Review Summary: Falling inside the black hole of near mediocrity.
Every single time I listen to
Collide, I have to wonder how Skillet fell so far these days.
Collide wasn’t necessary a game-changer but it holds up as a strong alternative metal release and is the best Skillet record (from the heavy days) to date. Skillet toured for three years on this release, whetting fans’ appetites and pushing their curiosity to see just what Skillet would do next. Those fans got
Comatose, a fitting title considering it’s placement in Skillet’s discography. Here, they would further incorporate string orchestras and tune even lower to hopefully push forward to ground Skillet hadn’t covered and further satisfy fans.
Let me be clear: yes,
Comatose blends “epic” orchestral elements with heavily distorted guitars and an overall dark tone, but Skillet didn’t start this trend. Many seem to give them unrequited credit, but it’s false. Breaking Benjamin did it on
Saturate, Disturbed did it on
Believe, Evanescence did it on
Fallen, and RED’s symphonic
End Of Silence debuted the same year as Comatose and did it to a much better degree. Skillet isn’t bad at at by any means, but they surely don’t deserve this much credit for starting a trend other bands have done better. That said, John sounds great throughout the project, though maybe not quite as emotional and impactful as on Collide. The harshness and screams present on the previous record are largely missing, leaving a bit of a hole in the vocal framework. Korey Cooper and Benjamin Kasica still split guitar duties, with the former handling rhythm and the latter handling lead, though Korey does man the keyboards a little more this time. Honestly, the riffs are lacking a fair bit. I understand that Skillet likes to bring a bit of 80s metal flare in with the guitar solos, but it almost feels like they tuned to Drop B and just decided to play eerily similar riffs throughout the record. There was a lot of technique on
Collide (remember the killer main riff of “Forsaken” or the Drop D assault of “Savior”), but here, the rhythm is definitely lacking. The solos are good, but the band seems to forget that this is alternative metal, not 80s metal. Speaking of lacking, this was the band’s last album with Lori Peters, but it honestly sounds like she went out with more of a whimper than a bang. She absolutely shined throughout a great deal of
Collide, but here, she’s regulated to the same patterns over and over. The keyboard sections work most of the time, though it honestly doesn’t feel like the music would miss much if they were gone. Let me put it this way: they aren’t really used to full potential most of the time.
“Better Than Drugs” and “Rebirthing” are two of the only moments all album where rhythm guitar work does more than chug on palm-muted power chords, and while this is not, these songs are also just great, heavy rock tunes: hooky yet aggressive choruses, angsty-yet-hopeful lyrics, string orchestra influence, you get the picture. “Yours To Hold” is probably the best Skillet ballad to date, and the album placement of this track is brilliant. Coming beforehand is “The Last Night”, a rock number with heavy piano and melodic lead guitar placement. This honestly reminds me of
Phobia-era Breaking Benjamin, especially with its topic of self-harm and suicide. “Falling Inside The Black” also benefits from album placement, as its sense of urgency and brutally honest lyrics melding with an eerie lead guitar line, glitzy synths, and in-your-face chorus provide much needed spice after a lackluster middle. Also, the rhythm guitarwork throughout isn’t too bad and the climaxing bridge is pretty cool. And admittedly, “Whispers In The Dark” continues to give me chills to this day. It may be the best Skillet song ever: the final moment that the rhythm guitar stands out, the killer lead guitar work and solo, John’s powerful vocals, the interspersed keyboards, it’s just a fantastic song that is more than worth the attention. Don’t let the fact that its track 10 out of 11 fool you: this is again better than the entire midsection of the record. It’s also absolutely fantastic live.
Lyrically, this is where Skillet started to drop. I cannot deny and have to admire John’s heart for the broken and constant dependence on the ultimate eye of the storm, and that still shows up in the aforementioned standouts. He addresses the evils of suicide and the battle within, and ultimately addresses it well. However, many moments of the record suffer lyrically. (“The older I get, I’ll get over it”, “stayed up light every dark cold night… lit by the TV light”, “everybody’s looking for angels”). Plus there’s a lot of filler and moments that just feel lazy, something that is pretty lackluster considering Skillet had quite a while to prepare for this.
I don’t know how else to say it: this record is just good. It’s not groundbreaking, it’s not great, but it does have great
moments and the standouts are well worth buying. However, just don’t expect the end-all be-all of mainstream rock that many will promise you, because I guarantee that it isn’t that.
