Michael Sweet, frontman of Stryper, has voiced his preference for the David Lee Roth era of Van Halen over the Sammy Hagar years. On Instagram, he referenced Alex Van Halen’s comments, stating, “Well, there ya go. Straight from the horse’s mouth. And what I’ve been saying all along.”
“I love early Van Halen—everything with [singer David] Lee Roth… My opinion is that the early Van Halen with Roth was the better Van Halen. And the reason why I say that is because of the energy,” Sweet remarked on the Cobras & Fire podcast in 2019. He emphasized, “There was some kind of a fire lit under all of them, especially on those first three albums and tours, that was undeniable. Yeah, Sammy’s [Hagar] awesome, he’s a legend, he’s amazing, they sounded great, they had hits with Sammy and sold a ton of albums—not to take any of that away, but, man, I miss the old Van Halen.”
Sweet also expressed his belief that Van Halen could still create a classic album. “While they’re still alive—I don’t care how old they are—if they can still play and sing, their best album still lies within them,” he stated.
Previously, Sweet suggested that he could assist Van Halen in crafting another iconic album. “I was just speaking out of respect—nothing but respect for Van Halen coming from me,” he said in the same podcast. “You’re never gonna hear any disrespect.” He added, “As a producer, writer, singer, guitar player, I would be a perfect candidate to help make that happen. And for people to laugh at that, that’s fine—you can laugh all you want, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s true.”
When the interviewer praised his confidence, Sweet replied, “It’s beyond confidence. I mean, I have a lot of confidence, but if I don’t have the track record to back it up, I’ve got nothing, and I think I have the track record.”
In his new book, “Brothers,” Alex Van Halen described Roth’s departure in 1985 as the most disappointing moment of his life until the death of his brother, Eddie. He believes the band lost its essence after Roth left, highlighting that the magic was in their early years when they were more experimental.
