Stryken (originally known as Stryker) was a 1980s

Christian heavy metal Christian metal, also known as white metal, Jesus metal or heavenly metal, is heavy metal music distinguished by its Christian themed song lyrics and the dedication of the band members to Christianity. Christian metal is typically performed by ...

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band based in the north Austin, Texas suburb of Cedar Park. Using

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

s, the group consisted of Dale Streiker ( vocals, lead guitar), Stephen Strieker (vocals,

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

), Joey Knight (

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

), and Ezekiel Vade ( bass guitar). Often characterized as a mere clone of

Stryper Stryper is an American Christian metal band from Orange County, California. The group's lineup consists of Michael Sweet (lead vocals, guitar), Oz Fox (guitar), Perry Richardson (bass guitar), and Robert Sweet (drums). Formed in 1983 as Roxx ...

(another more prominent Christian metal band popular at the time), Stryken issued several releases on their own private label, Crystal Records, including the 1986

12" single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

with the tracks, "Rock On" and "Surprise", and the 1987 full-length album, ''First Strike'' (which has since been reissued with previously unreleased material). The band's lyrics made prominent use of

Biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

verses such as the anthemic song, "Crush the Head of Satan", which was a reference to the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

prophetical verse of

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book o ...

3:15 and the New Testament verse of Romans 16:20. Many believed that the song's figuratively violent lyrics promoted actual physical violence which the band did not deny but rather affirmed with the statement that any such violence was "well directed". In June 1987, the members of Stryken were detained by police after disrupting a

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albums ...

concert in San Antonio, Texas. Carrying a large wooden cross and clad in full body armor (inspired by the theological teaching of the "Armor of God" as found in the sixth chapter of the New Testament book, Ephesians), Stryken first proselytized concertgoers outside of the venue and then proceeded inside to the front of the stage. After being detained by police, the band was released without charges. The members of Stryken all used stage names to conceal their true identities. One of the members of Stryken, stage name, Stephen Streiker, (birth name, Stephen Hopkins) has gone on to "repent" of his career in "Christian rock", which he now refers to as, "a contradiction of terms". Today Hopkins serves as an elder and pastor of a "family-integrated" reformed Baptist church in Burnet, Texas, and is the father of sixteen children. He also authored the book, The Cult of Jabez, and the falling away of the church in America.

References

{{Reflist Cedar Park, Texas 1980s establishments in Texas American Christian metal musical groups Christian rock groups from Texas Musical groups from Austin, Texas Musical groups established in the 1980s People from Cedar Park, Texas