Skillet to release new album 'Victorious’
Image Credit: Chino Villatoro
16th May 2019
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The announcement that American rock band Skillet will be releasing on 2nd August their 10th studio album, ‘Victorious’, spelt out just how far band members John Cooper (vocals, guitar), Jen Ledger (drums, vocals), Korey Cooper (guitar, keyboards) and Seth Morrison (guitar) have come since they first emerged in 1996.
"'Victorious’ is the follow-up to the RIAA Gold-certified Unleashed (their fourth consecutive album to receive either a gold, platinum, or double-platinum certification). The new project continues to propel the band’s position as one of the best-selling rock bands of the 21st century, racking up over 1 billion streams in 2018 alone.”
When I listen to these songs, I want to fight for my life, I want to fight for who I am.
Said John Cooper, “'Victorious' perfectly describes how the record makes me feel. You wake up, face your own demons every day, and never give in. There’s an introspective side to it. We might’ve commented on the world explicitly on previous albums. This one is about looking inward. Perhaps, it’s because I’ve gotten a little older, and I’ve accepted struggle as part of the journey. When I listen to these songs, I want to fight for my life, I want to fight for who I am, and I want to fight for what I believe in.”
John and his wife Korey produced the bulk of the tracks on ‘Victorious’ – a career first. Continued John, “’Unleashed’ recharged us, and we returned to what we love about writing. It was tight and electronic hard rock. We wanted to keep the sound modern and pull in influences from hip-hop drums and keyboards, while staying riff-y. ‘Victorious’ started there.
Our confidence was sparked by the last record and all of the other projects. We were feeling prolific. We thought, ‘We can produce our own Skillet album.’ It lit a fire. Korey and I have produced in the past, but nothing quite like this. It’s a brand new season.”
The first single/lyric video from ‘Victorious’ album is 'Legendary'. “The lyrics are a call to make your life matter,” Cooper went on.
We’ve always put our heads down and pushed forward when confronted with adversity.
“You’re realizing you have a chance for your life to count every day. In a sense, we’re all destined to be forgotten, so live the way you want and don’t turn your back on who you are. I drew the sentiment from my own career. We’ve always put our heads down and pushed forward when confronted with adversity.”
Skillet are set to undertake a major tour in support of ‘Victorious’, including 27 dates in Europe with one on 10th December in London. It seems certain to live up to its name.