Skillet formed in 1996 with two members: John Cooper, former vocalist for Tennessee progressive rock band Seraph, and Ken Steorts, former guitarist for Urgent Cry. The two bands met through touring together, but those bands disbanded soon after, so John and Ken's pastor encouraged them to form their own band as a side-project. Coming from different styles of rock music, they decided to name the experiment Skillet. After Trey McClurkin joined the band as a permanent drummer. Skillet was only together for a month when they received interest from major Christian record label ForeFront Records. In 1996 they released a self-titled debut Skillet. It was well-received, and the trio continued to write new material as they toured the United States. One topic that comes up often among fans and the band itself, is the name 'Skillet'. John Cooper, the lead vocalist, explains that it was a joke at first. Each starting band member was already in a separate band, and all decided to start a side project. Since each other band had a different sound and style to it, the side project was said to be like putting all of those styles in a big skillet to come up with something unique. Hence the band name 'Skillet'. The band name is still somewhat of a joke between the band members, especially Cooper, who claims to still not like the title.
Skillet recorded their follow-up album throughout 1997, titled Hey You, I Love Your Soul, which was released in April 1998. Their second effort was a change in style from the band's first release. With this release, Skillet would abandon their post-grunge approach for a lighter alternative rock and a style. His wife Korey was enlisted soon after to play keyboards live in order to alleviate John's live performance duties.
Invincible, Ardent Worship, and Alien Youth (2000–02)
Shortly before the band began recording for their third album, Invincible, Steorts left the band to be with his family, and Kevin Haaland joined the band as their new guitarist. Korey Cooper joined the band permanently and played keyboards for the recording of Invincible. Because of this change, the musical style on Invincible changed to a more electronic sound. Soon after the release of Invincible in early 2000, Trey McClurkin parted ways with Skillet, and Lori Peters filled the drummer's position. Invincible would be Skillet's best selling record to date.
The band released their first worship album, and fourth album overall, Ardent Worship in Fall 2000. The band kept much of their sound from Invincible on their next album Alien Youth. With little time between touring and recording, Skillet released Alien Youth on August 28, 2001, which was the first album that John Cooper took on production duties. Before the release of Alien Youth, Haaland left the band, and Ben Kasica took over on guitar. The first single, the title track, was a major hit in the Christian market and drove Skillet into their first headlining shows.
Collide (2003–05)
In 2003, Collide was released by Ardent Records. It caught the attention of Andy Karp, the Head of A&R of Lava Records, and in 2004 the rights to Collide were bought by Lava Records, a division of Atlantic Records. On May 25, 2004, Collide was re-released under Lava Records, with an added track, "Open Wounds". Collide was yet another musical shift for the band. Citing Linkin Park and P.O.D. as inspiration for the musical shift on Collide, Cooper said, "Well I’m one of these song writers, everything I hear goes through my John Cooper filter of what I like and what I don’t like. [...] All these things [...] have been an influence on me.'
Comatose (2006–08)
Skillet's album Comatose was released on October 3, 2006. It features the singles "Rebirthing," "Whispers in the Dark," "Comatose," "The Older I Get," "Those Nights," and "The Last Night". The album debuted at #55 on the Billboard 200 and #4 on the US Top Christian Albums chart.
In January 2008, Skillet announced that their drummer, Lori Peters, was retiring from the band, feeling that "it's time for her to come off of the road and start a new chapter in her life." Peters' last concert with Skillet was on December 31, 2007. However, during the 2007 Christmas season, she took the time to train Skillet's next drummer, Jen Ledger.
On October 21, 2008, Comatose Comes Alive was released; a CD/DVD combo featuring live recordings of the band's May 9, 2008 concert in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was shown on the Gospel Music Channel on December 5, 2008. Skillet's Comatose Comes Alive CD also had a B-side with ("Live Free or Let Me Die") as a single, also with five acoustic tracks which purchasers could download by putting the Comatose Comes Alive CD in your computer.[8]
The Comatose album was certified Gold in sales by the RIAA on November 3, 2009.
