Line #52 Music/Skillet


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/skillet_01_1149.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Current lineup (left to right): Seth, Korey, Jen and John.]]
3	Skillet is an American ChristianRock band founded in Memphis, Tennessee.
4
5
6	Not to be confused with {{Music/Skrillex}}.
7
8	!! Bandmembers
9	!!! Current
10	* Vocalist/Bassist John Cooper
11	* Guitarist/Keyboardist/Vocalist Korey Cooper
12	* Lead Guitarist Seth Morrison
13	* Drummer/Vocalist Jen Ledger
14
15	!!! Former
16	* Drummer Trey [=McClurkin=]
17	* Guitarist Ken Steorts
18	* Guitarist Kevin Haaland
19	* Drummer Lori Peters
20	* Guitarist Ben Kasica
21
22	----
23	!! Discography
24	* ''Skillet'' (1996)
25	* ''Hey You, I Love Your Soul'' (1998)
26	* ''Invincible'' (2000)
27	* ''Ardent Worship'' (2000)
28	* ''Alien Youth'' (2001)
29	* ''Collide'' (2003)
30	* ''Comatose'' (2006)
31	* ''Comatose Comes Alive'' (2008)
32	* ''Awake'' (2009)
33	* ''Rise'' (2013)
34	* ''Unleashed'' (2016)
35	* ''Victorious'' (2019)
36	* ''Dominion'' (2022)
37	----
38	!!I must confess that I feel like a troper:
39
40	* AbortionFalloutDrama: "Lucy" is about the guilt a young couple feels after getting an abortion.
41	-->Now that it's over\
42	I just wanna hold her\
43	I'd give up all the world to see\
44	That little piece of Heaven looking back at me\
45	Now that it's over\
46	I just wanna hold her\
47	I've gotta live with the choices I've made\
48	And I can't live with myself today
49	* AbusiveParent: "Open Wounds" and "It's Not Me, It's You" reflect John Cooper's father's behavior when he was younger, focusing more on emotional abuse less than physical like "Open Wounds" suggests. Subverted in "The Older I Get", which has John Cooper forgiving his father.
50	* AccentUponTheWrongSyllable: I-I feel like a monSTER.
51	* ActionGirl: The little girl in the PV for "Not Gonna Die".
52	* AlternativeMetal: Their later material starting with ''Collide''. Before that, they ventured in grunge, and then industrial rock.
53	* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: The music video for ‘’[[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JsbqTHift_8 Back From The Dead]]’’ has [[spoiler:John Cooper]] becoming a zombie at the end.
54	* AsTheGoodBookSays: Unsurprisingly for a Christian band, some of their lyrics are quotes from the Bible, such as "we live by faith and not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7) in "Lions".
55	* BadassBoast:
56	** "Battle Cry".
57	--->''If we believe we can’t lose\
58	Even mountains will move\
59	It’s my faith, it’s my life\
60	This is our battle cry\
61	They can’t take us down\
62	If we stand our ground''
63	** "The Resistance".
64	--->''You can take my heart, you can take my breath\
65	When you pry it from my cold, dead chest\
66	This is how we rise up\
67	Heavy as a hurricane, louder than a freight train''
68	* BandagedFace: John on the ''Awake'' album cover, and in the ''Monster'' music video.
69	* BattleCry: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Battle Cry"]].
70	* BigDamnHeroes: "Hero".
71	-->''A hero will save me... just in time!''
72	* CallBack: A callback to the end of "Monster" in "Back From The Dead" with the same characters and setting.
73	* CallForward: "I Can", the first song on their very first album, has lyrics that appear to reference the title track from ''Hey You, I Love Your Soul'', as well as "More Faithful" from that same album. Those songs wouldn't be released for another two years.
74	-->''And do You really love my soul even after I hated You?''
75	-->''And do You really know my name, can I really come to You?''
76	-->''And are You really more faithful than the changing of the seasons and the morning sun?''
77	* CallingTheOldManOut: The song "Open Wounds" from their ''Collide'' album is said to be about the bad relationship John had with his father.
