R.F. Gammon Author: January 2018

Band Highlights: Skillet

by R.F. Gammon - January 19, 2018

Yikes. When I did my last Band Highlights post, waayyy back in August or something, I promised it would be a monthly thing. One of my New Year's resolutions is for that to be a thing now :/

But finally, several months late, I have a second Band Highlights for you all! Today's focus artist is a slightly more popular Christian artist (okay, significantly more popular), SKILLET!

Skillet is a rock band, although they're starting to lean a little more in the pop direction with their latest album (which makes me sad--their best songs are the heavy rocking ones.) I only really like their more recent albums (Comatose, Awake, Rise, and Unleashed), so I'll only be talking about the songs from those albums. The earlier albums are still worth a listen, though. Keep in mind that this list is only a matter of my personal opinion, and is not the definitive ranking (although, obviously, this is me talking, so it's pretty definitive.)

Let's get started!

#10: Never Surrender

A song that has helped me in some of my darkest moments (especially in the latter half of 2016), this is a rock-ballad that reminds me that I'm not alone in my suffering. Others feel the same thing as you do. Other people want to surrender. But Jesus is there in the darkness.

#9: Famous

From Skillet's newest album Unleashed. This song marks a landmark for them as their first real dance song, but while it sounds fairly generic, the lyrics are amazing. For most of their first decade and a half, Skillet was in the closet about their faith--doing generic sounding lyrics and working to ensure that their songs appealed to a secular audience as well as a Christian one. But with this song, they have come exploding out in a loud, unashamed celebration of their faith. And I love it. It's anthematic, explosive, and compelling. I play it in the car on the way to places I don't want to go, usually. This is definitely one of my favorite Skillet songs.

#8: Out of Hell

Sometimes it feels like heaven on earth, but sometimes the Christian walk feels an awful lot like a taste of hell. This song doesn't shy away from that feeling and is incredibly encouraging--it's a great reminder that life here is not always or even usually smooth sailing. One of the heaviest songs on Unleashed, it's a pretty darn great song.

#7: Lucy

One of my favorite pro-life songs, the story of this song is a friend of John Cooper's (the lead singer for the band) whose girlfriend had an abortion, and the regret he felt afterward. It's heartbreaking, scorching, and doesn't shy away from the fact that abortion kills a living child. Cooper's voice captures the raw emotion of a parent in this position beautifully.

#6: Say Goodbye

This song is precious to me for personal reasons. It's kind of a breakup song about two folks who don't really want to break up, or just a song about goodbyes between two friends. It's a ballad from Comatose, widely regarded as one of Skillet's best ballads, and is just emotional and sweet.

#5: Those Nights

Another one I love just because it's fun but also very deep. John Cooper had a tough childhood, and this song is about a dear friend who helped him get through it. I love it. It's got personal meaning to me too, although I'm not sure exactly why--I just really love it.

#4: Hero

A power rock song about how Christians are called to be heroes, but also need a Hero, the ultimate Hero from Heaven. We're not perfect and we can do far from everything, and this song is a powerful reminder of that fact.

#3: The Resistance

For me, as a social activist, this song is a pump-up that I like to play whenever I'm getting ready to do something powerful. In the pro-life movement, it's especially precious to me. "I AM A MILLION FACES FORMED TOGETHER MADE FOR ELEVATION." It's more than just a fun rock song--Christians, we ARE the Resistance. We have to fight against the dark powers of this world.

#2: Not Gonna Die

No matter how dark it gets, no matter how evil the evil seems, no matter how close to a flat line my heart seems, I'm not alone. "When everything you love is leavin', you hold on to what you believe in," shouts John Cooper on this rock anthem, and it's true. This is just a good song. 100% recommend. (I'd also recommend you check out the official lyric video for that one--it's incredible.)

#1: Rise

Here it is: My ultimate favorite and perhaps Skillet's best song. The mood of the song is desperate, the key determined, and the lyrics despondent and driving. We go on a roller coaster of emotion from despair ("every day you need a bullet proof vest/ to save yourself from what you could never guess") to resolve and revolt ("you can't give up if you wanna keep what you love/NEVER GIVE UP NO"). It's my ultimate pump-up. It's a song with a great message. I love it so much.

Listen to it today, please.