done it all! They’ve had chart hits, infiltrated MTV, had world tours, gold records, a battle van and a helicopter—but never a Christmas record? That realization probably hit like a headshot from a New Testament Bible being hurled into the audience by Oz Fox at The Whisky.
The new record, The Greatest Gift of All, is a heavy yet heartfelt holiday classic. It’s equal parts equal parts snow and smoke machine. The Lead single “On This Holy Night” released on Halloween (because of course it did). The song thunders through the darkness of a world that’s tried to remove “Jesus” from Christmas, but Stryper’s message cuts through loud and clear.
“We wanted to release a song that is dark and heavy yet describes how the world has taken ‘Jesus’ out of Christmas,” the band shared. Stryper frontman Michael Sweet couldn’t be more excited to finally make this long-held dream a reality.
“Stryper fans worldwide have wanted a Christmas record for 40+ years. Now we can say that we have finally made this a reality,” he says. “Let’s acknowledge that Jesus will always be the Reason for the Season!”
The album mixes brand-new originals with Stryper-fied takes on holiday classics, all powered by Michael Sweet, Robert Sweet, Oz Fox, and Perry Richardson.
If that wasn’t tugging your nostalgic heart enough, The Greatest Gift of All will be a physical-media only release, giving fans that collectible experience just in time for the season.
And here’s a fun throwback—this isn’t Stryper’s first brush with Christmas cheer. Way back in December 1986, they celebrated the holidays with us at CCM Magazine, rocking Santa gear on the cover and proving that even metalheads love a good sleigh bell.
Nearly 40 years later, they’re finally giving us the Christmas album we’ve all been waiting for. And for me, celebrating 40 years of life alongside 40 years of the band that defined Christian rock? That’s the greatest gift of all.
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