Album Review: Skillet - Awake

A quick little search on Google tells me that Skillet's latest release, 'Awake' charted at #2 on the Billboard top 200 and sold 68,000 units in its first week. An impressive feat for this Christian rock band.

'Awake' on the whole sounds very brash and slick with Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, All American Rejects, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Papa Roach) on producing duities. It all sounds pleasing on the ear, even if you're not a fan of the genre.

Skillet have that somewhat typical mainstream American rock radio sound, heavy guitars, soaring vocals and melodies that some how get stuck in your head. This especially can be said for tracks like 'Monster', 'Hero' and 'It's Not Me, It's You'.

At the other end of the spectrum comes the lighter tracks, 'Don't Wake Me' has that awful power ballad sound, which makes for uncomfortable listening. Whereas 'Believe' has that predictable, radio rock structure, similar to bands like Seether and Flyleaf, along with the predictable screeching guitar solo.

I think you have to be a fan of the band or the genre (Christian rock) to enjoy this, otherwise it quickly becomes tiresome and rather predictable. Nevertheless its impressive production and the bands positive energy, make 'Awake' a record that is worth giving a chance.

2.5/5

'Awake' by Skillet is available now on Atlantic Records/Lava/INO Records

Skillet on MySpace

Buy 'Awake' by Skillet on iTunes here.

Sean Reid