Stryper frontman Michael Sweet has posted the following message on social media:

"I’ve never liked the term 'Christian Metal'. Metal is metal, rock is rock. If you’re a believer and in a band with believers then you’re a rock/metal band comprised of Christians. When you label the genre with tags then you limit what the band can do.

I remember walking into a record store years ago and Megadeth released an album the same day as us. Their album was at the front of the store with a huge display. I asked the guy where the new Stryper album was and he pointed to the back of the store and said 'Back there, in the Christian Rock section.'

You see, it limits what we’re trying to do. I’ve never swept Christ under the carpet. I’ve always been as bold as one can be on stage and off and will continue to be so. I’ve never shied away from the fact that I’m a Christian. Ever! Yet at the same time, I despise the term 'Christian Metal'. Is this really so hard to understand?

Ugh..."

Sweet recently guested on the Cobras & Fire podcast and revealed the band's History tour, which kicked off May 10th in Greenville, SC, "will give people a better understanding of our history. All the songs and the bands and the music we grew up with that kinda moulded our lives - Judas Priest, Van Halen. We're going to give people a glimpse of that and perform 10 or 11 covers, and then, of course, 10 or 11 classic Stryper songs. We're mixing it up a little bit."

Check out fan-filmed video from the Greenville and Annapolis shows below.

The setlist on the tour is currently as follows:

"Soldiers Under Command"
"Loving You"
"Calling On You"
"Free"
"Lady"
"Rock and Roll Band" (Boston cover)
"Shout It Out Loud" (KISS cover)
"Heading Out To The Highway" (Judas Priest cover)
"Heaven And Hell" (Black Sabbath cover)
"Panama" (Van Halen cover)
"We Will Rock You" (Queen cover)
"Crazy Train" (Ozzy Osbourne cover)
"All She Wrote" (FireHouse cover) (with band introductions)
"In God We Trust"
"Always There for You"
"Sorry"
"Yahweh"
"The Valley"
"To Hell With The Devil"

Check out Stryper's tour schedule here.