Stryper frontman Michael Sweet checked in via Facebook with the following message:

"I sure miss the old days, at least where hard rock/metal is concerned. There seemed to be such a high level of excitement and energy regarding a release back in the '80s. These days there is a certain level of enthusiasm, yet it almost feels as though it dies on release day. And I’m applying this to every project.

What happened? Why is it so difficult to keep the interest of the fans? I get it; we’re all older with different lives now and the music world has changed but I’d be a liar if I didn’t say that it’s somewhat frustrating and concerning. So much time and effort goes into an album and I give my all. I pour every ounce of my soul into it and to see it get (at least it feels this way) less and less attention with each passing year is at the very least disheartening. Oh well, it’s where things are now. 

Anyway, I’m just sitting here at home expressing my heart. My apologies if I offended anyone. Although it’s a tough music world, I appreciate all the folks that are still there cheering me on. 

God bless you all."

Sweet's new solo album, Ten, features an all-star guest lineup that includes appearances by Jeff Loomis of Arch Enemy, Todd La Torre of Queensrÿche, Andy James, Tracii Guns of LA Guns, Rich Ward of Fozzy, Joel Hoekstra of Whitesnake, Gus G. of Firewind, Howie Simon, Ethan Brosh, Marzi Montazeri, Will Hunt of Evanescence , John O’Boyle, Mike Kerr and Ian Raposa of Firstbourne and more.

Produced by Michael Sweet, Ten was recorded and mixed by Danny Bernini at the Spirithouse Recording Studio in North Hampton and was mastered by Alex Saltz.

Regarding the musical direction of the album Michael states: “I’m very excited about this release, there are old-school, straight-ahead metal ideas in the vein of Judas Priest, Dio and Iron Maiden, all the stuff I love listening to!”

As for the Ten album title, Sweet recently stated, "It's called 'Ten' cause it's my tenth album, and because there is a title track on there about the Ten Commandments - a really powerful song. There's real heavy stuff. It starts kind of smacking you in the face and it ends kicking you in the gut."

Tracklisting:

"Better Part Of Me" (featuring Jeff Loomis of Arch Enemy)
"Lay It Down" (featuring Marzi Montazeri)
"Forget, Forgive" (featuring Howie Simon)
"Now Or Never" (featuring Gus G of Firewind)
"Ten" (featuring Rich Ward of Fozzy)
"Shine" (featuring Ethan Brosh)
"Let It Be Love"
"Never Alone" (featuring Joel Hoekstra of Whitesnake)
"When Love Is Hated" (featuring Joel Hoekstra of Whitesnake)
"Ricochet" (featuring Tracii Guns of LA Guns)

Bonus tracks:

"With You Till The End" (featuring Mike Kerr and Ian Raposa from Firstbourne)
"Son Of Man" (featuring Todd La Torre of Queensrÿche and Andy James)

"Son Of Man" lyric video:

"Ten" lyric video:

"Shine" lyric video:

"Better Part Of Me" lyric video: