Sweet & Lynch — the band featuring guitarist/vocalist Michael Sweet of legendary hard rockers Stryper, legendary guitarist George Lynch (T&N, Dokken, Lynch Mob), bassist James Lomenzo (Megadeth, White Lion, Black Label Society) and drummer Brian Tichy (S.U.N., Whitesnake) — will release its sophomore album this fall via Frontiers Music. The first single from the disc, ‘Promised Land’, can now be streamed below.
Says Sweet: “George and I couldn’t be more excited about this album! We’ve worked very hard to bring you the best of both worlds — a throwback of the chart-topping Stryper/Dokken days yet with a modern production that fits right in with anything out there now in the rock world today.
“We couldn’t be more proud than to be working with Brian Tichy and James LoMenzo again as they are the best rhythm section you’ll ever hear.
“If you liked Sweet & Lynch I, you’re going to love ‘Unified’.”
“Unified” track listing:
01. Promised Land
02. Walk
03. Afterlife
04. Make Your Mark
05. Tried & True
06. Unified
07. Find Your Way
08. Heart Of Fire
09. Bridge Of Broken Lies
10. Better Man
11. Live To Die
Michael previously said that Sweet & Lynch was formed when Frontiers president Serafino Perugino approached him “to sing and write for what [Serafino] was referring to as a ‘supergroup’ project — (one of the first) that Frontiers would be putting together and releasing. I was, of course, not only intrigued by the idea but also humbled that he would ask me! Jon Levin [Dokken] was suggested as the possible guitarist and I suggested to Serafino getting the man himself, Mr. Scary [George Lynch] involved. Serafino was, of course, excited about the idea. Frontiers has told me how happy they are with my production on the new Stryper albums, so I immediately suggested producing as well. Serafino also agreed. I contacted George [as soon as possible] and he quickly agreed to be a part of this exciting project. It was decided that he and I would co-write everything together and that I would produce.”
Sweet, who is a devout Christian, also talked about his working relationship with George, who considers himself to be a freethinker/atheist.
“You may ask how does an atheist and a Christian work together in a band situation? The answer is respect. Although I don’t agree with George‘s spiritual/religious views (and he doesn’t agree with mine, assumedly), we respect each other as musicians, friends and human beings.
“I’m free to do many things with the hope that maybe, just maybe, my life might have a profound effect on people I come in contact with.
“I’ve spoken with George many times over and he always strikes me as a genuine soul and someone who cares for and loves people. Bottom line? He’s a great guy and I’m proud to be a part of this with George.
“Although we don’t see eye to eye in our beliefs, we respect each other enough to not let that come between us.”
Lynch concurred, telling Antihero Magazine: “There could potentially be a conflict there between Michael and I, and we’ve talked about that. I’m sort of a freethinking atheist, and he’s a born-again Christian. I’ve been through that in my life; I was a born-again Christian at one point. I was the guy knocking on your door handing out tracks. I played in a Pentecostal charismatic band that did revivals… tent revivals in black neighborhoods in South Central L.A. — yeah, all kinds of stuff. I definitely have something to say about all that, but I don’t know how effective I am at it. I’m not Rage Against The Machine. I wish I was.”
Sweet & Lynch‘s debut album, “Only To Rise”, has been released in January 2015 via Frontiers Music.
Our review of “Only To Rise” can be found here.
Lynch told Guitar World about the sound of “Only To Rise”: “There are so many elements to it. Even though we’re both legacy players who have influences that go so far back, the album doesn’t sound dated. At the same time, we’ve also matured as writers, and that really comes out in our music. If you can construct really great songs, it doesn’t matter what era or what genre it’s from. In the end, a good song is a good song. One of the examples on this album is ‘Dying Rose’, which has a country-esque, Nashville element to it. I could hear a modern country outfit do it as well as a rock band. It’s a beautiful melody and chorus with a nice hook. There’s also some showing off and old-school metal kind of stuff on this album as well.”
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Video (audio) for ‘Promised Land’