Comatose — Skillet

Skillet's Comatose came out on Lava, Ardent and Atlantic on 3 October 2006. That's the date JFH and Wikipedia give, though a few later write-ups say the 18th. It's eleven tracks and runs forty-one minutes thirty-three seconds. The band recorded it between February and April 2006 at Chicago Recording Company in Chicago, Illinois, with Brian Howes and John L. Cooper producing. Chris Lord-Alge mixed several songs at Resonate Sound in Burbank, including Rebirthing, Yours to Hold, The Older I Get and Say Goodbye. David Bottrill mixed the rest at Metalworks in Toronto, including The Last Night, Better Than Drugs, the title track, Those Nights, Falling Inside the Black, Whispers in the Dark and Looking for Angels. Andy VanDette mastered it at Masterdisk in New York.

John L. Cooper sang lead and played bass and piano. Korey Cooper played keys and piano, handled programming and sang. Ben Kasica played electric and acoustic guitars, and Lori Peters played drums. It was her last studio album with the band before she left in 2008. Paul Buckmaster arranged and conducted the strings on Rebirthing and Yours to Hold. Invisible Creature did the art direction, Josh Horton designed it and Jeff Gros took the photos.

It peaked at No. 55 on the Billboard 200 and spent about twenty-one weeks on that chart. It reached No. 4 on Top Christian Albums, No. 19 on Top Rock Albums and No. 24 on Top Hard Rock Albums. The RIAA certified it gold on 3 November 2009, and it had passed a million for platinum by 20 May 2016. It was nominated for Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album at the 50th Grammys and for Rock Album of the Year at the 38th GMA Dove Awards. The singles included Rebirthing, Whispers in the Dark, The Last Night, The Older I Get, Comatose, Those Nights and Better Than Drugs. Skillet are a Christian rock and metal band with roots in Memphis and a history on Ardent, and they're upfront about it. I'm giving it an 8/10.

What you're hearing

Rebirthing opens with a string-backed rock attack and a new-life metaphor that doesn't go soft. The Last Night keeps the urgency of the two voices going. Yours to Hold is the ballad that reaches out a hand to a struggling friend, and it's more than radio filler. Better Than Drugs and the title track come at the same idea from two sides. Knowing God beats any high the culture can sell you, and the plea is to wake up from the numbness. The Older I Get turns ageing and regret into a chorus you can still shout along to. Those Nights is the poppier buddy song DiBiase noticed. Its piano-driven verses might throw a Collide fan at first, but it sticks. Falling Inside the Black is the heavy end of the record and Say Goodbye is the big soft-rock end. Whispers in the Dark is the first of the videos. Looking for Angels closes things out, with Cooper speaking the verses about searching for hope and then singing how much he needs it.

JFH's John DiBiase reviewed it on 25 September 2006 and called it a "strong and adventurous addition." He liked how varied it was, the return of synths and its themes of loneliness and encouragement, with Christ there even when God isn't named outright. Mike Rimmer at Cross Rhythms reviewed it on 28 March 2007 and called it Skillet's "finest" and "most accomplished" record yet. He pointed to the strings, the synths and Korey's co-vocals, the mix of quiet and open faith, and songs written for rock fans who feel lonely or confused. AllMusic's Steve Losey praised the moments where piano meets guitar, writing that "when guitar progressions meet piano nuances, special things happen." Russ Breimeier at Christianity Today was mostly positive but thought some ballads were too poppy and some lyrics generic. IGN's Ed Thompson gave it 5.0/10, hearing it as a crossover copy of Nickelback, Linkin Park and Papa Roach. That low mark is a fair counterweight, and I've factored it into the score.

How it was made

The band cut it at Chicago Recording Company from winter into spring 2006. Howes and Cooper produced together, and Howes also played guitar and sang on most tracks. Jay Van Poederooyen engineered and did the Pro Tools editing, with help from David Rieley and Sean Geyer. Zachary Kelm was executive producer. The heavy guitars of Collide are still here, but Comatose brings back the orchestral, theatrical colour. Buckmaster's strings are on Rebirthing and Yours to Hold, Korey's keys and programming run all the way through, and Invisible Creature's cover suited the big mainstream push from Atlantic and Lava. A deluxe edition on 26 December 2007 added Live Free or Let Me Die and acoustic versions, and Comatose Comes Alive in 2008 filmed the headlining tour. It's Skillet's sixth studio album. Cross Rhythms called it the seventh because it counted a live worship album, but that isn't a studio record. It's also Peters' last studio album before the band changed drummers. This record is the bridge between the darker mainstream breakthrough of Collide and the platinum Awake era that came next.

Where the score lands

It gets an eight because it delivers on nearly every front. Howes and Cooper produced it in Chicago, Lord-Alge and Bottrill split the mix and VanDette mastered it. It reached No. 55 on the Billboard 200, No. 4 on the Christian chart, No. 19 on rock and No. 24 on hard rock, and it later went platinum and got a Grammy nomination. DiBiase called it adventurous and Rimmer called it their finest, while Thompson gave it a five and Breimeier had doubts about the ballads. It's not a ten, because the pop-ballad stretch is real and the knock that it sounds derivative is fair. It's not a seven either. Going platinum years later, a strong set of videos and its place as the record that defined mid-2000s Christian hard rock push it up to eight.

Watch

The official video for Whispers in the Dark comes first, followed by the official video for The Older I Get. After those come Rebirthing, Comatose, Those Nights and Yours to Hold, then a live performance of Rebirthing.

Where this album sits on Loud Faith

Mid-2000s Christian hard rock and metal on Lava, Ardent and Atlantic was knocking on the mainstream's door. It meant Chicago studios, youth-group car parks, mainstream rock radio giving the crossover a shot, and kids who wanted volume and belief on the same CD. Comatose is Skillet's sixth studio album. DiBiase called it strong and adventurous, Rimmer called it their finest, Losey loved where the piano met the guitar, and it climbed the Billboard chart before going platinum. Whispers in the Dark is the song I'd play you first.