Stryper

No, Stryper’s proselytizing take on pop-metal isn’t everyone’s taste. But you’ve got to admire a band that dressed like bees, pelted its audience with Bibles, yet still managed to have some of the most-requested songs on mid-‘80s MTV. Since relaunching its recording career with 2005’s Reborn (see what they did there?), Stryper have cranked out releases that sermonize over an increasingly gritty sound. The ripsaw riffs of its latest, God Damn Evil (see, they did it again!), are actually closer to ‘80s-vintage Judas Priest than the cornball piano ballad “Honestly” for which they’re best known. To boot, founding members singer/guitarist Michael Sweet, drummer Robert Sweet and lead guitarist Oz Fox are still in the lineup, with bassist Perry Richardson (of hair farmers Firehouse) the sole new addition. How many other metal relics of the era can claim to have three-quarters of their original members? Hmm? I thought so.