Michael Sweet

Michael Sweet established himself as a tireless vocalist and guitarist through his role as co-founder, lead guitarist, and frontman of Christian metal pioneers Stryper. Working alongside his brother Robert Sweet on drums, the Orange County, California native guided Christian rock toward mainstream acceptance. With the group he issued five chart-topping albums before launching a solo career in 1992. The self-titled Michael Sweet arrived in 1995, followed the next year by Real, both of which drew strong praise and earned the latter a Dove nomination. Following an extended break that included a move to Massachusetts, Sweet returned in 2006 with Him, a set of traditional hymns. He joined Boston as a full-time member in 2007 and remained until 2011. Throughout those years he also issued solo projects, among them the 2007 album Touched, a collection of covers shaped by classical elements and dedicated to his wife Kyle during her struggle with stage four ovarian cancer; she passed away in 2009. Sweet rejoined Stryper for the 2005 release of Reborn, their first album of original material in years. Encouraged by fan support, the band resumed touring and recording, reaching their eleventh studio album, Fallen, in 2015. That same year Sweet delivered his sixth solo studio effort, the critically acclaimed I’m Not Your Suicide, and teamed with Dokken and Lynch Mob guitar virtuoso George Lynch for Only to Rise under the name Sweet & Lynch. One Sided War followed in 2016 as a solo outing, while Unified served as the second Sweet & Lynch album in 2017. Sweet concluded the decade with Ten, his tenth solo album, in 2019.