Jimmy Kay and Alan Dixon from Canada's The Metal Voice recently spoke to Stryper's Michael Sweet, who talked about the upcoming Stryper album. Watch below.

On Stryper's upcoming new album, Sweet reveals: "The options for the new album were to postpone it because of my eye. I've go a long road to recovery to be able to see out of this eye, so I am going to be wearing a patch for a while. I realized when I started writing the album, just two and a half three weeks ago, it's a lot more difficult to play as well. Your perception and hand placement, where that falls on the guitar neck and everything is off a little bit. I decided, we are not going to put the album off because that just makes no sense for too many people. It's not just me that is involvedm there are many people that are involved and that is going to alter everyone's plans and schedules. So, I made a decision we are going to push on and do it and we're doing it. The guys fly out in two weeks and we start rehearsals on the 25th of January. We are going to rehearse two songs and then go and record them, then rehearse two songs and record them, we are doing it a little differently this time. Maybe it will be a little more metal because of the eye patch."

On what will the new album sound like: "I always go back to Soldiers Under Command when I do a new album, and somehow try to recapture a little bit of that energy and that raw power. But I always want to record something new. This album has its own signature on it already, I can tell you that. I don't want to compare it to Guns N' Roses but it's got a little bit more of that raw groove oriented... but it's metal all the way. It's got a little more groove to it."

As far as a release date goes, Michael says: "October, November of 2022."

Join Michael Sweet on Thursday, January 20 for a live listening party, where he will play the record and talk about each song on the band's classic Soldiers Under Command in detail. He will take questions via a chat board and discuss the origins, the inspiration, musical parts, lyrics, recording history, videos from this album, and much more. This is a Fan Club Plus event. For more information or to join visit Stryper's Patreon page here.

In live news, Stryper, have announced a string of US tour dates in May. A message from the band follows...

"We are so excited about touring again. We'll be touring heavily in 2022 and hope to see you all. What venue should we hit in your city? Here's our first round of  tour dates. More coming soon but if you live near one of these cities, grab tickets now. Love you all and can't wait to see you in person next year.

"Fun fact: The first leg of our 2022 tour is called "Calling On You 2022" to celebrate 35 years since you put Stryper on the Dial-MTV charts in 1987 with the songs 'Free', 'Honestly', and 'Calling On You'."

Stryper's 2022 Tour Dates:

May
5 - Derry, NH - Tupelo Music Hall
7 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Casino
8 - Columbia, MD - M3 Rock Festival
10 - Vineland, NJ - Landis Theater
12 - Atlanta, GA – Masquerade
13 - Charlotte, NC - Amos Southend Music Hall
17 - Indianapolis, IN - The Vogue
19 - Saint Peters, MO - Diamond Music Hall
21 - Destin, FL - Lucille's Music Hall
27 - Fort Myers, FL - The Ranch Concert Hall & Saloon
28 - Orlando, FL - House of Blues