I want to start off with the fact that Skillet is my all-time favorite band and has been since 2010, when “Monster” was their biggest hit. I’ve spent hours thinking through each lyric of each album throughout the years and conversing with fellow Panheads (Skillet fans) about their changes in sound and sending each other critical reviews. When I say there are not enough good things I can say about Skillet’s new album Revolution, I mean it sincerely.
Let me take you through the experiences I had as I listened through this new masterpiece.
You know how before a movie or a concert, the main person will say, “It’s showtime”…? That’s exactly what I imagined when John Cooper said “ready, set, showtime” as the first lines of the entire album — an opening of the curtain to the war story about to unfold. What a way to start and what a song to lay down the foundation of Revolution as a whole. It’s not hard for anyone listening to “Showtime” to get on their feet and jump around their room, reminded of the idea of lacing up their boots at the front door and putting on the armor of God like Ephesians 6:10-17. You hype yourself up to get ready and motivated for a fight. The fight for freedom to speak your mind and the freedom to do what you want… The weapons? The sword of the spirit and of love. But, not just any kind of love; the kind that is spoken in 1 Corinthians 13, aka, agape love: love that is unchanging, sacrificial, and giving. This love is so powerful that it will give and persevere through rejection and to even enemies. This love is complete self-denial.
This takes us straight into the second song — the first single off the album, “Unpopular”. What better way to start the fight than to stand in the midst of enemies and be “unpopular”? The enemies in this war aren’t just any enemies; these are the enemies called “social media”. These are the enemies that discredit your beliefs. These are the enemies on the news that speak lies to the masses. Standing up against these enemies means being able to handle the backlash and say ‘whatever’ and let the lies slide off your back.
You decide that maybe there doesn’t have to be a fight.
Maybe the enemy can see reason. You try to convince them to back off and talk in “All That Matters”, listing off what is most important if no one backs down and sticking to it. The enemies can’t see reason, though, no matter how hard you try to make them see it; they are so delusional in their own version of reality that they won’t back off. So, the real fight begins in “Not Afraid”. The scream in the beginning of the song is almost a spit, like you’re is saying ‘oh, so you want to be like that, huh?’ as the enemies try to come straight at you, bringing you close to the ground, suffocating you, and smothering you in hopes you will give up as a haunting voice sings in the background. Joke’s on them, though; the suffering was only fueling the fire to fight back. You scream “I can’t breathe!” as a last attempt to throw off the weight of the enemies crushing you before you stand your feet and spit in the face of death.
Imagine, after, smoke billowing around you as you tear through the battlefield in slow-motion, waving the banner for freedom chanting “sing a revolution song”. Can you see your fellow fighters looking towards you, their dead eyes coming alive as you carry the banner of hope? Can you see them get up and come running behind you, chanting with you?
That’s what “Revolution” is.
BAM! Just as you get the motivation, you are struck again by a bigger and stronger enemy than the others. He captures you and throws you in chains. You realize it’s not anyone physical, but the thoughts in your head. How are you going to get past this one? You can’t fight this enemy physically. You can’t just ignore the thoughts. You cry out, “What am I supposed to do?” in absolute defeat, when the power weighing you down disappears like “Ash In the Wind” and you break free from the chains. You escape and go back into battle.
The strings start to play as the remnants of Comatose creep upon you and the climax of the album is reached. You realize the war wasn’t one just about freedom and truth. The war was for your soul all along. It wasn’t between you and a bunch of enemies; it was always between your soul and flesh, culture on the side of flesh. The thoughts keep coming at you. The lies from the enemies don’t stop. What is reality? Are your comrades even telling you the truth? You can’t discern anymore. Is anyone on side of truth? Maybe you’re the crazy one. Where is the fire you once had? It starts fizzling out as you lie on the ground. Why bother, when you can’t even save yourself? How many times have you fought only to be caught and brought down again? How much more? Is it too late to ask for help? You call out to someone to light the “Fire Inside of Me” and you close your eyes and pass out.
You come to and that’s when the thing you forgot steps into your peripheral view.
He slows everything down around you and tells you that He will be the light when you cannot see. He tells you he will be the breath when you cannot breathe. He tells you He will always be at your side forever, even if everyone leaves. Who could even promise these things in the midst of the absolute suffering you endured time and time again? He then yells “no!” at the voices that gave you lie after lie. You then remember the one constant thing in your life that can fulfill all these needs: the Lord comforts and is the only one that can sustain life and help you through any and all battles. He will never be a “Defector”.
The oddball of the album is “Happy Wedding Day (Alex’s Song)”, an acoustic song of memories John Cooper recalls as he walks his daughter down the aisle on her wedding day. Or maybe this song is just as fitting to the album as John expresses his values in an example: a wedding that is meant to be a joining of two people in a covenant before God. A father seeing the ultimate representation of Christ’s love for the church in front of him. A father who raised his daughter into a person of God. A representation of God sanctifying and teaching His children to live holy lives.
Electric meets classic rock in the best way possible.
You get up from the ground, the fire lit inside of you to keep going, your firm foundation in Christ stronger than ever. Your identity is in Christ, the “Death Defier” — not a bad person made good, but a dead person made alive.
As Peter said in 1 Peter 4:12-16: “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.”
You now take the suffering as a challenge and a joy to go through and you continue the war of life, knowing that the glory of God never fades and He will be glorified through every battle.
The song closes out the album with victory as you ride off into the sunset in a convertible, shades on, leather jacket.
When Dominion came out, I had expectations that it would be THE album. I was mistaken. Revolution is THE album. This is the Skillet I know. This is the Skillet I love. My 14-year-old heart has awakened, hearing that the Skillet that stood up for being different and doing what you want still exists. My 14-year-old heart rejoiced at the aggression that I was so longing to hear from the Collide and Comatose days, bringing back the nu metal feel into their music. Skillet is still in the war and, after 14 years of listening to them, they are just as grounded in Christ as they were originally, if not more — pushing back against culture harder than ever. Their music has evolved along with them; this album shows this, as they take elements from their best albums and bring new ones into the mix.
To my fellow believers reading this, the fight through life will be hard. There will be guaranteed suffering. Do not lose hope. This is the message conveyed through the entire album. You know what happens at the end of the Bible? You know the end of the war? God wins. Do not lose hope and keep fighting.
Skillet – “Unpopular”
Track listing:
- Showtime
- Unpopular
- All That Matters
- Not Afraid
- Revolution
- Ash In The Wind
- Fire Inside of Me
- Defector
- Happy Wedding Day (Alex’s Song)
- Death Defier
Stream ‘Revolution’ album:
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Disclaimer: All views presented in this album review are those of the reviewer and not necessarily those of Top Shelf Music.
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