Classic Rock Revisited recently caught up with STRYPER frontman Michael Sweet to discuss the band's new album, The Covering, and the band's career. An excerpt is available below:

Q: Did you ever feel at any point that the image of the band was starting to get talked about more than the music as it was with the majority of bands that came out of that glam metal scene?

Michael: "Yeah."

Q: I mean, it seemed like it was a major deal when you abandoned the trademark stripes back in 1990.

Michael: "It was, unfortunately, and that's one of the downsides of having a 'gimmick' if you will. It's like when KISS took off their makeup, it was like 'Oh my gosh, how dare they?' The diehard fans that's what they want, they want the whole package. They want the yellow and black, they want it all. I may get crucified for this I don't know, but I have to speak from the heart, but if it had been up to me I probably wouldn't have done the yellow and black back in the day. I would have gone out there and just let the music do the talking. Personally I feel that many times it has overshadowed the music. We are sometimes referred to as a gimmicky band and that really stinks because we work so hard on our music. I'd like our music to overshadow the yellow and black."

Q: To play devil's advocate here a little bit. I remember seeing the band on television shows around the time of Against The Law and it seemed like you were pretty intent on turning your back on that and yet here you are still using the stripes.

Michael: "It's a double edged sword man. People love it. There are times when I'm talking to someone and they'll ask me if I'm in a band and I'll say 'Yeah' and they'll say 'What band?' and when I tell them Stryper they don't know who Stryper is or they don't remember us from the name. Then I'll say 'The yellow and black guys' and then they'll go 'Oh yeah, the yellow and black guys.'

Q: The bumble bees [laughs]

Michael: "Yeah, that's how people remember us. It's somewhat heartbreaking to a degree because I don't want to be remembered as the guys who wore bumble bee outfits. I'd like us to be remembered as the guys who wrote the song 'Calling On You' or 'Soldiers Under Command'. It's a bit of a bummer sometimes, it really is."

Go to this location for the complete interview. Click here for BW&BK;'s recent interview with Sweet.