Michael Sweet clarifies his dislike for Stryper’s album ‘Against The Law’ has nothing to do with Tom Werman

Michael Sweet clarifies his dislike for Stryper’s album ‘Against The Law’ has nothing to do with Tom Werman

Stryper frontman Michael Sweet has made it no secret that he regrets the album Against The Law (1990) where the Christian rockers turned their backs on their origins and tried to be something that they were not. However, Sweet has clarified that his dislike for Against The Law has nothing to do with renowned producer Tom Werman‘s work on the album. Werman has produced some of the greatest albums of all-time including Mötley Crüe‘s Shout At The Devil (1983) and Twisted Sister‘s Stay Hungry (1984).

The following message was posted on Sweet‘s Facebook page yesterday (with slight edit):

“I want to clear up what possibly may be a misunderstanding regarding the “Against The Law” album.

Tom Werman, the producer of ATL is undoubtedly one of the best rock producers of our time. We were thrilled to work with him and I’m still honored that we were and are able to list Tom as one of our producers. Tom (along with engineer Eddie DeLena) helped us make a great sounding album without question.

My dislike for the album is everything else and that lies with the band. Sadly we changed everything about who we were/are and sold in my honest opinion. We became just another “rock band” that lost its stripes, lost a big part of its sound and we lost out souls and our spirit. Not so much musically but in every other way. It was an embarrassment to be honest. Definitely a regretful part of my life for sure.

That’s not to say that Tom and or Eddie didn’t knock it out of the park. They did! It was an absolute pleasure working with them and truly humbling for them to want to work with us. Tom was always a gentleman and a professional. Although we haven’t really stayed in touch as much as we could, he also became a friend.

That album certainly could have and should have done more but for whatever reason, it didn’t. Songs like “Lady” and “All For One” should have charted in the top 10 easily. They didn’t. Our label (Enigma) closed their doors so that obviously didn’t help matters any. It was an up hill battle. Ultimately it led to the band’s demise. We wanted so badly to be something else that we were willing to sacrifice our faith, our marriages, our integrity and our legacy.

I just wanted to publicly say that I love Tom and I have nothing but respect for all that he’s accomplished and I’m blessed to have been able to work with himself this lifetime He will always be one of my favorite producers“

Stryper‘s “Two Time Woman” album (from Against The Law album):