Stryper at the Rust Belt -- May 20
Saturday, May 20, 8 p.m.
The Rust Belt, 533 12th Avenue, East Moline IL
The rare touring outfit that can boast raves from both Metal Planet Music (which deems the ensemble "a phenomenal heavy rock band and worthy of your full attention") and Jesus Freak Hideout (which states that "they continue to rock hard and move at a breakneck pace"), Stryper headlines a May 20 concert at East Moline venue The Rust Belt, the Grammy-nominated and Dove Award Winning group famed for such Billboard-charting hits as “Calling on You,” “Honestly,” and “Always There for You.”
Presently composed of Michael Sweet (lead vocals, guitar), Oz Fox (guitar), Perry Richardson (bass guitar), and Robert Sweet (drums). Stryper originated in Orange County, California, in 1983, as Roxx Regime, though the band soon changed their moniker to reflect their Christian beliefs. The name "Stryper" derives from the King James Version of the Bible: "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." The reference is frequently included as part of their logo, and Sweet also created a backronym for their name: "salvation through redemption, yielding peace, encouragement, and righteousness."
In 1983, they signed with major label Enigma Records and released their debut album The Yellow & Black Attack, and over the next several years, Stryper enjoyed their most successful period beginning with the release of To Hell with the Devil, which achieved platinum sales status. Stryper went on to release two more gold albums (including 1988's Donve Award-winning In God We Trust) before disbanding in 1993, yet a decade later, the group came out of retirement for a reunion tour and subsequently signed a multi-album contract with Big3 Records in 2005. Eight years after that, Stryper signed a multi-album deal with Frontiers Records and have since released Second Coming, which includes 14 re-recorded songs from their first three albums; 2013's No More Hell to Pay; 2015's Fallen; 2018's God Damn Evil; 2020's Even the Devil Believes; and last fall's The Final Battle.
To date, Stryper’s career album sales exceed 10 million worldwide, including 1986’s multi-platinum-selling To Hell with the Devil, which also received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Gospel Performance by a Duo or Group, Choir, or Chorus. In addition, the band also made history in 1987 when it notched three songs in Dial-MTV’s Top 10 with videos “Calling On You," “Free," and “Honestly," becoming the first band ever to do so. With Stryper currently touring 40 years after its initial inception, co-founder and chief songwriter Sweet stated, "We’re incredibly happy to continue to get to write a new chapter in the book of Stryper, We love making records and touring and consider ourselves incredibly blessed to get to do what we do."
Stryper headlines their East Moline engagement on May 20, admission to the 8 p.m. concert event starts at $19.75, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRustBelt.com.
