Skillet Breathes Life Into Awake
After three years, Skillet returns with one of the most anticipated albums of the year. NRT's Senior Editor Angel spoke with lead singer and songwriter John Cooper about the new album.

By Angel

As the band’s principal songwriter, were there any personal experiences you drew from while writing for the new album?

I would say most of the record is personal to me in terms of the lyrics, especially some of the darker songs like “Monster,” “Sometimes” or “Never Surrender.” Songs like that, I guess, express my feelings about getting a little older and a little more honest with myself about some of the things that go on inside of me, such as the things I want to change or wish I had done differently. It's about wanting a second chance and those kinds of issues. And that’s what the song “Monster” is about. It speaks of having a secret life that you don’t want anybody to know about and the thoughts you shouldn’t be entertaining in your mind that make you go, Man, I shouldn’t think that. That’s not who I want to be. Let’s keep that monster underneath.

The rock ballad, “One Day Too Late,” really struck a chord with me. What inspired you to write it?

Thank you! That’s one of my favorites, actually. We’ve been doing Skillet for such long time—and it’s really kept me busy! This kind of job can be all consuming because you’re constantly on the road, and you're constantly doing promotions. It all starts with a new record. Once you are finished with the new record, it’s time to go on tour and work very hard to promote it. Then you need to do a bunch of press, or videos, and other things to sell even more records. After that, it’s time to do another record! [Laughter.] So not only are you juggling a very busy schedule, but you’re also stressed all the time, and you're fighting to be number one as well! All that had been going on with me for a long time. I finally had reached the point where I thought: I don’t want my whole life to be wrapped up in this band. I want to be able to spend more time with my wife and kids and to be happy about the life that I’m living. What if my life was all over now? Would I be happy that I spent 95 percent of my time doing this? So the idea behind this song is to be who you want to be today because tomorrow could be one day too late.

Would you explain the concept behind your album cover? Are there any Scriptures that inspired this imagery? And one of our NRTeam members, Xcstarr, wants to know who’s behind the bandages?

[Laughter] That is actually me. I thought the visual concept was kind of cool because the songs on Awake are my songs, and the album cover shows me as I’m coming awake. There wasn’t any Scripture in particular that influenced it. The funny thing is, I wasn’t really thinking of the Comatose angle when I came up with the idea. In fact, this is the kind of picture I had in my mind (and it's a little scary): Imagine being in an accident or a car wreck—you’re either passed out or in a coma—and you wake up in an abandoned hospital with bandages wrapped all around you. It’s almost like you’re in some freaky movie where you’re all alone, and you’re wondering what’s going on.

As for the imagery, it represents this juxtaposition: A person who is coming awake would appear to be in a good situation—but at the same time, it can also be frightening! And that’s the idea behind the photograph. It’s like, “OK, I’m awake; I’m ready to go!” But then all of a sudden, you realize your whole body is wrapped in bandages, and you’re a little scared at what might be underneath.

With the success of the previous album under your belt, what was the atmosphere like when you went into the studio to record Awake?

I’d often thought that if we ever experienced any real success, the pressure in my life would go down, and then I’d be able to make the music I really wanted to make—but that is absolutely not true! Since the success of Comatose, there were more people telling us how to make our music while we were recording Awake. They thought they knew what kind of music people wanted to hear, and it got a little annoying after a while.

On top of that, I had a war going on within myself because I was trying to figure out what it was that people really liked about Comatose, and all these thoughts started running through my mind: Am I going too heavy? Lyrically, am I not going Christian enough? Or, am I going too Christian? Maybe people won’t like the song “Monster.” Maybe other Christians will be really offended by it, but I’m just going to do it anyway! And now that it’s done, people are really connecting to the messages on Awake.

The same thing happened while we were recording Comatose. As I was writing “The Last Night” in the studio, I started to become very nervous about the lyrical content because it is a dark song about a girl who’s talking to me about wanting to commit suicide. I kept thinking there was no way anyone at Christian radio was going to play this song—so much so that when it came time to lay down the vocal tracks, I went into the studio and asked my producer, “Are you sure this is OK?” He said: “Dude, I don’t know? This is heavy! Let’s just do it tomorrow.” So we slept on it that night. The next day I came back and said: “You know what? I don’t know if anyone at Christian radio is going to get it or not, but that’s what God gave me—and I’m going to do it!”

Amazingly enough, “The Last Night” ended up being the biggest song on the record. You know, even though I honestly had no idea if anyone at Christian radio would ever play that song, I have definitely learned this: No matter how much pressure you’re under, you have to trust God and do whatever He’s tells you. It might work out really great, or it might not. But at least you did what God has told you to do, and you can feel good about it.

Can you share any stories from fans that have been impacted by your music?

I can’t tell you how many hundreds of people we have talked to, have received messages from at MySpace, or have handed us written letters at our concerts who've expressed how the song “The Last Night” has impacted their lives. We've had so many people share their stories on how they decided to stop cutting or how they decided that they were not going to commit suicide after they listened to that song. It was literally hundreds of people, which is just absolutely amazing to me! I definitely knew that God had given me the song, and I had a feeling it was going to affect people. But I had no idea it would be to that extent—and I’m honored to be a part of what God has done with that song!

I understand Skillet’s lineup has changed a little as Lori Peters, your previous drummer, has left to start a new chapter in her life. Her replacement is Jen Ledger, who is not only a great drummer but also an amazing singer! How did you hook-up with her?

Posted August 24, 2009 | Angel, a concert photographer and writer, frequently conducts artist interviews for NRT. She loves Christian music and currently lives in FL with her husband.