Kickin’ Down the Door
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“Even if we get to the point of selling five million records, we still want to come back and play Ignite,” continues John. “I grew up listening to Christian music and that’s been a cornerstone in my faith that’s helped me get through a lot of hard times in life. Plus I’d feel a lot more comfortable having younger kids see us at Ignite or at Cornerstone than opening up for Rob Zombie. It’s encouraging to their faith and also gives us a chance to say more from stage.”
“Even if we get to the point of selling five million records, we still want to come back and play Ignite,” continues John. “I grew up listening to Christian music and that’s been a cornerstone in my faith that’s helped me get through a lot of hard times in life. Plus I’d feel a lot more comfortable having younger kids see us at Ignite or at Cornerstone than opening up for Rob Zombie. It’s encouraging to their faith and also gives us a chance to say more from stage.”
Positive messages and powerhouse production
But that isn’t to say Skillet is shy about sharing its faith no matter what the environment, whether it be the overt admission during the Comatose Comes Alive club tour that the foursome is indeed a “Christian band” or the fact that Awake is loaded with uplifting antidotes. If anything, the new album seeks to empower believers to live out their Christianity even more boldly, while spreading seeds of hope to those in darker places that might only know the band from mainstream radio.
“It’s an aggressive title, and it feels very in your face,” John asserts of Awake. “It’s basically the opposite of feeling like you’re wandering or strolling through life, but rather, facing issues and the world as a whole head on with a mission in your life. It also mirrors the sound in a way, which is pretty full on where even the rock songs are louder than normal.”
A major factor in the collaboration process was a production tag team with Howard Benson, the creative mastermind that helped propel P.O.D. to global conquest, not to mention springboard the careers of Daughtry, My Chemical Romance and The All American Rejects. In addition to giving Awake yet another injection of mainstream credibility, the partnership also pushed the band beyond the sonic box to add a sweeping, epic feel to its pre-existing pedigree.
“We have the standard string and piano songs, but there are a lot of distorted pianos, plus low-end ‘sub’ stuff that makes the guitars sound really big with keys placed underneath,” Korey explains. Ben adds: “This record has a completely different approach to guitar tones, and there’s some really high gain that gets pretty heavy. There’s more of a classic rock edge blended with modern tones that really builds off where the band left off with Comatose.”
The sessions also featured another first in the Skillet camp, which was the first-ever studio recording since Jen jumped on board direct from the United Kingdom. In addition to flawlessly keeping the beat, she also steps up to the microphone on several spine- chilling occasions. “It’s been super exciting,” she relays of the process. “I hope both non-Christians and Christians can listen to this record and see everything from our friendships in the band to our instrumental abilities glorifying God, and not only bring people to Christ, but also inspire people already living for God to run harder and want to get to know Him more.”
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