Why Skillet?
Heart Of The Artist
Skillet’s “Monster” Hits 1 Billion Spotify Streams!
After nearly three decades, eleven albums, and thousands of concerts worldwide, Skillet plays louder, fights harder, and sounds more rebellious than ever. Their music has been/will be the rock full anthems that your students will have blasting in their earbuds and will want you to have rocking as they come into youth group each week!
You never know where or when a revolution might happen. It usually originates without warning and unexpectedly. After nearly three decades, eleven albums, and thousands of concerts worldwide, Skillet plays louder, fights harder, and sounds more rebellious than ever. Now, the multiplatinum chart-topping two-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated global hard rock quartet—John Cooper [lead vocals, bass], Korey Cooper [guitar, keys], Jen Ledger [drums, vocals], and Seth Morrison[lead guitar]—deliver an insurgent, infectious, and inimitable body of work with their twelfth full-length offering and first-ever independent album, Revolution. “Musically, there are a lot of flavors on the record,” notes John. “It’s got the arena songs, but it also has some tunes that are more nostalgic and throwback Skillet. Thematically, there’s so much nihilism in our culture. Depression and teen suicide are at epidemic levels. We’re revolting against a culture that creates nihilism, nothingness, and materialism. Revolution isn’t about wanting to burn everything down. Instead, it’s a revolution of love to say, ‘I refuse to be silent and let you destroy everything. Let’s rebuild together’.”
After an incredible 20 years on Atlantic Records, Skillet has built this new vision entirely by hand, intentionally opting to go independent at the end of their last contract and developing a solid indie team. Bolstered and galvanized by the support of a fervent global base, they took advantage of this new found freedom, writing and recording the album at their own pace on the road and at home as well as in studios across Milwaukee, Canada, and Nashville. The group also tapped the talents of longtime collaborators and producers Brian Howes and Seth Mosely, as well as band member Korey Cooper with YOUTHYEAR/Carlo Colasacco bringing these ten tracks to life naturally. “We made records on the same label for 20 years, and it was a great experience,” says John. “Since this was the first independent record, it put some pep in my step, so to speak,” he laughs. “We did exactly what we wanted to do. If I was on the road and felt inspired to write, I just did. In the past, we’d make a bunch of ideas and whittle everything down for the album. This time, we only wrote and recorded ten tracks, but it was all we needed. ”Fittingly, Skillet comes out of the gate swinging with the single “Unpopular.” Exuding confidence, it hinges on a hard-hitting guitar groove and swaggering rhythm. A shotgun blast, Ric Flair-inspired “Woo,” and wailing guitar lead perfectly complement the tongue-in-cheek lyrics as John muses, “I think today’s a good day to be unpopular.” “It’s lighthearted, but there’s a clear message,” he goes on. “So many people don’t have a place to belong. You used to know your neighbors. Our communities are online now, which contributes to the loneliness. You have powerful people telling you what reality is, what you should eat, what you should drive, and how you should live. They deem us ‘unpopular’. In reality, we agree more than we disagree as a society. The majority of people just want to be free and they don’t really care whether or not you agree with them about everything. I don’t mind being ‘unpopular’ to powers-that-be who think I should shut up! ”On the follow-up single “Ash In The Wind,” cinematic electronics melt into a hard-hitting bridge punctuated by pinch harmonics and a gritty riff. Emotion overflows as John wonders, “What am I supposed to do?”“It reminds me of a mix of old Skillet and Linkin Park who I’m a huge fan of,” grins John. “Korey produced it, and it definitely merges the live performance with modern recording techniques. I was thinking of social media, and it makes me mad to see what’s it done to our youth.
Elsewhere, airy guitar gives way to a chantable chorus on “All That Matters to Me” as John sings, “My faith, my family, my freedom’s all that matters to me.” “It was the first song I wrote,” he recalls. “I was sick of all of the anger, insanity, and violence in the world—whether it’s school shootings or people constantly for something to hate online and yelling. I was thinking, ‘How do we remind?’ Again, everyone doesn’t have to agree by any means, but how do we reclaim ideas of community, loving your neighbor, and being willing to tolerate opposing viewpoints as friends? I had to say something about it. ”Then, there’s “Not Afraid.” Melodic guitar entwines with big screen-ready strings, while John locks into a call-and-response with Jen on the bridge. It culminates on refrain,“ I will keep the faith, never back down till my dying day. Staring death straight in her face, I am not afraid, ”bulldozing a path for a fret-scorching solo. “We wanted to add the classical vibe with some throwback guitars,” he goes on. “The chorus has a lot of swag. It became the vibe of the album, which is heart-on-your-sleeve and ready-to-take-on-the-world.”The opener “Show Time” sets the tone. A muscular riff lumbers and stomps, and a charismatic back-and-forth between John and Jen dominates the chorus, “Tonight’s the night we make history, you gotta fight to take victory. Show time, here we go!” On the other end of the spectrum, John carries the heartfelt “Happy Wedding Day (Alex’s Song)” with unabashed emotion over softly strummed acoustic guitar. He exhales, “I blinked, it went faster than a freight train, happy wedding day.” “I was initially going to write the song, not show anyone, and sing it at my daughter’s wedding as a surprise, ”he remembers. “I never finished the second verse though. I figured there was no way I could do it without getting choked up anyway! When I woke up on the wedding day, I was like,‘ I have to do this song’,” he chuckles. “I grabbed my guitar, and I sang it. My daughter loved it, and everyone was crying. We haven’t done anything like this in a long time, but everybody was like, ‘You have to put it on the record’. I’m glad we did.
