Michael Sweet recently spoke with The Metal Voice about Stryper’s latest album, ‘When We Were Kings.’ He addressed comments about his singing voice while discussing the album’s production:
“So far, everyone seems to like what they’re hearing. There’s still the haters out there that don’t like my voice and never will. Like, you know, you friend, Jimmy. What’s his name?”
The singer explained:
“I understand. I have a very interesting voice. It’s very unique. Love it or hate it, and that’s fine. If you don’t like it, I get it. If I was not Stryper, I might hate my voice, too. It’s very operatic.”
He’s Not Trying To Please The Haters
Michael Sweet founded Stryper with Robert Sweet and Eric Johnson back in 1982 and led the band since then. He touched on his style and compared himself to other vocalists as follows:
“I’m very overdramatic, but you know what? I’m not comparing myself to [Ronnie James] Dio, but not everyone loved Dio’s voice, either. I have friends that can’t stand Dio’s voice because they thought he was overdramatic, and I’m like, ‘To each, his own.’ I have friends that can’t stand Rob Halford’s voice. They can’t listen to Priest because of his voice.”
The singer added:
“So, I get it. I get it. But I’m not here to please everybody. I’m here to please the fans. I’m here to please myself. And at the end of the day, I’ve been successful, and nobody can take that away from me.”
Sweet’s Sound In Stryper’s New Record
Sweet recorded ‘When We Were Kings’ after surgeries fixing the vocal issues affecting his range and clarity. The frontman said he was pleased with the result despite having worries at first. He shared what to expect from the album in a May chat with The Metal Voice:
“I think what it’s always been in the past 10 years, 12 years. It’s kind of similar to the last album and the album prior to that. But this album has some different twists and turns to it. And you have to hear it to understand that.”
He continued:
“When I was writing the songs, I wanted to make sure the choruses kind of went from — the verses might be in a minor chord, a little more on the darker side, and the choruses go to a major chord, a little bit more on the lighter side. Not lighter, but happier side— more major, melodic, more of an anthem, sing-along kind of thing. Then when it comes back to the verse, boom, it darkens up a little bit. You hear more of that kind of stuff.”
‘When We Were Kings’ will hit the shelves on September 13.