Reviewed by Mark Sherwood

Skillet have been around since the late '90s and have gone through some personnel changes, but have been clever enough to modify and evolve their sound over the years. As an example of this catch the string arrangements counter-pointing all those biting guitars on some tracks here. This of course is the followup (discounting a live set) to the band's hugely successful 'Comatose'. First impressions are that it sounds a bit like 'Comatose Part 2'. Some cuts here sound almost like a continuation of the aforementioned disc. Some might view this as a bad thing or you could view it as they still had more to say. 19 year old Jan Ledger, the band's new drummer from the UK, also joins Korey Cooper on backing vocals this time and does a good job. The album kicks off with the two best songs on the album "Hero" and "Monster" which are prety awesome. The first track blasts off the album at high speed asking for "a hero to save my life" - and it's obvious who THAT is! Then comes perhaps the best track on the disc, "Monster" which has a killer hook, a cool video (not on the album) and deals with our struggle with sin in a new and unique way. The only criticism is that sometimes the weaker songs sound too much like the weaker songs on 'Comatose'. Lyrically the songs touch on faith and human love and broken relationships which is a trend from their previous release. There are really good songs here which make it worth getting but there are a few fillers that made me reach for the skip button after a few listens.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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