Revolution has only extended Skillet’s formidable legacy. As of 2024, the band have received two GRAMMY® Award nominations, picked up a Billboard Music Award, and landed three albums in the Top 5 of the Billboard200. Selling over 22 million units worldwide, they have notched multiplatinum, platinum, or gold RIAA certifications for a total of 12 singles and four full-length albums. Not to mention, they have regularly attracted 10 million monthly listeners on Spotify, boasting “one of the most-streamed rock songs of all-time” with the 5x-platinum “Monster.” Their presence has impressively surged throughout popular culture with songs on WWE, Marvel, ESPN, and NFL in addition to coverage from USA Today, The New York Times, and more. As a live force of nature, they have touched down on four continents and in 26 countries, packing arenas everywhere from the Middle East to Russia. Not to mention, Skillet expanded their world with the graphic novel series EDEN. The first installment stood out as Z2 Comics’ best-selling book of all-time. Even with all of this history in the rearview, Revolution feels like a new beginning for Skillet.
John Cooper and Skillet are amazing friends of youth ministry. Their music rocks hard (which your students love) and their messages provide solid spiritual themes that tie to what you are teaching your group. As one of the best-selling rock bands of the 21st century, Skillet continue to rebel against conventions, doubts, expectations, and rules with the intent to uplift in light. However, as all classic underdog stories do, it happened quietly under the radar. By 2019, they not only garnered a pair of GRAMMY® Award nods and sold over 12 million albums worldwide, but they also took home a Billboard Music Award for the double-platinum Awake. Its breakout single “Monster” remains “one of the most-streamed rock songs of all-time” with 285 million global audio streams.
2016’s Unleashed bowed at #3 on the Billboard Top 200. Going #1 on Rock Radio, the lead single “Feel Invincible” cracked 150 million global audio streams and went platinum. Meanwhile, the gold-certified Unleashed became their fourth consecutive album to receive either a gold, platinum, or double-platinum plaque. To date, nine original tunes earned RIAA recognition in tandem with high-profile syncs by everyone from WWE and Marvel to ESPN and NFL. As a touring phenomenon, they regularly sell out arenas worldwide, playing in over 26 countries and 6 continents, and have earned acclaim from Billboard, USA Today, The New York Times, and many more. Not to mention, their debut graphic novel, EDEN: A Skillet Graphic Novel with Z2 Comics, emerged as the publisher’s best-selling book of all-time and launched a fan favorite series, with their second graphic novel releasing the fall of 2020, EDEN: The Aftermath. All to date, the band has clocked 5 billion streams.
The Kenosha, Wisconsin quartet—John Cooper [lead vocals/bass], Korey Cooper [guitar/keys], Jen Ledger [drums/vocals], and Seth Morrison [lead guitar]—never compromise their integrity. Instead, they’ve traveled their own path to unprecedented heights with an urgent sound, undeniable energy, and unbreakable spirit.
As the Global Pandemic brought 2020 to a halt, Skillet creatively pushed forward. The musicians logged on to ZOOM and recorded what would become Dominion with producer Kevin Churko [Papa Roach, Disturbed, Five Finger Death Punch] and co-writer Kane Churko over the course of the year. The Churkos inspired the band to stretch their sonic palette once again.
“We recorded the entire album together, and we were never in the same room at the same time,” recalls John. “We’d write together and discuss the direction. Kevin and Kane would send us tracks; we’d send them tracks. I’d record on the bus or at home. It made the process go extremely quickly. Once everything opened up a little more, we could’ve flown to Las Vegas, but it was going so well remotely. It made us willing to try some new things that I don’t think we would’ve if it was in person.”
On their eleventh full-length album, Dominion [Atlantic Records], Skillet encourage a different kind of revolt when the world could really use it…“I call it positive rebellion,” exclaims John. “It’s a rebellion against those internal elements such as fear and anxiety and sin. It’s a rebellion against external forces wanting you to be something you don’t want to be…It’s a celebration of the freedom we have in our lives. It’s very anti-establishment. It’s a rally call to stand up for what you believe in and refuse to be silenced about the gospel of Christ. It might be unpopular in certain places, but there’s nothing more rock ‘n’ roll than that,” he smiles.
Skillet receiving platinum recognition Fox & Friends July 2019
Artist Socials
Get all the latest updates on Skillet's music and ministry
