Comatose
Posted March 11, 2008
By thirdsaint,
From the opening riff on Rebirthing I could tell I was in for a treat. Forget that it's lifted from Led Zeppelin's 'Kashmir', that part disappears after the first 15 seconds and is followed by a great hard rockin' song complete with female vocals and beautiful string arrangements. You can tell Skillet are reaching a new level right off the bat, something they seem very strong at doing from album to album. There's great vocal hooks in most every song that not only catch your attention but manage to keep as the song progresses. Here on Comatose you see a stronger focus on the vocals of the lead singer's wife and fellow guitarist, Korey Cooper. She has a nice angelic voice but it has an edge on it to go with the songs so it doesn't feel out of place. A good example of that where she really shines is on 'The Last Night' and it sort of gives the impression that the song is sung from a female perspective when she pipes in on the verses. Honestly I think that's a fantastic idea because it can draw female listeners and give them something to relate to in a genre that's male dominated.
Something else that's more of a focus is the use of string instruments to either set up a song, as with 'The Last Night' or 'Comatose', or to give an extra texture and layer to songs ('Yours to Hold') as is the case with most all of them. The use of the piano also helps set moods in songs or give an atmosphere beyond just rocking your brain until it hurts. For Christian Rock, a genre that fights with a reputation of being generic music, I find Skillet to be very refreshing. The production is top notch and it avoids being too shiny or plastic and an effect used on the vocals in my personal favorite, 'Whispers in the Dark', really helped make the song stand out.
A down side is the few ballads on here that seem repetitive or generic. 'Say Goodbye' is one I especially don't care for with it's cheesy breakup song style lyrics. I normally like it when CD's have some slower tunes to breakup the heavier stuff but on this CD they do just the opposite and bog it down too much. For example, you have the heavy riff soaked 'Better Than Drugs' with a knee buckling guitar solo followed by another catchy rock song 'Comatose' that gets your blood pumping before you're thrown into a coma with 'The Older I Get' and 'Those Nights'. Speaking of guitar solos though, there's a few on this album and they never overdo them. Sometimes bands seem to throw in solos for the sake of having one instead of feeling if a song needs one. The ones Skillet do have, particularly in 'Whispers in the Dark', are phenominal and all have a different sound to them. That one almost hints at power metal while others may be more melodic or sweeping as in 'Falling Inside the Black'.
The lyrics here are a bit more open for Christian music in that they can be taken a few ways. At least some of the songs are like that but others have clear messages alluding to God. The last song, 'Looking for Angels', is the most unique thing I've heard them do and nothing like anything else on the album. John Cooper 'talks' the lyrics instead of singing them and aside from being a powerful message to any teenager or young adult, there's a sense of urgency in his voice. I wasn't sure what to think of it at first but the song quickly grew on me and it really is a great way to end the album.
Overall, it's easy to see I'm quite pleased with this album and it's Skillets best. They've gotten better over time as they've changed their sounds and I wonder if they will ever create a true classic album. I'm optimistic but they have to shake some of those cheesy ballads and keep working on those strings first.
Gems of this album are: 'Whispers in the Dark', 'Comatose', 'The Last Night', 'Falling Inside the Black', 'Better Than Drugs'
Overall - 9.1/10 View All Music And Book Reviews By thirdsaint | View thirdsaint's Profile
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