I can't think about the American Christian rock band, Skillet. I can't even think about their stairway to their success. I’m not gonna think that it’s their milestone of success. Cause they're gonna releases their eighth studio album. In January 2012, Skillet announced that they will not be touring for most of the summer so that they can record the new album. Then in an interview with RadioU, John Cooper (the vocal of Skillet) stated that the band currently had 61 songs written and would be heading into the studio in October to record the album with Howard Benson for an early 2013 release; and it was announced in 18 July, 2012. And lastly in an Interview on January 26, 2013 in Beaumont TX, John Cooper announced that the new album, “Rise”. I think they'll rise by their album “Rise”. Firstly the album was decided to release in May 2013 but was later scheduled for a June 25, 2013 release. Skillet have already released a track of their new album, “Sick of It”. And it’s unbelievably rocking in the radios. "Sick of It" was released on SoundCloud on April 8, 2013 and was released on iTunes on April 9, and was released to US rock radio on April 23.
In an interview with CCM Magazine, John Cooper compared the new album with "a roller coaster ride". "We have aggressive tracks, artsy and musical tracks, which is new territory for Skillet. A couple songs are classic American heartland anthems, and a couple songs are signature symphonic-classical rock Skillet. Guitars are dirty and edgier, with absolute shredding solos by Seth."
Tracklist of Rise:
Rise
Sick of It
Good to Be Alive
Not Gonna Die
Circus for a Psycho
American Noise
Madness in Me
Salvation
Fire and Fury
My Religion
Hard to Find
What I Believe
Something is going on. Something is going on to skillet and absolutely it’s all about their new album. It’s not my concept. The vocal of Skillet, John Cooper explains, “The narrative idea happened after we had 10 or 11 of the songs chosen. As we recorded them, we started to realize that there was something going on — that the album was really telling a story. Realizing that, I knew we needed to make it as powerful as we could.”
Skillet is an American Christian band formed in Memphis, Tennessee. John Cooper, former vocalist for Tennessee progressive rock band Seraph, and Ken Steorts, former guitarist for Urgent Cry; the two bands met through touring together. But unfortunately those bands disbanded soon after, so John and Ken's pastor encouraged them to form their own band. Coming from different styles of rock music, they decided to name the experiment Skillet. The band went through several line-up changes early in their career, leaving founder John Cooper as the only original member remaining in the band. The band currently consists of husband and wife John (lead vocals, bass) and Korey Cooper (rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), along with Jen Ledger (drums, vocals) and Seth Morrison (lead guitar).
The latest lineup of Skillet:
John Cooper – lead vocals, bass and acoustic guitar (1996–present)Korey Cooper – vocals, backing vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, synthesizer (1999–present)
Jen Ledger – vocals, backing vocals, drums, percussion (2008–present)
Seth Morrison – lead guitar (2011–present)
Former members:
Kevin Haaland – lead guitar (1999–2001)Ben Kasica – lead guitar (2001–2011, 2011)
Trey McClurkin – drums, backing vocals (1996–2000)
Lori Peters – drums (2000–2007)
Jonathan Salas – lead guitar (2011)
Ken Steorts – lead guitar (1996–1999)
Touring members:
Billy Dawson – rhythm guitar (2000)Faith Stern – keyboards, vocals (2002–2003)
Chris Marvin – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2002–2003, 2005–2006)
Andrea Winchell – keyboards (2005–2006)
Jonathan Chu – violin (2008–present)
Tate Olsen – cello (2008–present)
Scotty Rock – bass (2009–2011)
Formed in 1996, the band Skillet has released eight albums, two receiving Grammy nominations: Collide and Comatose. Awake has been certified Platinum and debuted on No. 2 on the Billboard 200, with Comatose certified Gold by RIAA. They have sold over 2 million albums in the U.S. alone[not verified in body] and are known for a relentless touring schedule, which garnered them a top five ranking in the Hardest Working Bands of 2011 by Songkick.
Studio Albums of Skillet:
Skillet (1996)
Hey You, I Love Your Soul (1998)
Invincible (2000)
Alien Youth (2001)
Collide (2003)
Comatose (2006)
Awake (2009)
Rise (2013)