Michael Sweet recently shared a post on Instagram addressing a long-standing misunderstanding about the lyrics to Stryper’s 2018 song, ‘Take It To The Cross.’
“Some folks think I’m singing: ‘Kick ’em in the crotch’ or ‘Chicken in the crust.’ I assure you, it’s ‘Take It To The Cross.’ Or is it?” he wrote under a snippet from the track. “Still, one of my favorite modern day Stryper songs.”
The song saw release as a single from Stryper’s ‘God Damn Evil’ album, which built and doubled on the heavy rock and metal sound that made them famous in the 1980s.
“‘Take It To The Cross’ is our answer to many fans asking us to do something a little heavier and even bordering on thrash,” Sweet shared about the record via Loudwire back then.
“The verses are heavy with a vocal and lyric delivery that’s bold and relevant yet the chorus kicks in with a fast, thrashy vibe. We brought in Matt Bachand [Act of Defiance / Shadows Fall] to handle the vocal growl on the choruses and the end vamp. This song is 100% high octane.”
More recently, Stryper’s fifteenth studio album, ‘When We Were Kings,’ arrived through Frontiers. Sweet described its sound as ‘more poppy’ in an August chat on the ‘What Else? With Corey Mann’ podcast. He noted, “We’ve definitely gotten heavier as we’ve gotten older, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. It’s not forced. We’re not trying to do it. It’s just a natural progression.”
“And we’re really happy with where we’re at as a band,” the singer added. “But no, we have not changed our sound, other than just trying to still be relevant in 2024 and not sound like 1986.”
‘When We Were Kings’ arrived on September 13, 2024.
