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Stryper Backlash Escalates Over "Satanic" Covers

When Stryper announced that they will be doing a covers album of their favorite 70s and 80s metal songs, there was initially little resistance from their fans. Then what seemed to be a vocal minority made themselves heard, but as more negative reactions surfaced, the band was forced to make a statement about it:

"We wanted to step outside the box and record a record that shows you, the fans, where we come from - our historical, musical roots so to speak. It's a side to Stryper that no one has really seen or heard before, or at least quite like this. We performed 'On Fire' by Van Halen on a few tours and we also performed 'Breaking The Law' by Priest on this last tour. The response was far beyond our expectations each time we performed these songs. People seemed genuinely surprised to hear Stryper cover these songs and even more surprised to hear Stryper perform these songs relatively well. This will be an opportunity for Robert, Oz, Tim and myself to loosen up and have some fun.

"For those of you who may think that we're walking away from our faith - your wrong. We've never been more serious about our faith at any point in our lives. It is however important to enjoy what you do and lighten up from time to time. That's what we plan to do. This will be a fun record to make and we hope that this comes through, as well as the chance to showcase the abilities that we've been blessed with. More details to come and a specific song list and sequence to follow."

Sufficient enough to quell the concerns of many fans, to the more fanatical of them the statement was seen as an open challenge or rebellion in the face of their beliefs; beliefs that they believed Stryper shared in strength and conviction. The negative reaction has been rising like the tide, and as it's reached its peak it has shaken the band to its core, according to friends of the band.

On the brink of breaking up, and more than one member questioning their beliefs and faith in humanity, the band has not been seen in public for weeks. Stryper's Michael Sweet commented on the situation: "It's really gotten out of hand. We haven't even announced the songs we're planning to cover yet! Apparently you really can't be Christian and metal at the same time. It's spun out of control, with people telling us that we're going to hell for singing 'the devil's music' and songs of a gay man [Rob Halford of Judas Priest]. I don't question my faith in God, but this whole experience has made me question humanity and the volatility of our society. God help us if we covered [Iron Maiden's] 'The Number of the Beast'."

It's also just been discovered that last week Stryper was to play a secret show in Northern California, but cancelled due to religious picketers blocking their entrance to the small club. "We hate to leave our fans hanging like that, but these people have lost touch with reality and are, quite frankly, crazy," commented Sweet of the situation. "This is how the rest of the world views Christianity and I have gotten to experience why firsthand," he concluded.

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