“Second Coming”, a collection of re-recorded versions of classic songs from legendary hard-rockers Stryper, sold around 4,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 117 on The Billboard 200 chart. Produced by frontman Michael Sweet, the CD contains a total of 16 cuts — two from “The Yellow And Black Attack”, six from “Soldiers Under Command”, six from “To Hell With The Devil”, as well as two new tracks, “Bleeding From Inside Out” and “Blackened”.
Stryper‘s covers album, 2011’s “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 last collection of new material, 2009’s “Murder By Pride”, opened with 5,900 units to land at No. 73.
Commented Stryper frontman Michael Sweet: “Why did we re-record old songs? That’s a multiple-answer question.
“First, because we wanted to cut out the middle men and have a little more control over our own songs.
“Second, we wanted to ‘fix’ some things that have annoyed the ‘hell’ out of us for the past 30 years such as: no bass in the mix of ‘The Yellow And Black Attack’ or ‘Soldiers Under Command’, and no Tim [Gaines, bass] on the mix of ‘To Hell With The Devil’. The fact that I sound a little more like a man instead of a helium-induced kid at Disneyland. The sheer joy of still loving these songs and still being able to perform these songs (well, we’ll let the experts be the judge of that). And last but not certainly least? We did it just because we wanted to.
“So there you go, the mystery is over and the reasons have been revealed.
“Seriously, we’re really excited about this record. It’s one of the few re-records that I believe will stand against any of the originals if not surpass them.
“If you liked ‘The Covering’, you’ll love ‘Second Coming’!”
You can find our album review at this location.
Track listing:
* Soldiers Under Command
* Makes Me Wanna Sing
* Reach Out
* Loving You
* Loud ‘N’ Clear
* The Rock That Makes Me Roll
* Calling On You
* First Love
* Surrender
* To Hell With The Devil
* Free
* Sing Along Song
* More Than A Man
* The Way
* Bleeding From Inside Out [new]
* Blackened [new]
Stryper 2013 Tour Dates
07/12/13 Hampton Beach, NH Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom w/ Mike Tramp of White Lion
07/13/13 New York, NY B.B. Kings w/ Mike Tramp of White Lion
07/14/13 Poughkeepsie, NY Chance Theater
08/09/13 Bolingbrook, IL Tailgaters
08/10/13 West Allis, WI Wisconsin State Fair w/ Vince Neil
Michael Sweet and Oz Fox [special acoustic set]
08/14/13 Hollywood, CA Whiskey A Go Go w/ Mike Tramp of White Lion
08/15/13 San Juan Capistrano, CA Coach House w/ Mike Tramp of White Lion
08/16/13 Las Vegas, NV Club Madrid @ Sunset Station w/ Mike Tramp of White Lionmore dates tba.
Band members:
Michael Sweet- Lead Vocals / Guitar
Robert Sweet- Drums
Oz Fox- Guitar / Vocals
Timothy Gaines- Bass/Vocals
Weblinks: Website / Facebook / Twitter
Video below: Second Coming EPK
Video below: Bleeding From Inside Out [New Song]
Related articles:
‘Michael Sweet’ Talks About Upcoming Solo Album, Autobiography [Sept. 2012]
‘Robert Sweet’ Interviewed By His Mother ‘Janice Sweet’, Video [Oct. 2012]
‘Michael Sweet’ Releases Solo Track As Tribute To Those Affected By Hurricane Sandy [Nov. 2012]
‘Michael Sweet’ Joins Ex ‘Dokken’ Members On Tour In 2013‘ [Dec. 2012]
Video Interview With ‘Stryper’s’ ‘Michael Sweet’ & ‘Tim Gaines’ At ‘NAMM’ 2013 [Jan. 2013]
‘Stryper’ To Begin Recording All-New Album Of Original Material In April [Jan. 2013]
‘Stryper’ More Fan-Filmed Video From Anaheim Show, Pre-Order ‘Second Coming’ Now, New Tour Dates [Feb. 2013]
‘Michael Sweet’ Says “I’m Almost 50 Yet I Feel Like I’ve Lived The Life Of A Man Who Is Almost 90″ [Feb. 2013]
‘Dave Mustaine’ Says ‘Michael Sweet’ And I ‘Believe In The Same Jesus’ [Feb. 2013]
‘Stryper’s’ ‘Michael Sweet’ Says Next Studio Album Will Be ‘Really, Really Great’ [March 2013]
New Interview With ‘Stryper’s’ ‘Michael Sweet’, New ‘Stryper’ Dates [March 2013]
Stryper – Second Coming [Album review]