Cutting Through The American Noise

WOW!!! To quote a title from Sweet Comfort Band, The Waiting Is Over.

Let me take a breath and rewind. Expectations are a cruel thing, and usually they are not met and disappointment ensues. The best out there usually wind up just meeting our expectations and leave us feeling... satisfied.

Then there are the truly rarefied air bands. They are the acts that not only clear the bar of expectation every time, they can clear it so well that they make further comparison ridiculous. Such a band is +Skillet.

Skillet had a less then industry changing debut in 1996, and even Nostradamus wouldn't have predicted their success. To be fair I got their debut CD after I was hooked. I came in at Hey You, I Love Your Soul, which though only their second album, represented a giant leap in talent and production. Beginning with Invincible, Korey Cooper, John's Wife, came on board to add programming, synthesizers and backing vocals. She also runs the band. (If you don't believe me, look at the credits for her name on any album).

Rise has been haled as the bands Magnum Opus, and hint that this may be their swan song. I hope it's not, but if it is, talk about going out on top. Though Korey has hit the big 4-0 and John is pushing it, the couple are in tremendous shape and I think with the popularity the band has they will be chasing Petra's longevity before long.

Rise is a Theme Album, like FM Static's Dear Diary, though on a much darker note. The Theme is Evil, and what we must do to stand against it. It is brought into focus with the 911 Montage ending the title cut, where we are urged to "Rise in Revolution", against the world system if we're "Sick of it", which reintroduces the long missing electronic edge of the band.

Chicks rule on Rise . The album marks the "introduction" of Jen Ledger to the world. Though she has been drummer since Comatose (2006), she shines on this time, and is even allowed to (almost) carry a few songs (three: Salvation, Fire and Fury and What I believe).

This could be Skillet's hardest rocking album, though ballads like Good To Be Alive, American Noise and Salvation could steal the show. They also create a few mega songs by using intros between Rise and Sick of It, Good to Be Alive and Not Gonna Die, and Madness in Me and Salvation. We still find room for strings, another Korey Cooper specialty, on Salvation especially.

Music Videos don't usually capture the intensity of the album, and lyric videos even less so. However for Rise Skillet has managed to do it. A "lyric video" with an animated dystopian world.

The only bad thing to say is that I have to give this album a measly 5 Emeralds. I mean, I've got this on auto repeat as long as Billboard Magazine has the preview up. 50 Emeralds is more like it. Rise in Revolution, buy the album. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Flashback Friday: Cooking Something Up

Among the top tier of Christian Rock, and definitely Christian Industrial, very few have survived as much change as Skillet. Begun in 1996 as a trio (Skillet Trio, sounds like something at Denny's), the band was originally a side project to three bands which no longer exist. The original lineup consisted of:

• John Cooper: Vocals, Bass, Piano (fmr Lead Singer of Seraph)
• Trey McClurkin: Drums, Vocals
• Ken Steorts: Guitars, Vocals, Guitar Synths (fmr Guitarist Urgent Cry)

The bands eponymous debut made my list of albums I want to Strand on a Desert Island. But what a difference two years can make. Though the lineup was unchanged, Hey You, I Love Your Soul (1998) showed that a vast improvement had been made. Still, no one would predict that the band would be anything more than a pretty good band.

Three years old and the first change occurred. The trio became a quartet. Ken Steorts left to found the Visible Music School (responsible for creating the band Luminate among others). The new lineup was:

• John Cooper: Vocals, Bass, Loops, Keyboards, Guitars
• Korey Cooper: (John's Wife) Keyboards, Loops, Sampling, Programming (fmr lead of the band Alkeme)
• Kevin Haaland: Guitar
• Trey McClurkin: Drums

This lineup didn't last very long. McClurkin soon left and, after Invincible (2000), was replaced by Korey's Alkeme drummer Lori Peters. One note on Invincible. The album featured the band superimposed upon a skyscraper, and a song entitled "Earth Invasion" which contained the lyrics "Changing History, when the colliding comes, where will you run. Come with us if you want to live." Since this came out just months before 9/11, I think they were strangely prophetic. One thing Invincible was noted for was two awesome "duets" between Korey and John, Will You Be There (Falling Down) and Come My Way. I would love to see an entire album of those duets.

The lineup of The Coopers, Peters and Haaland recorded a live worship album which will go on the Night Beats list of the Best Albums ever. I went to Christian Bookstores a lot at the time, and this was the only album which I remember forgetting to advance through the songs quickly. I went from song one, to two, to three, to four, before getting a little embarrassed. Needless to say I bought the CD. If you believe, like me, that "it ain't worship until your ears bleed", then this album is for you. Plus the extended "worship jams" (like the 5 minute Angels Fall Down jam).

Beginning with Collide (2003), the now firmly established Hard Rock/Industrial band began a practice of turning the title track on a CD into a signature piece, complete with massive orchestration and the like. More change occurred after Comatose when Peters left to be replaced by (now) gorgeous redhead Jen Ledger from Great Britain, the bands first reach out into the international talent pool. Haaland was replaced by Ben Kasica in 2001 and left to be replaced by current guitarist Seth Morrison. Comatose (2006) has a record three "love songs", which somehow mean a lot more to me now than when I originally bought the album.

Awake (2009) was the last time they were in the studio, but word is we may soon see something in the next year.

For A band which has thrived on change, even going so far as to have an Upright Bass and Violin in its lineup, the sky is the limit. And though they are now entering their forties, John and Korey still look like they're about twenty, so I don't forsee the band going away any time soon. And neither will The Night Beat, though we must take a bit of time off for Thanksgiving. Until we next meet, I am Awaiting Your Reply.