Awake (2009–2011)
Skillet announced that they went into the studio January 12 to finalize the new record with Grammy-nominated producer Howard Benson. They added two songs ("Hero" and "Monster") from the new record to their setlist on April 2, 2009 in Evansville, Indiana as part of their Comatose Tour 2009.[citation needed]
Skillet's most recent studio album is Awake. The album contains twelve songs and was released on August 25, 2009. It charted at #2 on the Billboard top 200 selling around 68,000 units in its first week. "Monster" was released as a single on July 14, 2009. Contrary to popular belief, John Cooper stated that "Hero" was not the album's lead single. It was, however, released as a single in March 2010.They also released a deluxe version with the extra songs "Dead Inside" and "Would It Matter", along with the original, radio edit of "Monster" that does not have the distorted growl as in the single and in the CD. The song "Hero" was used in the publicizing of the first football game of the 2009 NFL season between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans, and the song "Monster" was used in the episode "Jason: The Pretty-Boy Bully" on MTV's Bully Beatdown. "Monster" was the theme song for the WWE event WWE Hell in a Cell while the song "Hero" was the theme song for WWE Tribute to the Troops and Royal Rumble 2010, as well as both songs being included on the official soundtrack for the WWE video game WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010. It is also the opening theme song for the AHL team the Lake Erie Monsters in Cleveland, Ohio and serves as the opening theme of the Fresno Monsters of Fresno, California. "Monster" was aired at the beginning of several ACC football games on Raycom Sports during the 2009 season. In the first week of April 2010, it was released for the Rock band music store in Rock Band 2 It also tied the record for highest-charting Christian album on the Billboard 200 with Underoath's 2006 release Define the Great Line and Casting Crowns' 2007 release The Altar and the Door, as all three albums debuted at #2.
On February 18, Skillet was nominated for 6 Dove Awards for the 41st Annual GMA Dove Awards.Awake was certified gold July 2, 2010. A remix on Monster was featured on their podcast Also in 2010, Ardent released The Early Years, a collection of their songs from 1996 to 2001. On November 12, Skillet released an iTunes sessions EP consisting of songs from Comatose and Awake. "Monster" was certified gold a day later.
Rise (2011-Present)
On June 21, 2011 John posted to his Twitter account that the band rehearsed new music for the first time and that they are getting ready for a new album. At a question and answer session before a concert, John Cooper said that they would be recording a new record in January/February 2012. However, the band was then scheduled to headline the WinterJam Tour. In January 2012, Skillet announced that they will not be touring for most of the summer so that they can record the new album. They plan to enter the studio at the conclusion of the Winter Jam eastern tour, approximately in May, for a release in late 2012.
During a July 18, 2012 interview with RadioU, John Cooper stated the band currently had 61 songs written and would be heading into the studio in October to record the album with Howard Benson for an early 2013 release.
In an interview with CCM Magazine, John Cooper described the new album as "a roller coaster ride". He states: "We have aggressive tracks, artsy and musical tracks, which is new territory for Skillet. A couple songs are classic American heartland anthems, and a couple songs are signature symphonic-classical rock Skillet. Guitars are dirty and edgier, with absolute shredding solos by Seth." One of the songs mentioned in the interview was titled "Salvation".
In an Interview on January 26, 2013 In Beaumont TX, John Cooper announced that the new album, Rise, would be coming out in May 2013, but was later scheduled for a June 25, 2013 release. In an interview with NoiseCreep, John Cooper stated the first single and music video is scheduled to be released by late April. The first single from the album, "Sick of It", will be released to US Rock radio on April 23, 2013. It was later confirmed that the first single, "Sick of It", would be released on April 9, 2013.
Touring:
Skillet performing live on April 12, 2008 at Anderson University, Anderson, Indiana.
In the middle of 2006, Korey Cooper took a break from performing, due to her pregnancy with their second child. Her rhythm guitar and keyboard roles were temporarily filled by two people: Andrea Winchell (who would later become the Coopers' nanny) on keys and Chris Marvin on guitar.
Skillet toured with Ron Luce and Teen Mania Ministries on their Acquire The Fire Tour across the United States and Canada in 2007. When they returned, Skillet had plans to co-headline the Justice & Mercy Tour with Flyleaf, but the tour was postponed and ultimately canceled after a number of shows due to Flyleaf lead vocalist Lacey Mosley's vocal problems. They then toured with Luce's Global Expeditions program on a summer missions trip with teenagers to Mexico. In 2008 they joined Teen Mania Ministries and toured with Acquire the Fire.
Skillet joined Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, and Seether on the first half of their tour in fall 2007. Then Skillet headlined their own Comatose Tour alongside Thousand Foot Krutch and traveled to approximately 30 cities. The tour started on March 28 and ran through May 11, 2008. Skillet toured again from April 2009 through June 2009 with Decyfer Down and Disciple. This tour was called Comatose Tour 2009 (essentially a second branch of the 2008 Comatose Tour). In fall of 2009, Skillet began touring with Hawk Nelson, Decyfer Down, and The Letter Black to promote Skillet's album Awake. The Awake & Alive Tour encompassed 52 cities from October through January.
Skillet performing live on July 1, 2010 at Cornerstone Festival (Illinois).
Skillet appeared at the 2009 Night of Joy Christian Rock festival at Disney Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World.This marked the band's first absence from Universal Studios Orlando's Rock the Universe in five years due to conflicting schedules. However, they were able to perform the following year, in 2010. On September 26, 2009, Skillet appeared at Awakening Music Festival in Leesburg, Virginia, alongside Jeremy Camp, Kutless, Hawk Nelson, Disciple, Decyfer Down, and others. Skillet also played at the Super Dome in New Orleans for the ELCA National Youth Gathering in 2009.
