Following her recent signing with Frontiers Music Srl, rock icon Lita Ford is kicking off the next chapter of her career with “Dracula,” a brand-new single that offers an early taste of what’s in store for 2027. The track was produced by Gary Hoey and mixed by Max Norman, with Ford handling the recording alongside… Continue Reading →

TELEPATHY always imagined ‘Water Divides The Tide’ as the soundtrack to a sci-fi western — “something like Ennio Morricone gone instrumental metal”. A newly recorded version now revisits that idea, accompanied by an official visualiser. Watch ‘Water Divides The Tide (Redux)’:https://youtu.be/_byLEfZA0F4 The track previews ‘Tempest (Redux)’, an expanded reissue of the UK cinematic post-metal quartet’s […]

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Four decades into a career that took them from Los Angeles’ Sunset Strip as a unique Christian metal band in the 1980s to their current status as one of hard rock’s most enduring bands. Michael Sweet [vocals/guitar], Oz Fox [guitar], Robert Sweet [drums], and Perry Richardson [bass] continue to prove their longevity has been paved with hard work, passion, integrity, and talent.

On October 25th, the last night of their Forty Years and Counting Tour, Stryper brought the band’s latest and most explosive chapter to Stroudsburg, PA’s Sherman Theatre as part of the tour supporting their newest album, Throne of Thorns. They came to rock hard and sounded ferocious in the process. Aggression always wins out over sentimentalism with their smoking-hot songs.

Tonight’s setlist balances new songs that showcase the band’s continued evolution in the modern era with classics that defined Stryper’s legacy. Rather than relying on nostalgia, as so many 80s bands do now, Stryper looks beyond it and has structured a show that moves freely across almost every album. Songs such as “Calling on You,” “Free,” “Loud ‘n’ Clear,” “Surrender,” “More Than a Man,” and “Always There for You” represent the band’s foundational years, while “Divider,” “Sorry,” “When We Were Kings,” and opener “I’m Alright (I’m Ok)” reflect their newer music. A surprise for many fans at tonight’s show was the absence of “Honestly,” Stryper’s highest-charting song on the Billboard Hot 100 from 1986, and the title of Michael’s 2014 memoir.

At the center is Michael Sweet, whose voice remains one of Stryper’s defining characteristics for 40 years. He effortlessly shifts from the soaring high notes of “To Hell with the Devil” to the melodic phrasing of “Always There for You,” delivering each lyric as if he’s processing the song’s emotion in real time and conveying it directly to you. In their career, his soulful voice has eclipsed his lead and rhythm guitar work. When he steps into the spotlight for solos like the one in “Soldiers Under Command,” his dramatic bends and sustained high notes create some of the night’s most thrilling moments. Michael remains a charismatic, captivating performer who never stands still, even while singing and dancing at the mic. He kept that energy up for more than 90 minutes, proving himself a consummate showman.

Alongside Michael since the beginning is Oz Fox. Though health issues have occasionally sidelined him from a tour of two and limited his contributions to the band’s most recent album, his onstage guitar work tonight was muscular, impressive, and impeccable as he danced across his pedalboard. He brought the aggressive, metal-influenced edge to the songs, driven by his chunky guitar tone. Working alongside Michael, Oz added another dimension as the two guitarists locked into harmonized leads and intros for “When We Were Kings” and “Calling on You”. His presence remains an important part of Stryper’s legacy, and having him onstage tonight was certainly something to appreciate.

Behind his angled kit, Robert puts his showmanship on full display while delivering the precision, punch, and groove central to Stryper’s sound. He provided the perfect foundation, from the older material’s driving beat to the more refined, heavier edge of their newer songs. Perry brought a powerful, grounded low end, anchoring the songs with muscular bass lines and steady rhythmic drive. His playing style complemented Stryper’s songs without overpowering them, adding weight and groove while locking tightly with Robert’s powerful hammering. He held the band together with rhythm, fury, and melodic grace. Simultaneously kicking you in the ass and punching you in the chest.

While many of their contemporaries from the Sunset Strip have slowed down, changed direction, retired, settled into nostalgia-driven performances, or disappeared, Stryper keeps moving forward, forty years and counting, doing what they love and staying true to the qualities that made the band distinctive.

The band’s fan base continues to grow, and the enthusiasm was evident when Michael asked how many people were seeing the band live for the first time. The response was nearly split down the middle, proving Stryper still attracts new fans forty years in while keeping longtime followers coming back for more. With that demand stronger than ever, fans can look forward to Stryper returning in 2027 with a new album and plenty more touring.

The post CONCERT REVIEW: STRYPER Four Decades In, With A Message That Still Resonates Loud ‘n’ Clear appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

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Kiss are to release a new documentary covering their farewell tour.

Directed by DJ Viola, Kiss: End Of The Road will debut on the band’s web site KissOnline.com with a special live streaming event on November 19.

The band’s farewell tour began on January 31, 2019 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada, and ended on December 2, 2023, at Madison Square Garden in New York. In total the tour took in 250 shows.

A press statement for the documentary reads, “With unprecedented access to Kiss’ historic “End Of The Road” world tour, Kiss: End Of The Road chronicles the final live chapter of one of rock’s most legendary bands, capturing the camaraderie, conflicts, challenges, and emotion behind their journey to one last performance at Madison Square Garden, while also exploring how the band plans to carry its legacy forward in the years ahead.”

“The End Of The Road world tour was the culmination of fifty years of touring to elevate the live concert experience for fans old and new,” says guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley. “A defining moment in Kiss history. The documentary takes everyone along with us to see and be a part of all the unseen moments that made this last tour one of the wildest, most memorable rides of our career. We can’t wait for the world to see it through our eyes for the very first time and relive the magic of these shows.”

Bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons adds: “This documentary showcases the closing chapter of our touring career, back in New York where it all started for us. The Madison Square Garden shows were full of raw energy and the film gives an inside perspective for the very first time. We can’t wait for everyone to see it and experience the world of Kiss in a way they’ve never seen before.”

Watch the trailer below.

Band co-founders Simmons and Stanley have already began talking up the forthcoming Kiss avatar show, which is set to launch in Las Vegas in 2028.

The production, co-created by KISS and Pophouse Entertainment, the Swedish music investment firm co-founded by ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus, was teased at Kiss’ final show at New York’s Madison Square Garden, and will be hosted in a bespoke theatre in ‘Sin City’, with avatars created by the George Lucas-founded visual effects company, Industrial Light & Magic.

Simmons and Stanely discussed the as-yet-untitled show in the May 2026 issue of Pollstar magazine.

“It will be a true immersive experience that really magnifies the band and the iconic nature of what we’ve built for 50 years,” said Paul Stanley. “It’s very different from anything else that’s been out there. It has really no connection to some of the experimental holograms that were tried in the past, which were really very primitive. This will be virtually seeing us. My avatar looks just like me, not a cartoon or an artist rendition. The great thing about being an icon is you can stay young forever.”

“Pophouse is a terrific bunch of entrepreneurial futurists,” Simmons added. “They did buy our makeup and the tunes, yes, but what they’re deep into is planting seeds for the future to make it even bigger.

“The fans should start to think about this as not the end of anything,” he said. “This is the phoenix rising out of the ashes. As a form of life, caterpillars aren’t very impressive, but they survive, and then it looks like they’re dying as they go into a cocoon. But then you get a beautiful butterfly that sprouts wings and goes to places and soars above that the caterpillar never imagined. This is not the end. This is the beginning.”