In a new interview with music writer Joel Gausten, Stryper frontman Michael Sweet discusses a host of topics including his new Sweet & Lynch album with ex-Dokken guitarist George Lynch, entitled Unified, the current state of affairs within Stryper following the exit of bassist Tim Gaines (pictured left), and the band's plans to do a documentary. Excerpts from the chat appear below:

Gausten: I get a lot of albums by “side projects” or “supergroups” that do one album and one round of interviews, and then they’re out of there. Obviously, that’s not the case with what you’re doing with George. What makes Sweet & Lynch something that you’re all obviously committed to moving forward with at this point in time?

Sweet: "I’d like to think and hope that George likes working with me as much as I like working with him. We enjoy it, have fun doing it and get excited about doing it. We are similar in our styles of writing, believe it or not. The bands we come from, Stryper and Dokken, have similarities there – that melodic metal thing. I just think it’s a good fit and a good combination. Because of that, when we do an album, it comes out, we carry on, two years pass and the opportunity comes up for us to do another one, we’re ready to do it. I hope that we can do many more – maybe two, three, four more albums together – and make this a steady band."

Gausten: There has been some recent upheaval within Stryper. What can you tell me in terms of how things are going within the band now and what we can expect from Stryper in 2018?

Sweet: "Things are going fantastic in the band now. Prior to the band parting ways with Tim Gaines, things were going terrible. It was a nightmare, to be honest. That was just based on a lot of stuff going on internally within the camp and whatnot – things that were being said online and done, tarnishing the brand and the name and all that stuff. It was a real bummer, but we’re through that now. We’ve parted ways; we let Tim go, and we really had no choice. People ask us all the time, ‘Can’t you guys work it out?’ Yeah, we tried to for 34 years. This is the third time he’s been out of the band. It kind of answers all the questions if you just stop and think about that briefly. It hasn’t always been a bed of roses; we’ve had issues over the years. We love Tim; he’s our brother. We’ve done a lot with him; there’s a history there. We’ve done some incredible things with him and seen, done and experienced a lot. We’ll never forget that, and hopefully he won’t, either. At this point, we just have to go our separate ways, and we wish him well. We hope that he does something great and gets in another band and does big, wonderful things – and we’re going to keep doing the same. That’s about as simple as it is. We’ll be able to talk a lot more about things once we find a bass player and move forward with new stuff. We’re going to be making a documentary, and we’re really excited about that – it’s gonna be awesome. At some point, I’m sure people will know a little bit more about the situation, but there’s also a lot of stuff that people don’t need to know. It’s not like it’s really anybody’s business in terms of the gory details."

Gausten: Will the documentary be career-spanning, or are you focusing on one particular element to the band?

Sweet: "It’s going to be career-spanning, just focusing on the good that Stryper has done. All the people we have influenced and the lives that have been changed – people who were once drug addicts [and] alcoholics who are now pastors or they really moved on to do great things. People in other bands who you might not ever imagine are Stryper fans. It’s going to be really cool, man. We’ve got it all laid out, and we’re going to start work on that really soon. It’s going to take us a couple of years to complete, but it’s going to be a big deal. It’s not going to be just some typical documentary like most. It’s going to be really unusual and interesting in a really cool way. I think when people see it, they’re going to be completely mind-blown."

The complete interview is available at this location.

Tim Gaines recently issued a statement in regards to his departure from Stryper:

“My recent demise within the Stryper camp came about because I actually have testicles. I stood my ground when I was told to give up the woman I love, (who is now my wife) or get fired. I threatened to sue. I was "conveniently" fired 10 days after my marriage to Brandee, on the grounds that I made some posts threatening to sue the band for wrongful termination. They called it "threats”.

“My recommendation to (guitarist) Oz (Fox) and Bob (drummer Robert Sweet)? Grow some balls and stand up to that pathetic one (presumeably Stryper frontman Michael Sweet) and his conniving wife, or just continue to live a life of mediocrity. You both have been threatened with termination over the last several years. He has a million dollar home. You rent and drive 20 year old broken down cars. You both have NOTHING to show for your 35 years. Quit playing rock star and get a clue dumbshitz.”

Stryper previously issued an official statement confirming the split:

"Dear fans and friends,

“We wish Timothy Gaines nothing but the best, and we will always remember the history and the good times that we all shared together. We have done our best to remain courteous and professional despite the barrage of disrespectful comments, posts and tweets that have been made public time and time again by Tim and Brandee on what seems to be a daily basis.

“The accusations that have been made that our decision to terminate Tim is based on his divorce couldn't be further from the truth. We have all struggled with separation and divorce in our relationships over the years, and it has never affected anyone's position within the band.

“The band decided to take a hiatus in order to give Tim time and space to work through his personal issues. However, based on Tim and Brandee's intentional, erratic and hostile behavior, which has damaged Stryper and threatened to undermine the band's ability to go forward professionally, we were left with no other choice but to part ways. Tim and Brandee have left their scars and have hurt us in more ways than you can imagine.

“We were also forced to retain legal representation based on a public post/threat that Tim made about suing the band in 2016.

“Tim is our brother, and we love him but this has become a toxic relationship at this point and due to that, we cannot continue on with our mission and stay true to who we are and what we represent with Tim in the band.

“We're excited about the future and we will be making an official announcement very soon about our new album, tour and bassist.

“We love our fans and we appreciate your support and patience as we work through these changes. The best is yet to come!"

Stryper frontman Michael Sweet followed up the statement with a message to the fans:

"We will be making a statement about a new bassist fairly soon. Stay tuned. We're getting a ridiculous amount of inquires from many players. We're also seeing the 'But is he a Christian?' comment a lot. Funny thing is, often enough non-Christians act more like Christians in many ways. My point? Being a Christian is very important but not always the number one priority. We just want a great player/singer and someone who is a team player and respectful of our band and history with a good heart and attitude. We won't compromise who we are and we'll make the right decision. Don't worry."