Diamonds in the Rough 08.23.09: Skillet

Posted by Leo Rivera on 08.23.2009

Linkin Park meets Dreamtheater! and the result is Skillet!

What do you get when you mix elements of hard rock, industrial and symphonic rock combined with worship music? The premier Christian rock act on the planet: Skillet. There are many impressive rock bands floating around out there both Christian and non-Christian, but none of them can do it quite like Skillet can. To take so many vastly different sub-genres of rock and mix them all under the context of one song is not only impressive but damn near unreal! In one Skillet song you hear the best elements of Linkin Park, Evanescence and Dream Theater all rolled into one epic arrangement. This week, I zero in on how Skillet rose to prominence to become the top Christian rock act in America and one of the major forces in modern rock today, this is the story of Skillet.



The origin of Skillet dates back to 1996 in Memphis, Tennessee when John Cooper, then vocalist for progressive rock band Seraph met Urgent Cry guitarist Ken Steorts. The two met while both bands were on tour together, and hit it off, eventually when the two bands broke up; John and Ken were encouraged by their pastor to form their own group. Originally, the idea behind Skillet was for it to be a temporary side project, to keep John and Ken busy while they formed other bands, however after playing together for just one month they got signed by major Christian record label Forefront Records. They then enlisted Trey McClurkin to play drums as they recorded their self titled debut album.

Released in late 1996, Skillet was well received in Christian markets, thus the "side project" continued to evolve as the trio continued to write new material while on tour. Their follow up album titled Hey You I Love Your Soul was released in 1998 and shed the bands post grunge sound in favor of a lighter alternative rock sound. This new sound was influenced by Cooper's increased interest in playing the keyboards; in fact he had incorporated synthesizers so much that he enlisted his wife Korey to play them live so that he could focus on singing and playing rhythm guitar.



By the time the band began recording their third album, Steorts had left the band to be with his family, he was replaced by Kevin Harland. Korey Cooper also joined the band permanently during the recording of Invincible (the bands 3rd album) which had a more electronic Industrial; rock vibe to it. Skillet continued to gain momentum as Invincible became their best album up to that point. Around this time Trey Mcclurkin left the band and he was replaced by Lori Peters on drums.



Skillet released a worship album in late 2000 (for those who don't know, its album full of Christian praise music) they then quickly released Alien Youth in 2001, which John Cooper self produced. The album marked the debut of Ben Kasica on guitars, officially rounding out the bands most impressive line e up and setting the wheels in motion for their breakthrough success. Skillet's breakthrough came in the form of the song "Alien Youth" which became a major hit in the Christian market and was the catalyst for Skillet becoming a headlining band.

Since 1996 Skillet had constantly evolved and progressed musically and by 2003, John Cooper had finally settled on his ultimate band line up. After 8 years and 5 albums Skillet were poised to take it to the next level and it helped that they were finally getting the recognition that they deserved.

In 2003, Skillet released their sixth album titled Collide through Ardent records an independent label. The album caught the ear of the head of A & R at Lava Records Andy Karp, Andy was so impressed that in 2004, persuaded Lava (which is a division of Atlantic Records) to buy the rights to the album. Collide was re-released in May 2004 under Lava Records and the timing could not have been any better. Although Skillet had been in the game for over eight years, they were still relatively unknown to the mainstream. The deal with Lava allowed them the opportunity to reach more people than ever, and with over 8 years to cultivate their sound, by the time they released Collide Skillet were ready.



