The Covering

The Covering appeared on 15 February 2011 on Big3 Records, and it is not an album of new songs: twelve covers plus one new original, "God." Michael Sweet produced. It had originally been announced for 13 October 2010 and slipped into the new year to allow a longer set-up. Sweet's stated reason for making a covers record was straightforward — every Stryper album is lyrically serious, and they wanted to cut loose and have some fun. It was recorded entirely digitally, and every guitar tone on it comes from a single amplifier, a Mesa Mark V. It was a turning point for the line-up too. Tim Gaines returned on bass, making this the first Stryper studio album in nearly two decades on which all four original members recorded together, alongside longtime keyboardist Charles Foley. It sold around 4,600 copies in its first US week and entered the Billboard 200 at No. 175.