STRYPER lead guitarist Oz Fox does not play on the band’s new album, Throne Of Thorns.
Explaining to KNAC.com the 65-year-old’s absence, front-man Michael Sweet says: “Well, believe it or not, it wasn’t related to his health issues in terms of his brain surgery.
“He’s been doing great with that. He’s been out touring with us and doing great. This was something completely different.
“This was based on the fact that he stopped taking blood pressure medication ’cause he’s supposed to take that every day. He has issues with his blood pressure, like many people do, and he stopped taking it.
“And we didn’t really know that he’d stopped taking it. And Rob [Sweet, drummer] went into rehearsals with him and discovered, like, ‘Wait a minute. Something’s not right here.’
“He [Fox] had trouble playing and with his pitch and his hearing. His high blood pressure really affected that, and it was really high — going up, spiky, like go-to-the-hospital high. And we didn’t really know this until he came out to the studio, and he was having issues with it.
“And it was time for him to start playing, and his blood pressure was checked. We had a way to check it there, and it was through the roof. So we were able to get him some medication and get him to lie down and rest and able to get him to feel a little better.
“But still, when it came time for him to play, he wasn’t able to play. He literally couldn’t go from chord to chord. He couldn’t play. And it was a bad situation. And I knew the songs, so I just said, I suggested, I said, ‘Dude, don’t worry about it. I’ll gladly play the parts,’ and he was very relieved to hear that.
“And then when we got to the solos, the same thing happened. So I wound up, at that point, having to play all the guitars.”
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