Murder by Pride

Murder by Pride is the seventh studio album by Stryper. It was released on July 21, 2009 by Big 3 Records. The first single for the album, "Peace of Mind", debuted at No. 27 on Christianrock.net on October 24, 2008 and peaked at 1 on February 22, 2009. The track is a cover version, originally performed by rock band Boston on its debut 1976 self-titled album. Michael Sweet was a touring member of Boston for several years, before parting ways amicably in 2011.

Starting May 5, the band announced to release a song per week on iTunes up until July 21. As each new song was released, the previous one would no longer be available until the full album was released.

Robert Sweet did not play on the album since he lost the CD that had the demos on it and he wasn't able to learn the material in time for recording. According to Michael Sweet it would have taken seven to ten days longer to record the drums with Robert but they didn't have the time or the budget to do so. As a result, the drum parts were provided by Kenny Aronoff and only took three days to record. However, Robert Sweet was present on the tour that supported the album, as well as the commemoration of Stryper's 25th anniversary.

Stylistically, Michael Sweet has commented, that "after years of speaking to fans and hearing comments like 'more guitars,' 'more solos' and 'more screams,' I decided to keep those suggestions in mind as I wrote each song. It was important to me to try to get back to that early sound of STRYPER yet at the same time, to remain relevant today. It's certainly not an easy thing to do, but as I listen to Murder by Pride, I think that was accomplished."

Reception
The album debuted on the following Billboard charts:
 * No. 73 on the Billboard 200
 * No. 32 on Rock Albums
 * No. 2 on Christian Albums
 * No. 13 on Independent Albums
 * No. 11 on Hard Rock Albums

Track listing
All tracks written by Michael Sweet, except "Peace of Mind", written by Tom Scholz.


 * 1) "Eclipse for the Son" – 5:05
 * 2) "4 Leaf Clover" – 3:41
 * 3) "Peace of Mind" (Boston cover) – 3:59
 * 4) "Alive" – 3:36
 * 5) "The Plan" – 3:11
 * 6) "Murder by Pride" – 3:18
 * 7) "Mercy Over Blame" – 4:10
 * 8) "I Believe" – 3:43
 * 9) "Run in You" – 4:15
 * 10) "Love is Why" – 4:08
 * 11) "Everything" – 4:25
 * 12) "My Love (I'll Always Show)" – 3:15

Personnel
Stryper
 * Michael Sweet – lead vocals, guitars, arrangements (1, 2, 4-12)
 * Oz Fox – lead guitars, backing vocals
 * Tracy Ferrie – bass, backing vocals
 * Robert Sweet – drums

Additional musicians
 * Paul McNamara – acoustic piano, keyboards
 * Tom Scholz – guitar (3), arrangements (3)
 * Danny Bernini – percussion
 * Kenny Aronoff – drums
 * Danny Bernini – percussion

Production

 * Bill Edwards – executive producer
 * Danny Bernini – producer, mixing, engineer (tracks)
 * Michael Sweet – producer, mixing, engineer (lead vocals)
 * Kenny Lewis – editing, transferring engineer
 * Bob Ludwig – mastering
 * Richie "Britley" Hughes – art direction
 * Gilvan Rangel – cover artwork, photography
 * Deep South Entertainment – management

Studios
 * Recorded at Longview Studios and Tongue & Groove Studio (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania); Spirit House Music (Northampton, Massachusetts).
 * Mixed at Spirit House Music
 * Mastered at Gateway Mastering (Portland, Maine).