Skillet initially
started off not so subtly. Having released nine albums, the first five of these
albums including album titles such as Hey
You, I Love Your Soul and Ardent
Worship, and on such albums are songs with titles like Who Is Like Our God, the band never really had anything beyond a
strong Christian following. It was the release of their 2003 album Collide that really broke them in to
relevance, getting rid of much of the heavily experimental sounds that they had
played with on previous albums and started making alternative rock music
comparable to that of Three Days Grace.
It was their next album, Comatose
when the band really started getting attention and then even more so with its
follow up Awake. Now the messages
the band were giving were more subtle and could have been defined to mean
anything to their listeners. Songs like Hero
has open lyrics for any concept the listener wanted to make of it, while Skillet main man John L. Cooper definitely had an idea of what the songs meaning
was. It was now at the point where many rock fans knew the name Skillet, but for most of these people,
if you told them that Skillet were a
Christian band, most people would be shocked. I’m not kidding; with the exception
of my group of friends that got me in to the band, absolutely no one else I’ve
ever brought them up to knew before hand that Skillet are a Christian rock band until I revealed it to them.
So now comes the most recent 2013 release by the band, Rise; a release that shouldn’t
disappoint fans of the band. The mechanics of the album are similar to that of
previous albums, with a lot of epic string section background music and nice
heavy guitar sounds, but this time around the band decided to make somewhat of
a concept album. The concept being very simple, emphasis on “very”, with the
message being summed up on the albums first two tracks Rise and Sick of It; if
you’re sick of the problems in the world, whatever they may be, rise away from
them and try to make the world better. To tie the songs together, most of the
twelve tracks on the album have audio breaks that end the songs, some last up
to a minute. These audio breaks vary from 911 calls, to news reports, to
children singing.
After the first two heavy tracks, the band shows their softer
side with Good To Be Alive. This
song is a tad different from their previous softer songs because usually when
the band releases songs that seem soft but aren’t ballads, such as The Last Night, they still have a very
heavy edge to them, while Good To Be
Alive maintains a fresh inspiring sound throughout, while remaining strong
enough to not be considered a ballad. This is truly a highlight in the bands
career because it shows maturing in the song writing skills of the already
matured John L. Cooper. American Noise follows the format of
this sound, being very soft and inspirational yet not quite being a ballad. The
last of these tracks is the song Hard to
Find.
Not Gonna
Die provides the familiar epic sound of the band with its strong
usage of string section, some electronic sounds and strong heavy music with
heartfelt singing by both John and
drummer Jen Ledger.
The band has always had a number of titles to their genre
beyond simply “Christian” rock. Circus
For a Psycho is among the songs that push the limits to what kind of genre
the band is. This track has many heavy metal traits, including a killer guitar
intro by newly acquainted lead guitarist Seth
Morrison. The song also has a tempo somewhat faster and more intense than
your average Skillet song, and
sounds somewhat more angry than usual. Madness
In Me falls somewhere in between Circus
For a Psycho and Not Gonna Die.
It doesn’t have the epic background music, but is heavy and somewhat angry
sounding, yet it is not as fast paced and intense.
On the previous album, Awake,
drummer Jen Ledger sang co-lead vocals
on some parts of the songs Hero and Awake and Alive, as well as background
vocals on Monster. This time around
we hear Jens voice on many of the songs on the album, and especially on the
albums ballad Salvation. While John still has a prominent role in the
vocals of the song, Jen’s voice is hear more so on this track than on any
other, and provides a welcome change for the band’s sound. This continues on
the next track and my personal favourite, Fire
and Fury, which also features both members on vocals, and could also be
considered a ballad.
A low moment for the album is the song My Religion. I feel with this track, the band is trying to remind
people who have forgotten that the band is in fact a worship band. Musically it
is an interesting track, sounding like a 1940’s lounge song turned in to a rock
song, and the lyrics don’t exploit religion but rather express love for a certain
figure, which could be determined to be a loved one, or a religious figure. The
problem with the track is that it is perhaps the most forgettable track on the
album.
The album ends with What I Believe. This song brings back
that familiar sound similar to what is heard on Not Gonna Die. It caps off the album well to remind fans of the
bands signature sound, despite stepping somewhat out of their element on the
album.
Despite many fans not knowing that the band is a Christian
rock band, the band still has a very strong Christian following, which was made
very clear to me the two times I have seen them perform live. I won’t get in to
specifics, but let’s just say that both times I saw them it was part of a music
festival and the act to go on right before them wasn’t a band, but a speaker,
or a preacher if you will; definitely a different experience to say the least. But
Skillet’s roots with their fans have
not been lost. As their popularity grows, and their fan base rises (no pun
intended) they will never stop performing music the way they want to, which
seems to go by well with their ever growing fan base. I do, however, regard this album to not be as good as the bands two previous albums. but that doesn't mean that it doesn't beat out most of the albums to have already come out this year. It may just be the new transition in sound hasn't quite hit me yet.
ALBUM HIGHLIGHT
“What I Believe” – The first time I
have ever selected and albums closing track as the highlight. I chose this song
for the listener who has never heard of the band. This song sums up the album
by providing the heavy sound that the band is capable of as well as mixing in
the melodic superiorities of the bands vocals. This song can also sum up the band
in general; it has that “epic” sound that the band has shown thoroughly
throughout their past few albums. Despite the album going away from most of the
bands familiar elements in terms of sound, this song does a more than
exceptional job bringing it all in full circle.
FINAL RATING
8.5 (Out of 10)
Track List:
1.
|
"Rise"
|
4:20
|
2.
|
"Sick
of It"
|
3:11
|
3.
|
"Good
to Be Alive"
|
4:59
|
4.
|
"Not
Gonna Die"
|
3:45
|
5.
|
"Circus
for a Psycho"
|
4:31
|
6.
|
"American
Noise"
|
4:09
|
7.
|
"Madness
in Me"
|
4:17
|
8.
|
"Salvation"
|
3:45
|
9.
|
"Fire
and Fury"
|
3:56
|
10.
|
"My
Religion"
|
4:12
|
11.
|
"Hard
to Find"
|
3:48
|
12.
|
"What
I Believe"
|
3:19
|
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