Skillet headlined two separate Rock the River tours, run by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, and hosted by Franklin Graham. Those tours were Rock the River: Midwest in the summer of 2009 and Rock the River: West in the summer of 2010.
In January 2010 they toured with Puddle of Mudd and Shinedown through the East Coast of the United States. They also announced on their live chat with fans on December 5, 2009 that they would be touring with TobyMac in March and April 2010. This was later expanded upon as the "Awake Tonight Tour" named after both artists' new albums.] House of Heroes joined them on the tour as the opening act.
In April and May the band continued on a second branch of their Awake and Alive tour with the Letter Black and Red.] In April it was also announced that the band would be touring with Creed and Theft in August and September 2010. In October the band will be co-headlining the "Monsters of Annihilation Tour" with Papa Roach. Trapt and My Darkest Days will be supporting acts.They will be touring again with TobyMac in November and December as the 2010 version of the Winter Wonder Slam tour.
In January 2011, Skillet confirmed that they will be touring with Stone Sour and Theory of a Deadman in the Avalanche Tour. The tour will begin at the end of March 2011 and will conclude May 1 in Uncasville, CT. Other supporting acts include Halestorm and Art of Dying. The band had a small international tour in January and February 2011 visiting New Zealand, Australia and Japan.
[edit]Band members
Current:
John Cooper – lead vocals, bass guitar (1996–present)
Korey Cooper – keyboards, synthesizer, rhythm guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals (1999–present)
Seth Morrison - lead guitar (2011-present)
Jen Ledger – drums, percussion, lead vocals (2008–present)
Touring:
Tate Olsen – cello (2008–present)
Jonathan Chu – violin (2008–present)
Scotty Rock – bass guitar (2009–present)
Former:
Ken Steorts – lead guitar (1996–1999)
Trey McClurkin – drums, backing vocals (1996–2000)
Kevin Haaland – lead guitar (1999–2001)
Lori Peters – drums (2000–2007)
Ben Kasica – lead guitar (2001–2011)
Jonathan Salas - lead guitar (2011)
Touring:
Billy Dawson – rhythm guitar (2000)
Faith Stern – keyboards, vocals (2002–2003)
Chris Marvin – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2002–2003, 2005–2006)
Andrea Winchell – keyboards (2005–2006)
Looking for Angels
Skillet Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sometimes crawl, fall, but I stand up cause I'm afraid to sleep
And open my eyes to a new day, with all new problems 4. and all new pain
All the faces are filled with so much anger
Losing our dignity and hope from fear of danger
After all the wars, after settling the scores, at the break of dawn we will be deaf to the answers
With eyes squinted and fists clinched we reach out for what is dear
We want it we want
We want a reason to live
We're on a pilgrimage
A crusade for hope
'Cause in our hearts and minds and souls we know
We need it we need
We need more than this
Going through this life looking for angels
People passing by looking for angels
Walking down the streets looking for angels
Everyone I meet looking for angels
So many nations with so many hungry people
So many homeless scrounging around for dirty needles
On the rise, teen suicide, when we will realize
We've been desensitized by the lies of the world
We're oppressed and impressed by the greedy
Whose hands squeeze the life out of the needy
When will we learn that wars, threats,
And regrets are the cause and effect of living in fear
Who can help protect the innocence of our children
Stolen on the internet with images they can't forget
We want it we want
We want a reason to live
We represent a generation that wants to turn back a nation
To let love be our light and salvation
We need it we need
We need more than this
I became a savior to some kids I'll never meet
Sent a check in the mail to buy them something to eat
What will you do to make a difference, to make a change?
What will you do to help someone along the way?
Just a touch, a smile as you turn the other cheek
Pray for your enemies, humble yourself, love's staring back at me
In the midst of the most painful faces
Angels show up in the strangest of places
The song “Looking for Angels” by Skillet explores the idea of searching for hope and humanity in a world that is filled with despair, anger, and fear. The song begins with the singer feeling isolated and vulnerable, trying to maintain balance in a world that seems to be crumbling around him. He sings about the many faces that are filled with anger, losing hope and dignity due to the fear of danger. The song acknowledges the wars and unsettled scores, but even after all that, they are still left deaf to answers. The world feels like a bleak and desensitized place, and we are looking for angels to help us find our way.
The song touches upon various themes such as homelessness, hunger, teenage suicide, and child exploitation. These problems are unsettling and create a sense of hopelessness. The chorus talks about everyone looking for angels, the people we meet and pass by on the streets are all looking for hope and compassion. Despite the many problems we face, the singer believes that we need to turn back the nation with love and make it our light and salvation. This idea is further emphasized when the singer talks about how a small gesture such as a touch or a smile can make a difference.
