After Anthrax vocalist Joey Belladonna faced criticism for his national anthem performance at an NFL event, Stryper frontman Michael Sweet defended him on Facebook.
The performance had drawn negative comments from some NFL fans. Sweet responded to this backlash by praising Belladonna’s effort and skill.
“To all the haters – you get up in front of thousands of people and sing live (A cappella!) and try sounding remotely close to as good as this! Great job Joey Belladonna,” Michael Sweet wrote on Facebook.
Several fans agreed with Sweet in the comments. One fan explained their perspective as both a metal and football fan. “This is why I love you Michael! The first time I heard him sing the national anthem last year I was blown away. As an Anthrax fan AND Seahawks fan, I was fine with it. Just happy to see some metal guys getting shots at this!” they wrote.
Another commenter offered an observation about why some listeners may have reacted negatively. “The haters just don’t like metal voices. I thought he did great, but definitely sounded like a metal singer in the high notes, which probably put some folks off,” they said.
A third fan also weighed in with support. “I thought he did fine! He seemed to gain confidence as the song went on. To be honest, I think he sounded better than Bruce Dickinson’s recent performance of the national anthem (and I think Bruce is an amazing vocalist),” the fan wrote.
Sweet’s defense of Belladonna sparked discussion among supporters who viewed the backlash as a misunderstanding of how metal vocalists approach traditional music. The moment highlighted different reactions to Belladonna’s appearance at the NFL event.
Belladonna sang the national anthem before the Seattle Seahawks and Chicago Bears game on Monday Night Football on November 2, 2026, at Lumen Field, with the Bears winning 34–17. This was far from his first time performing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at a sporting event. He first sang the national anthem at a Chicago Bulls game in 2013 and has performed it at numerous other venues over the years, including Chicago White Sox and Cubs games, Buffalo Bills games, a Denver Broncos versus Kansas City Chiefs game in 2023, and a Syracuse Crunch hockey game in 2025.
Belladonna has spoken about the unique challenges of performing the national anthem compared to singing with Anthrax. He explained that the anthem is more intimidating than playing a concert, because a singer performs alone and everything goes quiet, with no established key to sing in. His distinctive vibrato style, which metal fans know well, was on display during the November performance.
The reaction to Belladonna’s performance highlighted the different expectations that surround a traditional national anthem performance and what a rock vocalist’s singing style brings to the stadium. Metal fans and others recognized his effort in delivering the anthem at such a major sporting event, while some NFL audiences reacted negatively to the distinctive metal vocal approach applied to the traditional song.
