Skillet is back after 5 years with a new addition to their discography, Rise. Although not originally intended to be this way, Rise is a concept album, and like all concept albums, has its ups and downs. It kicks off with the title track, a solid opener which sets the scene for the rest of the record. There’s something that can be said about the smooth vocal transitions, from John Cooper to Jen Ledger and back again. The only downside of this song is the fadeout, which has some effects that give it an overproduced vibe. The popular radio single, “Sick of It”, comes next. “Sick of It” has a great message, but musically is almost an exact duplicate of “Monster”. There are some electronic effects added to it, but other than that it sounds like it could pass as “Monster 2.0”.
After “Good to Be Alive”, which is an uplifting but still upbeat cut, there is a minute-long opera-like outro which leads into “Not Gonna Die”, a powerful rocker that showcases the symphonic feel the band demonstrated on Awake. I understand the purpose for the interlude, as there are similar interludes throughout the entire record in order to give it a certain flow. However, I feel as though the outro for “Good to Be Alive” was a bit over the top. “Not Gonna Die” is followed by “Circus for a Psycho”, a fast-paced jam driven by a crazy guitar lick and some industrial elements. “American Noise” is the first significantly slower song, and has a great feel overall, especially for being a slow song. “Madness in Me”, which comes next, is essentially the album’s last upbeat song until the closer. It’s not that these songs are bad by any stretch of the imagination. It’s just that they all have a similar sound and there isn’t much deviation from the band’s “ballad” formula. “What I Believe” is one final rocker, which again showcases not only the band’s classic symphonic feel, but also with the back-and-forth of John and Jen on vocals. This song does a good job of wrapping everything up nicely.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHzU-9iozmo&h=297&w=450]
Personally I found this record a bit tough to get into because a lot of the songs sounded too similar. It’s almost like the band has a formula that they don’t want to deviate from. This formula makes their songs very predictable, and at times, even takes away from the overall listen.
Overall, Skillet has proven that they can come back after an album that, although achieving platinum status, was not particularly enjoyed by the band’s diehards, the Panheads. Rise is an essential for any Skillet fan, and possibly what may have been if the band tried breeding Alien Youth with Awake. Skillet executes the concept album fairly well, and even though Rise has some flaws that prevent it from being the group’s best, it definitely tops Awake, and is still a must-have for any Panhead. While it certainly can be cheesy and repetitive at times, Rise is an album that any rocker can appreciate, or at the very least, be intrigued by. All it takes is a listen or two.
Score: 3/5
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