“Following recent medical advice, Oz Fox has been advised to avoid extended or intense touring. With his full support, Stryper will tour Latin America this summer with guitarist Howie Simon, who has filled in previously.”
— STRYPER
LOS ANGELES, California — Unfortunate news from the STRYPER camp as the band announce more health concerns for their guitarist Oz Fox.
Fox has been dealing with health issues since a late-night fall after a Las Vegas jam with local All-Star group the Sin City Sinners back in August of 2018.
Metal Sludge covered this story from the jump with our article; ‘WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS… Stryper guitarist Oz Fox hospitalized after late night incident in Sin City’, when Jason Green of the Waste Some Time with Jason Green show, also the leader of the Sin City Sinners band shared a social media post detailing some of what happened with Fox that night.
STRYPER have shared a new announcement on Monday July 7th 2025 that reads as follows: “Following recent medical advice, Oz Fox has been advised to avoid extended or intense touring. With his full support, Stryper will tour Latin America this summer with guitarist Howie Simon, who has filled in previously. Oz may still be able to join us for occasional one-off or weekend shows, but longer trips are not recommended. We appreciate your prayers for Oz and his medical team, and we look forward to seeing you in July.”
The band have continued to tour and appear on-going over the last several years even when Fox was not able to tour, and the group have found a reliable replacement for these appearances with Howie Simon.
Simon, a Buffalo native who now resides in Los Angeles has been involved with a laundry list of groups including; Jeff Scott Soto, Graham Bonnet, Talisman and Nelson among others.
Simon has also been a regular go-to player for multiple touring acts in addition to STRYPER, he has also appeared with WINGER, LITA FORD and filled-in for TESLA guitarist Frank Hannon as well.
Metal Sludge wish Oz Fox a full-recovery and continued positive health.
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