Doug Van Pelt interviewed Robert Sweet of STRYPER to talk about the controversial change of direction.

"Whatever decision they made is fine, because someone else is just going to pick it up. Another company is going to pick it up and gonna do real well with it. I've got the feeling this is going to be the biggest-selling album, and Benson's going to pick up a magazine and see us say, 'Look, no matter what anybody else may say, we know that Jesus Christ is real,' and they're going to feel real stupid because they threw all that away on something somebody somewhere probably heard. I know the lines I'm gonna hear: 'Yeah, they prayed about it and they felt it was the wrong thing to do by distributing this new evil Stryper record,' but I can't understand why they'd drop everything else.

"I mean, whatever happened to loyalty? Why can't they go, 'Hey, maybe we don't agree with this record, but you tell us you guys still believe in Christ.'

'"Yeah, we do.'

'"Well, okay. We're behind you.

Maybe we don't totally agree with this album, but for seven years you guys have done all you could to tell the world about Christ; so, we're behind ya.' But that's not the attitude. The attitude is, 'Oh sorry, we want nothing to do with you.' There's no loyalty at all. It makes me question, 'What type of Christianity people are living. I mean, think of Christ - and, this is a whole different scenario, okay? Benson isn't a Christ, and we're not a Peter - He went to Peter and said, 'You're going to deny me, but you know what? I'm prayin' for you.' We're not denying Christ, but, I mean, look at the seriousness of that situation. It was kind of like loyalty. He said, 'Look, you're going to make some mistakes that I already know about, and I'm going to look out for you.'

"It seems like there's no loyalty a lot of the time in the Christian marketplace. If certain head people in the business think that you're doing something wrong, they will spread a stream of things to be said about you. All of a sudden your records will start being dropped, and things will start being said. There's no loyalty. It doesn't matter that five years previous you did anything and everything you could to help reach the world for Christ.

"It's like a kid who goes to church all of his life, and, if he decides to do something that his parents disagree with - but it's not bad - and his parents kick him out of the house and say, 'Sorry, live in the streets.' None of that's really been Benson and Stryper, but we just felt really shocked that there was no loyalty.

Coming from Stryper, we were having the attitude: 'Look, we'll stay with Benson - because, believe me, we've had other offers - They're a good company. They're good people. They're pros. They know what to do, and we know their hearts are in the right place; so we'll stay.' But they quickly threw us off the label. I don't know, maybe it's for the best.

"We're not moaning the blues or anything, but things have become crazy. A lot of things that we've said to people have really been blown out; like that Rolling Stone thing. It was crazy. That guy didn't ask anything about the music, all he did was ask, 'Well, hey: We've heard there was a change. Mike, what do you think about drinking? Do you drink?'

"And Mike said, 'Well look, we're no one to put anyone down for drinking; just as long as you keep it within moderation.' We're not these freaks who point a finger and go, 'Ooh, they've got the Demon Rum in their hand, and they're backslidden now.' We're not like that...'But definitely don't overdo it. Keep it in moderation and be responsible with it. Don't drink and drive, for example, and don't let it become something that's a habit or that ruins you life. But occasionally, here or there, whatever, it's no big deal.'

"When we picked up Rolling Stone, it was completely blown out: 'They're drinking now. They're smoking now.' I've never smoked in my life. I hate smoking. I can't stand it. Rolling Stone got a lot of Christian people going, 'Oh no!' Probably about 100,000 people going, 'We're not buying the next album.

"We never knew it would turn out like this when we started the band. A lot of people came into the picture that, if we had kept them out of the picture, I think the band would've been okay. I'm not blaming it on them, but this whole thing began to happen with a lot of publicity people and a lot of things that blew the band way out as far as the Christian thing. I think a lot of kids got to the point where the Christian thing almost scared them off. Not Christian kids, because they were going, 'Yeah, this is cool, 'and we were going, 'Yeah, this is cool, 'too. But, the kid that really needed to be reached somehow was kinda turning away from it.

"Say a kid out there who listens to Guns'n' Roses, he's never heard Stryper before, but all he's ever heard is, 'Oh yeah, that's gospel band.' He's not going to listen. We just wanted to re-tune it a little, so that we could make it where everyone out there feels comfortable listening to Stryper. When they feel comfortable with it, I think they'll feel comfortable at least to listen to something we say in a magazine or something. Face it, if Stryper sells 5 or 6 million copies next year and we get the cover of Rolling Stone, and let's say not one word on the album says anything about Christ, and we say in the article, 'Hey look, we're proud of the fact that we believe in Jesus Christ.' I mean, at that point, isn't that enough? And, you know, some people look at us and say, 'No, it's not enough. You have to do every single thing you can.' So, in other words don't hand out 100 tracts; hand out 10,000, and beat yourself over the head at the same time."

Do you feel like you're respected by your peers? Why or why not?