Collide

In 2001, the guitarist Kevin Halandt left the band, and Ben Cassica took his place. At the beginning of 2003, in a new line-up, the group began work on a new album. The recording took place at Ardent Studios in Memphis . The producer was Paul Ebersold, who previously worked with the band on recording their second album, Hey You, I Love Your Soul . The first 3 songs, one of which did not end up in the final release, were recorded by Skillet in January 2003. Then the team took a break: the work on the recording continued only in April and lasted until June ^[8] . The album was named Collide . Later John Cooper explained that the name of the album implies a clash of fear and faith ^[3] .

At that time, the band had a contract with Ardent Records and Lava Records. Initially, Skillet wanted to release Collide in February 2004 on both labels, but this did not happen because Ardent decided to release the album in November 2003, and Lava Records postponed the release until May 2004. Due to the fact that the band had extra time before the release. the disc on Lava Records, they decided to record a new song, “Open Wounds”, which eventually got to the release from Lava Records ^[9] . Also, the edition from Lava Records differed slightly modified cover.

The album debuted at the 179th line on the Billboard 200 and 5th line in the Top Heatseekers . The first single was the song “Savior” ^[10] . A video clip was shot on it. In the video, the band is shown playing a song in the house and in the park at night. The plot of the video tells the story of two boys who are subjected to ill-treatment by their father and decide to run away from him. They make their way through the park where Skillet plays. Ends video so that children save the mother. According to John, the essence of the clip was to show, in the role of savior, not Christ , but a simple person who can become a savior for someone in a certain situation ^[11] . However, speaking of the meaning of the song, he explained: “The song was that I know that I cannot run away from God, I cannot do anything without him ... He lives inside of me, speaks to me, and I cannot escape anything Do not hide from it. He is my strength, mine ... He is just my everything ^[12] . "

Musically, this album differs from previous ones with heavier music; elements of nu-metal, which was very popular at the time of its recording, appeared ^[1] . The inspiration for the change of sound was served by such bands as POD and Linkin Park ^{[9] [13]} . Speaking of the difference between Collide and the band’s other work, Ben said: “I’m definitely confident that this is our heaviest album, without a doubt. I think it fits more than the rest of the mainstream ^[8] . ”

Unlike the previous album, Alien Youth , the story of God and the revival of the Christian faith, Skillet’s fifth album also touches on personal issues. For example, the first love song, “A Little More” ^[2] , appeared on the disc in the entire history of the group. According to John Dibase from Jesus Freak Hideout, Collide is for the most part devoted to human weakness ^[3] . In one of his interviews, John said: “This album addresses problems that, in one way or another, everyone faced. We sing about fear. The name itself, Collide , is dedicated to it. What if you are a Christian who wants to live in faith, but every day you have to face fear? ^[14] ". Some critics praised Skillet for raising such serious topics as teen suicide (“Imperfection”), feeling of fear (“Collide”), heartache (“Fingernails”) and avoiding the cliches often used by “well-meaning believers” ^[2] .

In general, critics have favorably accepted the album. According to John Dibieys, editor of Jesus Freak Hideout, Collide is not perfect, but it takes Skillet to a new level and is definitely one of the best rock albums of the year ^[3] . Rick Fawkes with cMusicWeb wrote: “Cooper's vocals fly easily between different octaves, ideally taking both high and low, before turning into piercing ears, the best ... scream ... in the world ^[10] ”. Kai Roth from Melodic called Collide a good but ordinary album, far from perfect. ^[4]

The words and music of all the songs of John Cooper, except the one noted.

• Collide (English) on Rate Your Music