Stryper is a metal band from Orange County, California, USA. Formed in 1983, Stryper is recognized as the first openly heavy metal band to gain recognition in the mainstream music world. Their hit ballad "Honestly" is often ranked among the greatest ballads of the 1980s. Their message of salvation and religion has also made them popular with some elements of the media.
However, Stryper has not been free of controversy. Many legalistic religious groups criticized the group for being members of the heavy metal industry, which some of them saw as being close to Satanic music. Others saw the band's flashy dress as contradictory to the faith they claimed to represent. Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart led opposition to the group, likening their practice of distributing the New Testament at their shows to "casting pearls before swine". In 1990 Rolling Stone Magazine reported the band.