In conclusion, “Looking for Angels” by Skillet is a poignant song that offers a glimpse into the many problems we face in the world. It asks us to be kind and compassionate to others and to make a difference in the world with our actions. It is a song about hope and redemption in a bleak world.
Line by Line Meaning
Walk this world alone try to stay on my feet
Attempting to traverse this life while not depending on anyone else, and keeping myself from falling
Sometimes crawl, fall, but I stand up cause I'm afraid to sleep
There are moments when I falter and come crashing down, but knowing that sleep will render me vulnerable, I muster the courage to get back up
And open my eyes to a new day, with all new problems and all new pain
Each day brings with it unique challenges that we must face and endure
All the faces are filled with so much anger
It is dismaying when you see members of this society with faces adorned with anger - this affects us negatively
Losing our dignity and hope from fear of danger
When we live in fear, it can cause us to lose our composure and hope
After all the wars, after settling the scores, at the break of dawn we will be deaf to the answers
Despite ending wars and achieving victory, we often find that we're still unable to hear the answers or solutions to our problems
There's so much bigotry, misunderstanding and fear
Fear and ignorance pervades our society, leading to bigotry and a lack of empathy
With eyes squinted and fists clinched we reach out for what is dear
Reacting with hostility and violence when someone or something that we hold dear is threatened
We want it we want, We want a reason to live
We yearn for a purpose in life, something that gives us a reason to keep on living
We're on a pilgrimage, A crusade for hope
We are embarking on a journey to search for hope and something worth fighting for
'Cause in our hearts and minds and souls we know, We need it we need, We need more than this
In our innermost selves we realize that we need more than what we have, more than what is being offered to us
Going through this life looking for angels, People passing by looking for angels
We are wandering through life, seeking comfort and salvation from those who will act as our guardians or saviors in our time of need.
Walking down the streets looking for angels, Everyone I meet looking for angels
Even the people we encounter on the street, we look to them with hope of finding what our souls long for.
So many nations with so many hungry people, So many homeless scrounging around for dirty needles
Many countries have a large number of people who have no access to basic human needs like food. Additionally, many people are homeless and resort to using dangerous methods like using dirty needles to cope.
On the rise, teen suicide, when we will realize
The occurrence of teen suicide seems to be on the rise, when will we come to the realization that we must do something to stop it?
We've been desensitized by the lies of the world
The world has told us so many lies, and we have been desensitized against the truth.
We're oppressed and impressed by the greedy, whose hands squeeze the life out of the needy
Those who are greedy have a way of oppressing those in need and depriving them of basic provisions they require to survive.
When will we learn that wars, threats, and regrets are the cause and effect of living in fear
Living in fear inevitably causes wars, threats and regrets. It's high time we learned to live in hope rather than fear.
Who can help protect the innocence of our children, Stolen on the internet with images they can't forget
Nowadays children are exposed to obscene material online that they can't forget. We must ask ourselves who will protect them from this invasion of their innocence?
We represent a generation that wants to turn back a nation, To let love be our light and salvation
We belong to a generation that wants to bring change in our nation by tackling societal issues head-on, and working towards making love the most important thing
We need it we need, We need more than this
We require hope and positivity, something that is more than what we are currently being given.
I became a savior to some kids I'll never meet, Sent a check in the mail to buy them something to eat
Selflessly helping those in need, even if you never see them, is a noble thing for a person to do.
What will you do to make a difference, to make a change?, What will you do to help someone along the way?
We must ask ourselves, what will we do to make the world a better place, and to lift others up?
Just a touch, a smile as you turn the other cheek
Sometimes, it only takes a small act of kindness, such as a touch or a smile, to make a positive impact on someone's life.
Pray for your enemies, humble yourself, love's staring back at me
We should always pray for our enemies and show love to others, even when they don't show us the same kindness.
In the midst of the most painful faces, Angels show up in the strangest of places
Angels can show up even in the most unlikely of places, offering us hope and comfort in the midst of our pain.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHN COOPER, JOHN LANDRUM COOPER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@DailyCrucifix
This song still makes me cry in 2023. The world has still yet to open it's eyes to what's genuinely important
@BaconFaceMcGee
I know.
@dynamosaurusimperious2718
Fr
@garrettetrue9567
It's happening slowly.
@ethanpiersonjohn
This is by far one of their best songs. the message is so rich.
@anugrihshukla7682
ironic that very few know of it
@sophiexxx455
Yes.
@mets2128
#Hebrews132
@trunksevo.2015
It really hurts that this song beraly got 1M views when the message NEEDS to be spread to 100s of Millions of people going through trouble
@cruzmanuel890
All jokes aside, this song is the anthem for everything going on so far in 2020