Noizegate magazine conducted an interview with vocalist/guitarist Michael Sweet of Christian hard rockers STRYPER before the band's July 6 performance at Gullbrannafestivalen in Sweden. You can watch the chat below.

In a recent interview with Guitar World, Michael Sweet stated about STRYPER's plans for the immediate future, "Right now, we're finishing up a re-record album of our classic hits. Then we're going to begin work on a brand-new, all-original STRYPER studio album, most likely coming out next summer. We're really excited about that. . . We're going into this new record with the mentality and thinking of making it like a 'To Hell With The Devil 2'. That's not to say it will actually sound like that album, but we really want it to be as great as 'To Hell With The Devil', which was our biggest album. We want people to put on this record and go; 'Whoa! Wow! This is as good as or better than 'To Hell With The Devil'!' We want the new album to be a powerhouse and we're going to do whatever it takes to make that happen."

STRYPER's covers album, "The Covering", sold around 4,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 175 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous CD, 2009's "Murder By Pride", opened with 5,900 units to land at No. 73.

Produced by Michael Sweet, "The Covering" was unlike any previous STRYPER recording in that it was a collection of cover songs from bands that inspired them and helped to shape their sound and musical identity, including hits from JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN, LED ZEPPELIN, KANSAS and many others. "The Covering" also includes "God", a new original recording from STRYPER.



Photo credit: Glen LaFerman