The Great Southern Brainfart recently caught up with Stryper frontman Michael Sweet, who discussed the band's new album, Fallen, the influence of record labels, and covering Black Sabbath. An excerpt is available below:

GSB: I have to give you some big ass props for covering “After Forever” by Black Sabbath. How ironic is it that it’s pretty much a Christian Metal song and you didn’t even have to change the lyrics.

Sweet: "(Laughs)That’s what sold me on it. Once I heard all the songs for Fallen, we were thinking about a cover because we love doing covers. It’s fun. We love Sabbath and we grew up on Sabbath. I listened to the song and I’ll be honest, it’s not my favorite Sabbath song. It’s a good song but it’s not my favorite but the lyric is what sold me on it. Once I read the lyrics for that song I was blown away. I was thinking, this is more Christian than any lyric we’d ever do (laughs). It’s crazy and here it is, Black Sabbath and the Prince of Darkness. I don’t know how they got that label of being evil and Satanic. If you dive into their lyrics, most of their lyrics are about war, politics, and even faith."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

With the October 16th release of their ninth studio album, Fallen, Stryper continues to dominate the hard rock/heavy metal scene. The release sold over 10,000 copies in the US during the first week of release landing at #2 on the Top Hard Music Albums chart, #2 on the Top Contemporary Christian Albums chart, #2 on Billboard’s Top Christian/Gospel Albums, #5 on the Top Current Rock Albums chart, #20 on the Top Current Physical Albums chart, #26 on the Top Current Albums chart, #29 on the Top Current Digital Albums chart and #44 on the Billboard Top 200.

In addition, Fallen soared to #1 on the iTunes Top Metal Albums chart and #3 on the iTunes Top Rock Albums chart immediately upon release.

"We are truly blessed to still be making music 32 years into our careers, music that relates and speaks to our fans worldwide,” says frontman and album producer, Michael Sweet. “We strive to outdo ourselves with each release and hopefully we've done that with Fallen. Here's to 32 more years!"

Fallen tracklisting:

"Yahweh"
"Fallen"
"Pride"
"Big Screen Lies"
"Heaven"
"Love You Like I Do"
"All Over Again"
"After Forever" (Black Sabbath cover)
"Till I Get What I Need"
"Let There Be Light"
"The Calling"
"King Of Kings"

“Pride” video:

EPK:

"Big Screen Lies”:

“Fallen”: