The Album STRYPER Regrets: Against the Law

In music, getting a makeover can sometimes be risky. Metallica has St. Anger. Celtic Frost has Cold Lake. Megadeth has, well, Risk. Stryper has Against the Law, their 1990 album of reinvention and rebranding.

What Stryper fans knew was this: in the 1980s, Stryper established themselves with the sound of heavy metal anthems and a lyrical focus on their singular mission to go out into the world with the message of Jesus as the Savior of all the human race—a belief challenging the music industry, certainly in rock music. They were leaders as an openly Christian band in heavy metal, a genre with a reputation for the most degenerate, obscene, and self-destructive glorification of rape and murder, alcoholism and drug addiction, suicide and scandal, atheism and Satanism, pedophilia and fornication, violence and war, sexism, and the exploitation of women. In short, the Stryper guys were working in the lion's den of music that, according to the government and the church, represented and celebrated society's evils and ills.

This is how Stryper built their brand, as a band hated and actively opposed by various sides. If not all fans knew this, there certainly was an important section of the fanbase aware that it takes strength and toughness to be Stryper. Talk about going against the grain; talk about swimming against the stream.

What exactly did Stryper do with Against the Law, an album they began recording in 1989 and released on August 21, 1990?

First of all, this 1990 Stryper album is not a band chasing the miserable Seattle grunge trend. It is not the sound of a metal band dumbing down their music to follow the low-IQ, low-skill, flannel-wearing, hipster alternative punk rock that is grunge. The facts of the matter are clear: Nirvana’s Nevermind was released on September 24, 1991—a full year after Stryper's Against the Law. It is an indisputable fact: the rise of low-skill, false-intelligent, whiny, and offended-by-everything grunge rock as a national fashion happened after the Nirvana album. The music video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was the event that catapulted regional Pacific Northwest flannel-and-drugs-and-suicide hipster bands into the national spotlight as sensations.

By the late 1980s, which is the era of Against the Law, there already was a different feeling among American bands, and certainly among the L.A. metal bands. The glam look and sound were already dead. The sheer stupidity of bands like Poison—men dressing up as women and all that stuff—was being rejected. By 1987, Mötley Crüe and Guns N' Roses had already pivoted to a less poppy, less bubblegum rock sound, and a British band like The Cult had demonstrated a hard-blues rocking sound. Poison and similar acts were such obviously garbage-gimmick bands that other L.A. bands looked at themselves in the mirror and must have been embarrassed by how mind-numbingly imbecilic the L.A. MTV bands were.

By the late 1980s, Stryper was feeling restless. Constant critique from the church and the heavy metal world had left them tired. The band was also not living the Christian life as much as they felt they should for a Christian band. They were a touring heavy metal band: metal bands make their living on the stage. During the peak of their popularity, Michael Sweet was on the road a lot, but he had become a father in 1986. Obviously, it is very bad for a marriage if a father is not home for his wife and child. Stryper was feeling exhausted; even if not all members felt it, Michael certainly did.

In a February 6, 2026, Facebook post, vocalist and guitarist Michael Sweet took some time to explain—as I'm sure he has on multiple occasions before—his thoughts on Against the Law. In short, he is not proud of the album and has conflicting feelings about it, including regrets.

So, what is different about Against the Law?

OF COURSE, NUMBER ONE IS THAT STRYPER ABANDONED JESUS CHRIST IN THEIR MUSIC. The lyrics no longer carry the Stryper message: faith in one God—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—who created the universe and brings salvation through Jesus Christ. That Jesus, born of a virgin, is the incarnation of God—the God of the universe in the flesh—and His death was a sacrificial death on the cross for the forgiveness of sins, rising again on the third day. The message of Stryper had always been the message of Jesus.

Against the Law is an album with positive messages—values similar to those of Christ—but it removes Jesus from the equation: it is His message without Him. It is basically like Western, secular, atheist, democratic values: treat people with kindness and respect; do not murder, cheat, or steal. Western democracy tries to put those values into practice, but they think they can just take Jesus out.

Another difference: Stryper’s music is a mix of European and American heavy metal; it features serious guitar work, big riffs, shredding, huge melodies, arena-rock energy, and catchy singing with layers of vocals. Against the Law is, in some ways, a heavier, dirtier, bluesier sound—a sound closer to Mötley Crüe's Girls, Girls, Girls, Guns N' Roses' Appetite for Destruction, and The Cult's Electric. Those three 1987 albums left behind the Poison/Bon Jovi glam aesthetic. While Stryper in 1990 doesn't sound exactly like them, there is a shift toward an All-American hard rock sound with less melody, a party feel, more bounce, and a lot less British influence. AND NO JESUS. The band even abandoned their unique logo for a generic, no-personality font.

Michael Sweet explains, "Personally, I wish we had never recorded the album. At least the way it is now. We should have stayed true to our classic sound. We had a bery distinct sound. We established a sound. We went platinum with that sound. Sold out arenas and sold millions of albums worldwide. We threw all that out the window and tried so desperately to be something that we’re not - a typical hard rock band who tried so hard to “reinvent” the wheel. We dodn’t need to do that. The wheel was rolling and doing great. There was no need to change everything."

Stryper worked twice as hard for their success only to be constantly criticized, including by famous televangelists who would tear into Stryper in their sermons or TV shows.

Stryper's crime, according to the church? CHRISTIANS playing heavy metal!

Stryper's crime, according to the music industry? Playing CHRISTIAN heavy metal!

Michael feels that it was like throwing in the towel—thinking that maybe if Stryper changed their image and music, they could have success with less stress and fewer hassles, and just be musicians: "Also, we became hypocrites in our lives. We went back to our old ways and became who we were before we re-dedicated our lives to Christ. Our marriages suffered, our lives suffered, our faith suffered, our finances suffered, you name it. Because we wanted to play rockstar and try to fit in. We’ll never fit in. As believers, we are called to be something else. An example to others. Not hypocrites. We were 100%."

Usually, when metal bands make that horrendous mistake of an album, it is because they are chasing some trend, trying to be cool in an environment in which they have begun to feel awkward for making the music they have been making. They feel like dinosaurs that need to adapt. The music on the album is actually good, even if it is different: "Yes it’s a great album. I won’t argue with you there. It has some great moments (and one of my favorite Stryper songs of all time, 'All For One')," Michael concedes.

However, they watered down and diluted Stryper with hopes of getting the approval of the world, but Michael has observed that, "I personally think the reason for that is the majority of the fanbase knew that something wasn’t right. Yes there are some great songs and yes, it is a great sounding album. And there are some great moments without question, but it really did not represent who we were and what we were all about, prior to that."

Michael also says: "As weird as this may sound, I really believe that God lifted his hand off of us. He took his blessing from us. We were making a mockery of him and I think he was just sitting back saying 'go for it'. Do your own thing and see how that goes. Well, it didn’t go too well ... Hopefully this time, you will understand why it will never be an album that I am personally proud of, especially based on the circumstances that followed."

Michael then left Stryper, and the band carried on as a trio—including touring with Oz Fox on vocals—for maybe a year. Then, some ten years later, they returned and have experienced an incredible resurgence.

Looking back on it and thinking about what it means, Michael sees it as a teaching moment:

"You live and learn, and you move on and you grow from it. I tried to do that."

Stryper - All For One

STRYPER - All For One (Live @ Loud and Proud Festival 2025)