He was the music director at a presbyterian church my wife and I attended here in Michigan for a little while before we walked away from it all. Week in and week out he was absolutely incredible and it was clear how constrained he was by the church. You could always tell he was meant for greater things and there was definitely a vacuum after he left. He put on some concerts at the church where he’d play a lot of his early work around the time the first album dropped and I couldn’t believe they had such a massive talent on staff. Knew it was only a matter of time until he’d depart and it’s so cool all these years later to see him and his band out there killing it.
He shared about a suicide attempt a couple of years back, but he seemed like he's in a much better place now. They had a ton of fun up there.
My wife’s sister bought their dad tickets to see Skillet for Father’s Day, and now my wife has to see them tonight. And she’s not looking forward to it. have they done anything good since Collide?
I liked Comatose (less than Collide, but still a fair amount; the highs were high, if that brand of rock is your shit). That was in 2006, though, when I was still in high school, lol. They’ve apparently had five albums since then, including whichever one had that dang “Monster” song I heard way too often when I did youth ministry. …I’m sure the production value will be high…?
Yeah, your mileage will vary depending on how much enjoyment you get out of the active rock format, for sure. I still enjoy quite a bit of their music, but that's because I dig that format and the bands in it, so if you don't, then you won't. Also apart from that, the lead singer's turned into a real piece of shit. His takes are, I guess, unsurprising from a heavily religious Christian, but they're still very disappointing and he's been very vocal about them, especially in the last couple of years.
I used to really like Skillet. But their last couple albums haven’t been good. Particularly Dominion.
I liked Dominion. More than I expected to, actually. The one that I really dislike is Rise, and that's purely from a production standpoint, as the album sounds like it's going to scrape my ears off with this high-pitched noise during the loud parts.
What did you like about Dominion? I couldn’t get into the weird electronic drum sounds they had and the songs just weren’t good…it was like they forgot how to write decent songs, imo.
Yeah. That’s everything we thought it would be. Oh well. Her dad will eat it all up. He loves that stuff.
I haven't gone back to it since around the time it came out, so a detailed answer would require a re-listen, but it was just enjoyable active rock. I should also qualify my opinion with Skillet being far from one of my favorite bands in the genre and even if I like their work, it's still generic and derivative. I just don’t necessarily see those attributes as negative, especially when I'm just looking to have loud music with catchy choruses in my ears while I'm doing something else.
Yeah. I’ve warned my wife about the crazy stuff he’s gonna talk about. My father in law will be super into it though.
During last night's football game on NBC they used a clip from Tonight by Pax217. It was definitely a blast from the past and it took me a minute to place the song. Never listened to them a ton but they were on several compilations and they have the Ethan Luck connection
Gosh, I remember first hearing their music with "A.M." featured in the movie Extreme Days, even though that association makes me cringe now. Never realized they'd reunited some years back.
I remember listening to Engage a ton at the Family Christian bookstore listening station. That and Bleach "Again for the First Time". Ended up buying both after like 5+ years of sampling when my dad was there looking for books or at Staples next door. Have a soft spot for both.
Again for the First Time is an all time favorite of mine. I have a framed Bleach poster in my room still.
Lacey Sturm, my favorite ex-gay, lol. Haven’t listened to her (solo or Flyleaf) in forever, but “All Around Me” was such a great worship song.
It's funny because that's probably the only album of theirs I love start to finish. Rest are hit or miss for me.