Skillet: best band you’ve (probably) never heard of? (continued)

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Time to bring it down a notch (or two, or three). Here is a beautiful song, that was written as a tribute to Chester Bennington of Linkin Park.

Skillet – “Victorious”

 

As I mentioned earlier, Skillet is often referred to as a Christian rock band. In some sense, this is true. The members of the band are Christians, and not shy about it. On the other hand, I followed the Christian Contemporary Music scene for many years. Bands like Michael W Smith, Amy Grant, Jars of Clay, DC Talk, etc. Those, to me, are Christian bands. Skillet is more like a band of Christians, if you catch the difference there.

That said, one thing often recognized about Skillet is their positive, inspiring messages in their lyrics. This is the case almost to a fault. So many of their songs are about: overcoming, resisting, fighting for life/change, etc. You’ve probably picked up on these themes.

But, they can also do songs that border on Christian worship songs, or are specifically Christian worship songs. Here are a couple of examples. The second is an acoustic version of one of their songs featured in the movie, The Shack.

Skillet – “Salvation”

 

Skillet – “Stars”

 

What a beautiful song, eh? If you are a Christian, the lyrics are quite deep and inspiring. In fact, this is one of the songs I knew and loved before I knew who Skillet was. I remember it distinctly being played at a church we visited, and how immediately the congregation was able to sing it, and how worshipful it was (which isn’t always the case with contemporary Christian worship songs).

Apparently, Skillet does get some radio play. I have never heard them on the radio, though I don’t listen to metal stations (not that I even know one exists, but they must). The following is one such song, then, that you may recognize.

 

Skillet – “Whispers in the Dark”

 

Skillet also has a graphic novel and/or apocalyptic/zombie type vibe to some of their songs. These aren’t my favorites, but maybe they’d be yours. I’ll point out a few of them here. As always, they do have a great sound to them. Catchy riffs, crunchy guitars, etc.

 

Skillet – “Monster”

 

Monster, I believe, is by far their most popular song.

 

Skillet – “Psycho in my Head”

 

Don’t get me wrong, I like these tracks, but compared to their other work, they just can’t be favorites.

They even do ballads (what rock band doesn’t?).

 

Skillet – “The Last Night”

 

What I love about this song, is that it features Korey Cooper on vocals. Since Jen joined the band, they obviously feature her in most of their new songs. I can’t blame them, the John/Jen vocal combination, with his distorted, gritty sound and her angelic, clean sound is nothing short of vocal magic. Chills are often triggered! But, I do love Korey’s vocals, too. They remind me a bit of Pat Benatar, one of my favorite female vocalists from my childhood.

By the way, did I mention that John and Korey are husband and wife? They’ve been touring all 25+ years of their marriage.

 

I really hope you enjoyed this intro to Skillet. Yes, it is just an intro. They’ve been around for 28 years now, and with 11 albums, that is a lot of material. I am just starting to work my way through their albums, so I have much to discover, too.

Stay tuned for an update… as I will be going to see them in concert in June. I’m so excited! They are supposed to be one of the best live bands around, and put on an incredible show.

Image credit: VelvetKelm20 CC BY-SA 4.0