Collide was a crucial turning point for Skillet musically speaking, as they began to be influenced by bands like Linkin Park and P.O.D, and you could definitely hear the influence in the first song "Forsaken"! A proverbial tip of the hat to the nu-metal movement complete with super crunchy guitars, in which Cooper sings about what life would be without following a higher power, a catchy song and a perfect album opener that sets the tone for a more focused Skillet album. "Savior" is the next song and starts off with a melodic guitar riff that quickly turns into bone crunching guitars, yet another strong showing. The single "Open Wounds" pretty much summed up Skillets new and improved sound, a hard rocking bare bones guitar, bass and drum attack with a melodic back bone. "A little More" and "My Obsession" keep the flow going nicely in what was turning out to be a solid hard rock record, but then just as Skillet seemed to be getting comfortable, they throw us all for a loop right in the middle of the album (which was not so coincidental) with the title track "Collide." The song stats with a beautifully arranged organ piece that meshes perfectly with the guitars, and John Coopers singing "There's something deep inside that keeps my faith alive!!" a very powerful song, and the beginning of Skillet using epic arrangements in their music (something that would become common place on their following record). The band then follows up with "Fingernails" the hardest song on the record bar none, just a relentless drum/guitar attack! It's almost as if the purpose of that song is to prove "hey just because we are a Christian band does not mean we don't rock hard." "Imperfection" would fit in nicely with other songs played on Sirius Octane radio, and the songs meaning cuts to the bone with the chorus "You fall on your knees you beg you plead, your failures devour you hurting every hour, your turning in your imperfection." "Under My Skin" is a fairly lackluster ballad, and "Energy" and "Cycle Down" while a hard rocker fail to live up to the expectation set earlier by "Savior" and "Fingernails." If this album is your introduction to Skillet than it is a perfect debut album chalk full of radio-ready tracks that rock to the core and serve a therapeutic purpose to boot! If you have heard Skillet prior to Collide then this is a vast improvement and a landmark moment for the band.



For as good as Collide was, 2006's Comatose was even better! By this point Skillet was enjoying the stability that they Cooper always wanted, and with that stability came the confidence to expand their musical horizons even more and push the envelope to the brink, and boy did them ever! The album kicks off with bang with the epic "Rebirthing" which starts off with an amazing violin piece that puts "Collide" to shame. The intro blends in with the guitars seamlessly to provide one of the best opening sequences in modern rock, just an amazing song and definitely worth a listen the song also marks the debut of Korey Cooper as a co-vocalist, something that added yet another element to their expensive sound. "The Last Night" begins with a keyboard arrangement from Korey Cooper that turns into a string arrangement, this song also features Korey on vocals and her addition sounds really natural and adds to the music rather than taking away. "Better than Drugs" is a more straight up rocker that would fit in nicely in Collide but it does expand on the melody which is another sign of Skillet constant improvement. "Comatose" is another track that is heavy on classical string arrangements and again works well, the single "The Older I Get" is a more traditional uplifting ballad and comes at the right time as it stops the epic arrangements which can get repetitive if over done, this song proves that Skillet knows when and how to slow things down the right way. "Falling inside the Black" is the perfect song title for this arrangement as the song is edgeier than the other uplifting songs. "Whispers in the Dark" is the final great track on the album in an album full of them. With Comatose Skillet successfully pushed the envelope and came out of it as one of the most original and versatile bands of their time. They also established themselves as the very best of the best in Christian rock music!



Skillet established themselves as the top Christian rock band by headlining the biggest Christian tours and even starting tours like the critically acclaimed Acquire the Fire tour and the Justice and Mercy Tour. Skillet also proved that they were more than just a Christian band as they were prominently featured on a tour that included Seether, Three Days Grace, and Breaking Benjamin three of the top bands in modern rock today, they also headlined tours that featured Flyleaf and Decyfer Down. In 2008 they captured footage of their headlining tour and released it as a DVD/CD package titled Comatose Comes Alive.



After touring behind the successful Comatose for three years, the band returned to the studio and enlisted critically acclaimed modern rock and Grammy-nominated producer Howard Benson to record their latest studio Album Awake. With already two singles prior to the release of the album, Skillet seem poised to not only continue to lay claim to being the best Christian rock band on the planet but also to become one of the top bands in all of modern rock. The first single "Hero" is an incredibly catchy song and it must be said that then intro sounds strangely familiar to Linkin Parks "Papercut" intro, which is not a bad thing! The second single "Monster" is a more basic straight up rocker but both songs have already performed very well on the charts. Awake is set for release this Tuesday August 25th and if the first to songs are any indication we are in for a barn burner!!