78	* CarefulWithThatAxe: ''I must confess that I FEEL LIKE A MONSTER''.
79	* ChristianRock: They started out with songs that were not at all subtle about worshipping Jesus, but eventually turned their sound more mainstream, switching to lyrics that were ''kind'' of about Jesus. Lead singer John Cooper has stated in interviews that it is the band's desire to be relevant to Christians and non-Christians alike, but they're still very much a Christian band. Given that they still (as of 2009, at least) read from the Bible during concerts, that seems to indeed be the case and John does preach too.
80	* CircusOfFear: "Circus For a Psycho".
81	* ConceptAlbum: ''Rise'' is a ComingOfAge story.
82	* CrisisOfFaith: "Awake And Alive" is about overcoming one.
83	-->''When my faith is getting weak\
84	And I feel like giving in\
85	[[{{God}} You]] breathe into me again''
86	* DespairEventHorizon: "Falling Inside The Black".
87	-->''Falling in the black\
88	Slipping through the cracks\
89	Falling to the depths can I ever go back''
90	* DrivenToSuicide: The girl in "The Last Night." The song tries to convince her not to go through with it. This was a real life situation when a girl told Cooper she was going to kill herself and he encouraged her not to.
91	* EpicInstrumentalOpener: The title track to ''Collide.'' Also notable is the opener Skillet's used for live concerts since their ''Comatose'' days.
92	* EnemyWithin:
93	** One possible interpretation of ''Monster.''
94	** ''Psycho in My Head'' from the ''Day of Destiny'' album shares a similar theme.
95	* FadingIntoTheNextSong:
96	** "Eating Me Away" segues into "Kill Me, Heal Me" without missing a beat.
97	** The first seven tracks of "Rise" do this seamlessly, and when you listen to the tracks you feel like something's missing when the interludes aren't there.
98	* FinalLoveDuet: "Will You Be There (Falling Down)" is a duet between John and Korey.
99	* TheFreakshow: A freakshow is mentioned in the title track.
100	* GodIsLoveSongs: Well, they are ChristianRock band catering to a mainstream secular audience.
101	** "Whispers in the Dark" is written from the perspective of God, to humans, affirming that [[YouAreNotAlone "you'll never be alone"]]. If you don't know about it, you can think it's a StalkerWithACrush song.
102	** ''Yours to Hold'' from the same album is also one of these songs, but it could also be viewed as almost a wedding song of sorts.
103	** "Salvation" is about faith in God, but can be viewed as a wholesome ode to a loved one.
104	* GreatBallsOfFire: Used in "Hero"'s music video.
105	* GreatestHitsAlbum: The digitally exclusive, ''The Early Years''.
106	* HeroicSacrifice: "Hero".
107	-->''A hero's not afraid to give his life''
108	* HoldingOutForAHero: "Hero" provides a beautiful subversion. After repeating: "I need a hero to save me now" over and over, they end the song with the following:
109	-->''I've got a hero\
110	Livin' in me\
111	I've gotta fight for what's right\
112	Today I'm speaking my mind\
113	And if it kills me tonight\
114	I will be ready to die''
115	* IndustrialMetal: A prominent influence in their sound.
116	* KaleidoscopeEyes: John's eye was colored blue for the ''Awake'' album cover.
117	* KidsRock: "Rise" features a children's chorus singing "Rise, rise, rise and revolution" at the climax of the song.
118	* KillItWithFire:
119	** Used as a rather violent metaphor in "Gasoline".
120	--->''Soak my heart in gasoline\
121	Light a match and consume me\
122	Soak my pride in gasoline all of you and none of me''
123	** "Burn It Down".
124	--->''Set this pain up in flames''
125	* LaResistance: In "Rise" and "The Resistance".
126	* LeadBassist: John.
