SKILLET | Victorious | Album Review

How one goes from a Christian grunge band to an upbeat rock band with a two male and two female dynamic in their lineup is quite a strange anomaly for any genre. That's the trajectory that the band Skillet has ridden on for the past two decades. Most fans are accustomed to their output from 2003 onward where they adopted such styles as nu-metal, orchestral rock, and even radio rock, but many people who check in to Skillet casually don't know the full story behind the band which began with a self-titled album that is truly underrated. These fans are destine to be more than satisfied once again with the release of the Christian rock band's tenth studio offering, "Victorious". The first album produced primarily by the band themselves with some outside help from other producers, this is an album attempting to bring a more aggressive sound back to the Panheads after some of the previous albums didn't rely on that as much. In a video interview with Rocked during their Welcome To Rockville appearance this year, lead vocalist John Cooper described the new music as such, stating, "I think it's got more teeth. It feels really aggressive- a very passionate record... We just kind of were off the leash. And we really had a great time making it". Unfortunately as years have gone on and especially in the 2010's, Skillet has not been up to their game like they were on "Awake" and "Comatose", the latter project being my first exposure to them and to rock as a whole all the way back in 2008. It's been a rocky road but with the sales pitch of this being a more aggressive set of tracks, the road seems to lead to somewhere promising. 

Three of the pre-released singles were brought to my attention before "Victorious" was released to the public. "Legendary" is the song currently getting adds on mainstream and Christian rock radio formats, meanwhile "Save Me" and "Anchor" were tracks put out together later in the summer. "Legendary" is the opening track to the album and gives fans the style that they expect out of Skillet throughout. I do enjoy the opening riff that was described as having a bluesy ideal to it, and that is a defining characteristic that I can honestly tell you is the real true highlight of the song. The rest of "Legendary" is everything that's been heard before from Skillet and sounds like a carbon copy of "Feel Invincible", the lead single from "Unleashed". It's yet another song about having strength and rising above all of the setbacks that get in your way in life and it's about as stock and generic as you can get in the writing, with references to "going down in history" and "getting to the top" heard throughout. It's pretty vapid and see-through in my opinion. What's sad is that the other rock single pre-released, "Save Me", is infinitely better and would've been a stronger first single. This is easily the best song from this band in years. There is a "Comatose" feel to this track but in a new and fresh light manner, and the songwriting works even if it is simple in its delivery. The solo really sticks out on this song and reminds me of "Whispers In The Dark" a little bit, and it's easily a high point in the song. I really wish that more songs like "Save Me" were present throughout "Victorious" as it is the true standout of the entire album, but unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the case here. 

One thing to get out of the way immediately is that this album is a step above "Unleashed" as that album has definitely not aged well since its release with only a couple of standout tracks. There are definitely more moments on "Victorious" that feature more teeth such as "You Ain't Ready" and "Never Going Back", but the standard for this album is either stuff that is too reminiscent of their recent works with little appeal in the writing, or boring slower tracks that don't have much purpose in being on the album other than to be the filler background music played after a Sunday service as everyone is leaving the church. "Anchor" is proof of that with Cooper's vocals being heavily autotuned, meanwhile the song feels like any typical song done by the most standard worship band ever. "This Is The Kingdom" takes on a weird Imagine Dragons vibe that sounds more like the band trying to reach for styles to elevate their status as a popular act. The ever so eloquently titled "Rise Up" is obviously about "rising up", and it falls in line with "Legendary" as more of the same, really. "Terrify The Dark" has a little bit more substance in the writing, but also could be plastered on any Christian themed playlist on Spotify and not be as recognizable other than John Cooper's voice, which seems to have more focus in the production than Jen Ledger's voice which is buried in the background and sounds too overlayered and overproduced. It's a disappointment, but what is there to expect, really? I do give them credit for trying to get heavier in tracks, such as the odd track "Finish Line", but once again, I'm not feeling very moved by this project. 

So, what saves this album from being below average? John Cooper does have a solid vocal presence throughout this record, and his voice works in most of the songs even if most of them are about as standard as you can get. There are a couple of standouts as well, and they're mostly from the rock side. "Never Going Back" is similar to "Save Me" in getting a good riff and a good hook across while setting itself apart from that song stylistically. "Reach" is probably the most divergent track out of this set focusing more on an alternative rock style, and Cooper vocally sounds much like he did on tracks from "Comatose" here. So, with these three choice cuts and tracks like the album closer "Back To Life", there is noticeable effort to make things grittier and more based in the guitar work in a way that isn't too far from the standard. The problem with "Victorious" as a whole is that even with the stronger songs within it never really escapes from being just plain average. Like I said, I do notice that there is a little bit of effort on this album and John Cooper and his bandmates seem to have passion in the project they created. It just doesn't translate perfectly on every track and in turn winds up as being another steady album from the Christian rock giants. Overall, the most devoted of Skillet fans will eat this album up and jam to the heavy songs and even enjoy the slower moments, but people outside of that who want to see Skillet truly evolve will not have as much victory in their hopes with this album. 

RATING: 5/10 

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