Stryper Brings Music with a Message to Charlotte

Calling On You Tour 2022 Makes a Stop at Amos’ Southend

It was almost the end of my sophomore year of high school, circa 1985, when the band Stryper first hit my radar. I was walking down the hallway on my way to class when I noticed that two of the school’s biggest metalheads were no longer wearing their leather jackets or denim vests but were dressed in black suits with crisp yellow dress shirts, completing the look with a tie. It wasn’t graduation yet so what was the deal? They were carrying bibles and had 777 written all over their five-subject notebooks. The deal was they were bit or shall I say stung (since Stryper’s stage clothes do resemble the black and yellow of a bumblebee) by the Christian metal band Stryper who had just released their first full-length album Soldiers Under Command. Hmmm, was it now cool to listen to Christian metal? In fact, what exactly is Christian metal? Was it possible to be a fan of Ozzy, Iron Maiden, and Slayer and still be into a band like Stryper?  I was determined to find out. 

So I did what a typical teenager would do and begged my Dad for a few bucks and a ride to the mall. I hit up my favorite record store (ah, the age of vinyl and record stores) and popped in to grab my own copy of the new Stryper album. After a few minutes of scouting around, I found what I was looking for and quickly headed home to check it out. With my stereo cranked up to 10, I was hooked from the very first notes. What’s not to love about Stryper? The twin guitar attacks of Michael Sweet and Oz Fox were as good as any I had heard and combined with the thundering drums of Robert Sweet and the thumping bass of Tim Gaines, I was enamored. Since that fateful afternoon, I have been a life-long fan of Stryper and quickly discovered the answers to my earlier questions. Yes, it was cool to listen to Christian metal, which is simply metal, and yes, you can like any and all bands and not be restricted in any way. 

Fast-forward a few decades and Stryper is still out on the Yellow and Black Attack, putting out some of the best music of their careers and still kicking ass at their live shows. So when I saw that they would be making a stop here in Charlotte and at one of my favorite music haunts, Amos’ Southend, I knew it was a show I simply could not miss. 

Opening up the evening’s festivities was Charlotte’s very own Preppen Barium. These guys are one of the hardest working bands in the area as I see their name everywhere and they put on a terrific set. In their own words, they play “Hard Rock injected with Metal Music For Your Dark Heart” and that’s a pretty accurate description. The band came out with various masks on as they took the stage.  Lead vocalist and lead guitarist Matt Tolle was tearing it up out there and bass player Dylan Murphy was all over the place, spinning and slinging his bass all over the place. Preppen Barium has a powerful sound and some great original songs. Check out “Black Magick” for an idea of what they have to offer. One thing is for sure, these guys can shred!

Click here to stream, purchase, and keep up with everything Preppen Barium!

After a short break, it was time for the mighty Stryper to hit the stage. As the band made their way out to thunderous applause, they wasted no time getting right into things with “In God We Trust.” Michael sounded fantastic! His vocals soared over the sold-out crowd with ease and he has never looked more comfortable on stage than when playing and posing with his custom Sully guitar. Speaking of guitars, Oz Fox can go mano y mano with any guitarist out there but when he teams up with Michael, it really is something special. They have great chemistry between them and metal is all about guitars and I would match this pair up with anyone in the business. It is simply pure, heavy metal bliss. 

Let’s not forget about the rhythm section because Robert Sweet is one of the best around. He was on fire, looking tiny behind his massive kit which had to be situated sideways on the stage but allowed for a better view of his stick-handling abilities. The crowd was especially receptive to bassist Perry Richardson who has been with Stryper since 2017 and is originally from Conway, South Carolina so this was a bit of a homecoming for him as he earned his stripes early on in his career at all the small clubs and bars around North Carolina. 

It’s just not possible for Stryper to play everyone’s favorite song or we would have been there all night (not that anyone would have minded) but they did an incredible job of mixing in their newer music with plenty of the old hits. Of course, we got to hear “Calling On You” since it is the tour name, during which the whole of Southend Charlotte probably heard us singing along and one of their most melodic songs, the ballad “Honestly.” One of the reasons I adore Stryper so much is they are a complete package, giving you blistering guitars one minute and beautiful, melodic songs the next.  I was extremely pumped to hear “The Valley” off of 2020’s God Damn Evil record, which in my opinion is one of the best albums Stryper has ever done, and “Yahweh” from the Fallen album to close out their set. 

Stryper returned for a two-song encore of “Soldiers Under Command” and yes, because it just wouldn’t be a Stryper show without it, “To Hell With The Devil.” It was a fantastic night of metal and let there be no doubt Stryper is still at the top of their game. With the promise of new music coming soon, we can all look forward to much more of Stryper in the future. 

That covers the music, but what about the message? If you think that Stryper gets up there and preaches, they don’t. They still do their signature throwing bibles out to the crowd and Michael had a short quip or two from his personal life experience. So what is the message then you ask? It’s simple. Listen to the music, really listen. The music IS the message. How you interpret it, is up to you. 

Click Here for Summer Tour Information and to Keep Up on All Things Stryper!

Click Here to View the Full Gallery of the Evening!

If you happened to capture any shots of the night, feel free to tag us on social media at Shutter 16 Magazine and throw in #Shutter16 and #TwitFromThePit for the world to see.