Comatose
Skillet was one of the beneficiaries of Switchfoot and P.O.D.’s success in the mainstream rock scene: A subsidiary of mainstream Atlantic Records distributed the group’s last album and watched it sell a respectable number of CDs. Hopes are higher for Comatose, though, and it seems calculated to deliver.
Lyrically, frontman John Cooper and crew are still writing to that outcast high school kid in all of us, with tracks such as “The Last Night” and “Better Than Drugs.” A gothic string arrangement launches the dramatic “Rebirthing,” pushing the band toward Evanescence’s sound, especially when keyboardist Korey Cooper chimes in on vocals. Crushing rocker “Better Than Drugs” rivals it for the hardest track, with charging, stop-and-start guitars. Two ballads also warrant mention: “Yours To Hold” and the gripping “Say Goodbye.”
Parts of Comatose come off as overwrought (especially “The Last Night”), and in places, the guitar licks lack creativity—nothing new there. But in the end, these are minor complaints about a record crafted to rocket Skillet to the next level.
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Review by: Beau Black
Originally published November 01, 2006.
