Metal After Midnight: Stryper “Always There For You”

Stryper is easily the biggest Christian Metal band of all time, but the path was very rocky.  Their debut "Yellow And Black Attack" came out in 1984 and was obviously influenced by the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal bands like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden.  Both those bands, and most of Metal were under attack from the Christian Right as being "satanic".  So when Stryper came out praising God in put parents in a bit of a predicament.  On one hand they were labeled "Christian Metal" but on the other they had the long hair and were heavier than Hell.

Stryper finally broke through to the mainstream during the Power Ballad era with "Honestly".  They had a massive following like no other Christian band had ever had.  Critics hated them of course, but they became a very influential band in the world of Metal. People like Chris Jericho of the WWE have come out in support of them over the years as has an unlikely fellow named "Larry The Cable Guy".  Check out Larry talking about the band below.

Stryper still remains together and does Festivals and European tours. Critics often laughed them off but their talents as musicians cannot be denied.  Here's an original song from 2012 called "God".