Stryper never needed a reunion tour to prove they still belong on a stage. The Southern California band that helped put Christian metal on the map in the 1980s is still writing, recording, and touring with the same mix of twin-guitar hooks, soaring choruses, and unapologetic conviction that first turned heads more than 40 years ago. On Monday, October 12, that sound lands at The Hawthorn in downtown St. Louis.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are available through TicketWeb.
The timing is no coincidence. Stryper’s 18th studio album, Throne of Thorns, arrives September 25 via Frontiers Music Srl. It follows 2024’s well-received When We Were Kings and last year’s Christmas record The Greatest Gift of All. Drummer Robert Sweet has already called the new set the band’s strongest work yet. Frontman Michael Sweet, who wrote the bulk of the material, describes the title track as “heavy yet melodic, classic yet modern, and 100 percent Stryper.” The song’s video is already circulating, as is the clip for “Here In Your Heart.” Expect both to sit alongside the warhorses—“To Hell With the Devil,” “Honestly,” “Calling on You,” “Always There for You”—when the lights go down.
The current lineup remains the one longtime fans recognize: Michael Sweet on vocals and guitar, his brother Robert Sweet behind the kit, original guitarist Oz Fox, and bassist Perry Richardson. Together they have moved more than 10 million albums worldwide. That catalog still translates live. Stryper’s reputation rests as much on the night-after-night energy as it does on the records. The Hawthorn, a 1,300-capacity room just off Washington Avenue, is the kind of mid-size hall where that energy tends to fill every corner.
St. Louis has seen Stryper before, but this stop arrives with fresh material and the kind of catalog depth that rewards both the yellow-and-black faithful and anyone who simply likes their hard rock delivered with melody and volume. The band has been open about interviews and preview coverage; review tickets are also available for those covering the show.
For a band that emerged from the Orange County club scene in the early ’80s and never really left the road, October 12 is another date on a long list. For local fans, it’s a chance to hear the new songs while they’re still brand new and the classics while the voices that cut them are still standing in front of the amps.
Tickets: ticketweb.com/event/stryper-the-hawthorn-tickets/14829173
The Hawthorn, 2231 Washington Ave., St. Louis. All ages. Cashless venue. Parking is limited; rideshare is recommended.
