Review Summary: Skillet is in dire need of another "Rebirthing"
A long time ago, in a CD player far, far away, Skillet used to be one of my all time favorite bands. From the first time I had heard the unmistakable orchestral intro to "Rebirthing" on a friend’s Ipod, I was hooked on "Comatose." Even now, I still rank that album as one of my favorites of all time. Soon enough I discovered "Collide" and was further impressed by the sound that Skillet had discovered (I never was a fan of their older styles) and could not wait to see what the future held for this band, especially after purchasing "Comatose Comes Alive." It was with expectations of grandeur that I eagerly returned home with a new copy of “Awake” on release day.
Immediately after the opening seconds of the album I had mixed feelings. “Hero” opened with a catchy guitar hook followed with a signature large-scale riff; but the lyrics immediately set off alarm bells. The verses were superb, but why did the chorus leave me with a nagging sense of, well, cheesiness? I pushed the thoughts to the side though, as overall the song was good, and the opening riff of “Monster” satisfied my hunger for something heavy. After that song closed out I felt confident again, until the opening strum of “Don’t Wake Me” reminded me instantly of “Yours To Hold” off of “Comatose” and turned out to be not nearly as good.
So it was for the rest of the album: hit, miss, miss, off-center hit, miss. For every song that satisfied me, there were two that fell short. The main culprit? The lyrics. Granted, John Cooper has never been the most profound lyricist, but they always have gotten the job done, and on Collide and Comatose they had some very good moments. On “Awake”, however, they simply feel lazy, and sometimes it seems like he intentionally tried to drag some already lackluster musical performances down by tacking on pathetic lyrics. This is most evidenced on “Should’ve When You Could’ve.” Frankly, the song sounds like it was written by a middle school boy band with an exceptionally scratchy vocalist. “Don’t Wake Me” feels clichéd, and like a carbon copy of “Yours To Hold.” “Hero” possesses powerful verses but “a hero’s gonna save me just in time” just isn’t quite what I expect from this band. “Forgiven” just sounds stale, in every sense of the word: lyrics, structure, punch; everything’s been done, and yes, the guitars sound literally boring. “Monster” suffers from the uninspired lyrics as well, but can be excused thanks to the aggressive guitar and vocal delivery which makes it an excellent pure rocker. “It’s Not Me It’s You”, unlike Monster, is not saved from its poor lyrics choice by an excellent riff and falters as well. “One Day Too Late” is a ballad with the opposite problem: excellent lyrics are coupled with a boring musical performance.
There are exceptions however: “Awake And Alive” “Sometimes” and “Never Surrender” all have powerful lyrics and musical deliveries. Sadly, “Never Surrender” is hurt by a tacky synthesizer intro which left a first thought of: “Skillet goes to Mars.” “Awake And Alive” is Skillet in its element, featuring all the things that made “Comatose” such a masterpiece: strings, powerful guitars, excellent pairing of Cooper’s harsh vocals and new drummer Jen Ledger’s, and a superb solo by Kasica. Frankly, I have always been impressed with Skillet’s solos, and it is notable that only the title track and “Sometimes” feature these prominent pieces. "Believe" is the single ballad that succeeds on all fronts, featuring a passionate delivery and nice acoustic feel to it, even featuring the strings we loved from "Comatose" while also lacking the cringe-worthy lyrics prevelant in most of the other ballads.
In short, Skillet has plummeted downhill in this album, and frankly I cannot understand how they have gained so much popularity and acclaim after this, frankly, mediocre album. Even Jen Ledger’s drumbeats are subpar: drums were never Skillet’s strongest suit, but they at least were above average at times. The only thing that keeps it from being a total flop are the few standout tracks, “Monster” “Awake And Alive” “Sometimes” and “Believe" The rest of the tracks feel uninspired and thrown together, mismatched with no discernable theme to the album besides mediocrity.
