Reviewed by Haydon Spenceley

With every new album, Skillet strike me as being one of the most thoughtful bands in Christian rock. Not for them album after album peddling the same musical style with safe, conservative-friendly lyrics. No, for them the task always seems to be to push back the envelope of rock within the Christian scene. ‘Collide’, no doubt helped by the utilising of mainstream producer Paul Ebersold (Three Doors Down) is no different. The contrast between this and their previous album ‘Alien Youth’ is startling. The rock factor remains, and has indeed been turned up several notches on songs such as barn-storming opener “Forsaken”, “My Obsession” and “Fingernails”, but the keyboard-led rock of the previous album has been replaced by a thoroughly gritty, yet still melodic, hard rock sound, perhaps comparable to Chevelle or Tool. Lyrically, ‘Collide’ is straight-up and hard-hitting. “Everywhere I go I can’t escape your energy,” John Cooper sings on “Energy”, whilst “Savior” proclaims “What you got, what you want, what you need, gonna be your savior.” Skillet are still in the business of producing hard rock anthems for the youth of today. Long may it continue.

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