127	* LoveIsLikeReligion: "My Religion":
128	-->''I don't need to stare at stained glass and a steeple\
129	I don't need to dress to impress all the people\
130	Don't need no priest, don't need no pew\
131	You are my religion, my religion is you''
132	* LyricalDissonance: "Monster" is an energetic, bouncy song with lyrics like:
133	-->''My secret side I keep hid under lock and key\
134	I keep it caged but I can't control it\
135	'Cause if I let him out he'll tear me up, break me down\
136	Why won't somebody come and save me from this, make it end?''
137	* MadDoctor: Ben and Jen in the "Monster" music video.
138	* MartyrWithoutACause: "My Beautiful Robe" is about a man who seems to have a bit of a Messiah complex.
139	* MoodWhiplash:
140	** "Rippin' Me Off", one of the band's heaviest and angriest songs, comes right before the romantic duet "Will You Be There (Falling Down)" on ''Alien Youth''.
141	** The end of "Rise", where, out of nowhere, a telephone rings. [[NightmareFuel It all goes downhill from there.]]
142	** Another sudden heavy-to-light transition happens on "Hey You, I Love Your Soul", when "Take" suddenly segues into the piano intro for "Coming Down".
143	* NeverMyFault: One of the misdeeds of the subject of "It's Not Me, It's You" is shifting the blame on the narrator.
144	-->''You tried to make me think\
145	That the blame was all on me''
146	* PleaseDontLeaveMe: "Dead Inside" contains the line "Don't you leave me here! Alone in all this fear!"
147	* PowerBallad: At least one on every album.
148	** "Saturn" on the self-titled.
149	** "More Faithful" on ''Hey You, I Love Your Soul''.
150	** "Rest" on ''Invincible''.
151	** "You Are My Hope" and "Will You Be There (Falling Down)" on ''Alien Youth''.
152	** "A Little More" on ''Collide''.
153	** "Yours to Hold" and "Say Goodbye" on ''Comatose''.
154	** "Believe" and "Never Surrender" on ''Awake''.
155	** "Fire and Fury" and "Hard to Find" on ''Rise''.
156	** ''Stars'', ''Lions'', and ''Stay Til the Daylight'' on ''Unleashed''.
157	** ''Terrify the Dark'' and ''Anchor'' in ''Victorious'' (along with ''Dreaming of Eden'' in the deluxe edition.)
158	** ''Valley of Death'', ''Destiny'' and ''Forever or the End'' from ''Dominion''.
159	* NewSoundAlbum:
160	** ''Hey You, I Love Your Soul'' and ''Collide'' both qualify.
161	** If nitpicky enough, one could label every album from ''Hey You'' up to and including ''Collide'' as this.
162	* RageBreakingPoint: "Circus for a Psycho".
163	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: "It's Not Me It's You" about someone who has negative influences.
164	* ReluctantPsycho: "Monster".
165	-->''My secret side I keep hid under lock and key\
166	I keep it caged but I can't control it''
167	* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: "Circus for a Psycho".
168	-->''Tonight, get ready for a fight / 'Cause now you know it's time to ride my circus for a psycho''
169	* RockTrio: The original line-up.
170	* SelfTitledAlbum: Their debut.
171	* SopranoAndGravel: Almost every song with John and Jen on vocals. Specifics include "Awake and Alive", "Hero", "Rebirthing", "The Last Night", "Will You Be There (Falling Down)" and "Feel Invincible".
172	* TakeThat: "Rippin' Me Off" is a rather strongly-worded response that John wrote after attending a Music/MarilynManson concert.
173	* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Dr. Pepper. For John at least.
174	* TruckDriversGearChange: A rare key change ''down'' in "The Fire Breathes".
175	* TwoGirlsToATeam: A rare four member example.
176	* VideoFullOfFilmClips: The video for the acoustic version of "Stars" has clips from ''Film/TheShack'' (2017).
177	* YouAreNotAlone: The topic of "Whispers in the Dark".
178	-->''You'll never be alone\
179	When darkness comes you know I'm never far\
180	Hear the whispers in the dark''
181	** Also discussed in ''Crossfire'' from the ''Day of Destiny'' album.
182	--> ''Crossfire!'\
183	When you're goin' through hell and you're screamin for help\
184	Crossfire!\
185	When you're losin yourself, I'll be runnin' to help!''\

Context Music / Skillet