STRYPER Announces Long-Awaited Christmas Album 'The Greatest Gift Of All'
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Christian rockers STRYPER will release their long-awaited Christmas album, "The Greatest Gift Of All", on November 21 via Frontiers Music Srl. The 10-song effort will include five original Christmas tracks and five traditional Christmas cuts, including remakes of "Reason For The Season" and "Winter Wonderland", both of which originally appeared on a 1985 single and were also made available on the 1986 re-release of STRYPER's debut EP, "The Yellow And Black Attack".
To celebrate the announcement, the band has also shared a new single, "Winter Wonderland", accompanied by a lyric video, available here.
On the new album and single, STRYPER guitarist/vocalist Michael Sweet comments: "We have wanted to record a Christmas album for many years. Ever since we released our first single ('Reason For The Season') back in 1985, the fans have been asking for a full-length Christmas album. Well, the time has finally come.
"We wanted to make an album of five traditional songs and five original songs. To put our own spin on our own Christmas album and not follow the pack, so to speak. We could not be more pleased with how it turned out! We obviously re-recorded 'Reason For The Season' and 'Winter Wonderland' and we decided to go with 'Winter Wonderland' as the next single just to give you an idea of what it might sound like today in 2025.
"We're happy to say that we finally have our own Christmas album and hopefully it will become a fan favorite year after year."
With "The Greatest Gift Of All", STRYPER answers decades of fan requests crafting a holiday record that blends festive classics, brand-new compositions, and their unmistakable mix of faith, power, and metal energy.
In a move that makes the release even more special, "The Greatest Gift Of All" will be available exclusively in physical formats. Fans can look forward to a collectible release that captures the spirit of the season in true old-school fashion.
"The Greatest Gift Of All" track listing:
01. The Greatest Gift Of All
02. Go Tell It On The Mountain
03. Heaven Came (On Christmas Day)
04. Little Drummer Boy
05. Still The Light
06. Silent Night
07. On This Holy Night
08. Joy To The World
09. Reason For The Season
10. Winter Wonderland
This past July, STRYPER released the first single from the upcoming Christmas LP, a song called "Still The Light". Just in time for Christmas in July, the track also arrived alongside an official lyric video, available here.
At the time of "Still The Light"'s release, Michael Sweet commented on the track: "STRYPER fans worldwide have wanted a Christmas record for 40+ years. Now we can say that we have finally made this a reality. With the first single, 'Still The Light' — let's celebrate Christmas in July and acknowledge that Jesus will always be The Reason For The Season!!"
In a recent interview with Jorge Pozo of LotsOfMuzik, Michael stated about the upcoming STRYPER Christmas album: "It is awesome. Oh my gosh. We're so excited about this one."
Asked which songs will be included on the record, Michael said: "We've got five traditional Christmas songs on it. We did a remake of 'Winter Wonderland' and then we did a version of 'Silent Night', a version of 'Little Drummer Boy', 'Go Tell It On The Mountain', which is not one that's been covered a lot, which is cool, and it is considered a Christmas hymn. And then also 'Joy To The World'. So we've got those five songs, and then we did a remake of 'Reason For The Season', made it sound more today. It's still the same arrangement, but obviously with new tones. It sounds bigger and thicker and heavier. And then we did four new original Christmas songs: 'The Greatest Gift Of All', 'On This Holy Night', 'Still The Light' and — what's the other one? I'm trying to think. It's slipping my mind right now. It'll come to me. Anyway, we're really, really, really pleased with how this one turned out, man. It's really cool. It's gonna be a great album."
Regarding which of the songs on the Christmas album he feels "most connected to", Sweet said: "Probably the new stuff. I love the traditional stuff and it was awesome and fun doing that, but I always feel a little more connected with new material 'cause it's a little more exciting and hasn't been done before. So it's new territory."
STRYPER guitarist Oz Fox recently sat out the band's Latin American tour on advice of his doctor. The 64-year-old musician, who underwent a brain surgery in May 2024, was once again temporarily replaced by Howie Simon (JEFF SCOTT SOTO, GRAHAM BONNET),who previously filled in for Fox on several tours in the past.
STRYPER's latest studio album, "When We Were Kings", came out in September 2024.
The band recently completed the U.S. leg of its 40th-anniversary tour, which was described as "a celebration of both classic hits and new-era fan favorites, including outfit changes and an exciting new show production."
In December 2023, Michael underwent partial thyroidectomy, the surgery to remove part of his thyroid gland. It is the most common surgery for thyroid cancer.
(Source: www.blabbermouth.net)
