"Hero" by Skillet from Awake

I've reviewed a few songs by Skillet. I've also been MIA for over two years. (Sorry about that.) Why not pick a song by a band I've already proven to like a lot as my reintroduction to writing song reviews?

The Christian alternative rock band Skillet came out with a new CD, Awake, on August 25, 2009. "Hero" is one of two songs they released as singles in anticipation of that CD, and is my preferred of the two.

The lyrics speak of Jesus Christ as the hero who comes and saves us, even as we struggle with our faith from all the evils in this world. "It's just another war / just another family torn" captures the feeling of hopelessness that can threaten to overwhelm from this dark world.

The lyrics' simplicity and repetition make it one that you probably won't want to listen to time and again on "repeat track" mode, but I suspect it'll draw you back to it every so often. It's intentionally simple and catchy, and despite its few words it captures exactly what it wants to say.

We as humans can't do everything on our own, and sometimes we need help. Skillet doesn't actually name the help, though, so technically the song could be taken to refer to another human rather than God. That interpretation may make "I've got a hero / livin' in me" difficult to apply, though.

Each time I hear this song—or remember it—I'm impressed by the female vocals in the background (on harmony). Various sites call it Jen, but per Skillet's website, it's Korey Cooper who provides backup vocals.

Whichever lady she is, her part has some fun little movements that she pulls off without affecting the flow or strength of her words. She reminds me of Evanescence's Amy Lee and Flyleaf's Lacey Mosley. John, as the primary singer, reminds me mostly of Three Days Grace's Adam Gontier, with some of Seether's Shaun Morgan.

The song's intro has some semblance to Linkin Park's "Papercut" merely in part of the note progression, but it's different instruments, and the songs are different styles. The style of "Hero" reminds me of "Whispers in the Dark" by the same band, "Million Voices" by BarlowGirl, and something else that I'm not quite managing to identify. Something by Flyleaf, perhaps?

At any rate, if you liked Skillet's CD Comatose, BarlowGirl's "Million Voices", Flyleaf, or Three Days Grace, I suspect you'll like this song.

As of this writing, Skillet makes "Hero" available for hearing in its entirety on their MySpace page.

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Lyrics: 4/5
Music: 4/5
Vocal(s): 4/5
Overall: 8/10

"Falling inside the Black" by Skillet from Comatose

"Falling in the black, slipping through the cracks, falling to the depths—can I ever go back?!"

Another of my favorite songs by Skillet that vies with "Whispers in the Dark" for top favorite, "Falling inside the Black" declares the perspective of someone who's wandered away from Christ (or, at least, has gotten a wee bit depressed), and is pleading with God to pull 'em back up.

If you're a Christian, you've have probably had a "Can you hear me?!" time in prayer at some point. This song is a tribute to those moments. If you're in one of those times, you can plea along with the song's narrator, and if you're not, you can thank God that you've been pulled out of it.

I really need to figure out who else to compare lead singer John Cooper's voice to, instead of only using Seether's singer as an example. Newsong might work, but that's a completely different musical style. Anyway, his wife Korey still makes me think of Amy Lee with a head cold for her backup vocals, even though that sounds so much worse than the reality.

The band's occassional classically trained guitarist makes a nice showing in this song, adding a trace of the symphonic to the sound that really reminds me of Three Days Grace and a bit of Within Temptation (musicwise, not vocally). That would be strange if John Cooper's singing reminded me of Sharon Den Adel's soprano…

Particularly in the "rougher" parts of the song "Falling inside the Black" feature some nice melding of different elements. The result is a very full, flushed-out sound that still wows me, especially due to Skillet being a Christian band. (Even proponents of contemporary Christian music admit that it's often of lesser quality.)

But, like most of Skillet's music, this song demonstrates the band's penchant for a "darker" (minor key) tonality. Some people find it depressing, some creepy, and some relaxing. Unless you're new to About That Song…, you've probably noticed that I'm the last type. If you're of a different type, you might want to steer clear of this song.

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Lyrics: 5/5
Music: 5/5
Vocal(s): 4/5
Overall: 9/10

"Whispers in the Dark" by Skillet from Comatose

"Despite the lies that you're makin', your love is mine for the takin'. My love is just waitin' to turn your tears to roses."

This might be my favorite song by Skillet—or at least my favorite song that appears on their 2006 album Comatose. Nice electronic guitar use. The song overall has an electronic tone (including the vocals, like Amy Lee at the beginning of the Evanescence song "Tourniquet"), but that trait is nicely subdued to keep the song's sound from being outright grating.

I love this song's (perhaps unintentional) emphasis on God's sovereignty. It doesn't matter what lies you tell yourself to try to avoid Him—if you're His, He won't let those fly. He "will be the one that's gonna find you" and "guide you" from the dark to draw you to the light. No touchy-feely 'I'm so great that I can make myself follow God' nonsense. (Romans 1, people. 'Kay—'nuff theology.)

I've compared the lead singer John Cooper to Seether before. The interesting voice of his wife, Korey, doesn't appear in this song that I can hear. It's not my favorite vocal style, but I think that should make my liking of the song say all the more.

The video for "Whispers in the Dark" came out at the same time as the video for the song "Rebirthing." It similarly doesn't seem to have any overarching story that it tells, so you can decide if you want to bother looking it up or not. I wasn't impressed. (Except by the band's refusal to doff shirts and have long hair just because it's considered 'cool'. Having fun seems to be more important to these folks than looking like your normal rock band, not that I can really identify what gives me that impression. Something about how they dance, maybe?)

Now, "Whispers in the Dark" does use the minor key tonality, and this is the band that some people call "creepy." (Personally, I like the sound and find it soothing. But different people respond to the minor key in different ways.) If you can't stand the minor key or hard rock, avoid the band.

But if you do like minor key and hard rock, enjoy!

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Lyrics: 5/5
Music: 5/5
Vocal(s): 4/5
Overall: 9/10

"Rebirthing" by Skillet from Comatose

"For the first time now, I come alive somehow!" and realize yes, there are Christian hard rock bands that suit the minor key tonality that I like.

Within seconds of playing this song, I think Have I heard this, before? No… Yes… No… And finally, at the chorus Yes! I do know this song! And lo and behold, I found out that several songs that I've liked are by this band.

What a refreshing feeling. When you can recognize a particular song within seconds, you know that something's unusually good about that music. In Skillet's case, this Christian band actually reminds me of Three Days Grace in sound, with John Cooper's vocals closer to… um… Seether's. The backup female vocals by John's wife, Korey, are probably easiest to compare to Amy Lee with a head cold. (That sounded bad, but they actually do sound pretty good.)

The minor key alternative hard rock of "Rebirthing" has hints of symphonic rock tied into it, with uplifting lyrics—a combination that some dislikers of the minor key tonality have termed "creepy."

The lyrics of "Rebirthing" capture the life-changing decision of accepting Christ as savior with the imagery of "suffocating" in the world and God's "presence filling up [his] lungs with oxygen." The song narrator dies and revives spiritually in the song. "Rebirthing" doesn't exactly say much more than that, but the imagery is strong and consistent throughout the song.

Personally, I'm quite fond of the song. If you don't like minor key or hard rock, you probably won't like this song, but if you like them, enjoy this song!

And a tip if you're curious about the music video… I found it a waste of time. Maybe you'd pull more meaning from it than I did; all I could see was the band playing the song with a few presumably 'cool' clips tossed in.

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Lyrics: 4/5
Music: 5/5
Vocal(s): 4/5
Overall: 9/10