By Leah MarieAnn KlettAssistant Editor Saturday, November 2, 2024

Skillet lead vocalist and bassist John Cooper is no stranger to using music as a platform for conviction. But with the release of the band’s latest album, RevolutionHe is more passionate than ever and sounding the alarm about what he sees as a pivotal moment in American history.

“America is on the brink of something very, very bad, very dangerous. “I don’t think any policy can save him,” the 49-year-old artist told The Christian Post.

“The revolution is not militaristic… it is a spiritual revolution that we need. If we don’t return to God, we will be in such a bad place. I truly believe that with all my heart…if we don’t turn to God and have a spiritual revolution, a revolution of repentance, a revolution of love for the Kingdom of God.”

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For Cooper, the dire state of teen mental health is a rallying cry; cited recent findings by the U.S. surgeon general about a “loneliness crisis” among young people.

“We are seeing the highest levels of teen suicide and depression in history,” he said. “What would it be like if the Church in America were so full of righteousness, peace, and joy that we began to be a beacon of light to a dark world? It would be something incredible; “All of that is involved in the revolution, and that’s why I think it’s so moving.”

Revolution marks the eleventh studio album by Skillet, formed in 1996 in Memphis, Tennessee, and the group’s first independent venture after two years with Atlantic Records. A two-time Grammy-nominated group, Skillet has sold more than 12 million albums and has earned more than a dozen RIAA certifications recognizing gold, platinum or multi-platinum status.

The album’s lead single, “Unpopular,” premiered in August and serves as a call to reject societal pressures to conform, a theme that Cooper says resonates deeply at a time when personal beliefs are under constant scrutiny.

“We don’t avoid saying things that might upset some people. But what I say is that no, you have to be brave in your faith,” he said. “Do not be ashamed of Christ. And right now, not being ashamed of Christ has some residual and difficult effects. People are going to hate you. That’s the world we live in now. People will call you a bad person. That’s the world we live in now. But that is what it means to follow Christ.”

As Cooper calls for this faith-based “revolution,” he increasingly finds himself in the crossfire, facing criticism from both secular and Christian circles. For many outside the church, his uncompromising stance has earned him labels such as “alarmist” or “extreme.”

But Cooper says criticism from within his own community hurts more. “What really bothers me is when it comes from our own side,” he said. “People say I’m being ‘too extreme’ or ‘unloving,’ but Jesus didn’t mince his words either. “Sometimes I think the Church has confused living for Jesus with simply being polite.”

a key song Revolution“everything that matters” echoes this stance with lyrics that challenge listeners to consider the sacrifices necessary for true peace. Lyrics include the lines “Don’t get me wrong/ I’m no pacifist/ For peace, I have to pay a price/ And I’ll defend what’s mine/ I’ll fight for what I love/ Help me God above/ All it takes is one.” ”

True peace, Cooper said, cannot be achieved through compromise or passivity.

“Many Christians have confused living for Jesus with being educated. And I think that’s a big mistake. “I won’t even go into all the times Jesus wasn’t courteous,” he said.

“I don’t like confrontation, interestingly enough, because I’m a people person and I care deeply about people. I think (people) have a hard time reconciling that with someone who dares and says, ‘I will defend the unborn.’ “It is absolutely immoral to take the lives of children in the womb.” “They can’t reconcile it.”

In describing the Church’s hesitancy to address contentious social issues, Cooper addressed a sense of complacency that he believes has infiltrated American Christianity. He lamented that the absence of the Church in certain cultural dialogues, particularly on issues such as gender and education, has left a void filled by secular ideology.

“Christians don’t realize that these freedoms (of speech, of assembly, the right to raise our children) are being eroded. In 2020, churches were closed while strip clubs and casinos remained open,” Cooper recalled. “We have to see what is happening and understand what is at stake.”

Cooper is aware that his stance is unusual in the Christian music scene, which he acknowledged operates within a highly polarized industry. Skillet, he noted, makes most of its income from the mainstream rock world, freeing the band from the financial pressures many other Christian artists face.

“Imagine if 100 percent of your income came from the Christian market and then half of those people thought it was too political. “You are risking your entire career if you speak out,” Cooper explained.

While he empathizes with artists who hesitate to address polarizing topics, Cooper said silence is no longer an option. He cited research from the Barna Group linking rising rates of depression and suicide among young people to the diminishing presence of a Christian worldview.

The data, he said, confirms what he has been warning about for years: that a generation is growing up without a sense of purpose, being told that life is a series of accidents with no ultimate meaning.

“We have no idea the demonic activity that is let into people’s minds, from pornography and from these phones with all the incredibly hellish things online. We have no idea what is going on and then we wonder why these children are sad and depressed and committing suicide at the highest rates ever recorded. “We have to do something about it,” he said.

the themes of Revolution reflects Cooper’s belief in the restorative power of faith, with a song that begins: “We lost future generations/Face to face cannot be communicated/And we cannot distinguish truth from counterfeit/Lives and innocents wasted.”

Through these lyrics, Cooper hopes to counter the sense of nihilism he sees in modern culture. As for what Skillet hopes to achieve with RevolutionThe album strives to oppose social division and encourage listeners to “stand up for what we believe in, even if it may be unpopular.”

“We have raised a generation of people in a world that tells them there is no God. That means there is no ultimate purpose for your life, they are a cosmic mistake or they fill in the blank with whatever words you want to say instead. of ‘Darwin’s evolutionary mistake,’ it’s simply survival of the fittest, or that’s just how it was,” Cooper said.

“We need a spiritual revolution,” he reiterated. “Part of what I want you to know is that, step one, you matter because God exists. He created you. He created you in his image. That means you matter. And we go from there and then we build.”