I can see some of the reviewers points and though there may not be tons or originality, I appreciate the passion and sound. If you like Skillet, this album is pure Skillet. If you want a band to try out new things, this album may not scratch your itch. I really appreciated every song and the message contained within. I also appreciate Skillet knows what they are good at and rocked their gifts. Too many bands take a left (or right no imagery intended) turn to try something new and it stinks. I miss old Switchfoot. Great job Skillet!!

Showtime is Skillet doing their buttrock thing. It sounds very much like it could have been on Victorious or Unleashed. While it is mostly unoriginal, it does have some decent guitar in the bridge. Unpopular presents a good message in a trite and cringeworthy way. The music doesn’t bring much to the table either. Very much a filler track. All that Matters has an early-mid 2000s radio rock vibe. It’s a little light and a little heavy with some strings and cleans. It’s okay but not very dynamic. Not Afraid is in my top 3, featuring some decent guitar work, some unclean vocals, and just a general sound that strikes me as more inspired than most of the album. I don’t like Revolution much, but it is kind of interesting. It’s a little creepy with a nice groove – almost sounds like it could have been on Collide. Ash in the Wind is one of the better tracks here. The verses are soft with little heavy elements, and it builds nicely to a solid chorus that starts with an irregular drumbeat. The next two have a similar structure. Fire Inside of Me is also pretty good with nice energy. The male-female vocal back and forth in the chorus provides a welcome variety. Defector has that urgent sound, if you will. Of this run of three similar songs, this is the softest and maybe the deepest. Happy Wedding Day immediately reminded me of Lucy, which is great in its own right. It starts acoustic and eventually builds. It’s a nice story about their daughter. While Lucy is a bona fide tear jerker, this is still a pretty good soft song. With Death Defier, the album ends how it started, with a cheesy attempt to rile you up. It’s basic and boring. Overall, I really appreciate how Skillet is staying in their lane lately and mostly just doing rock instead of weird pop flavors of the week. There’s some really good stuff here, but I could use a little more variety, whether that’s intricate guitar work, less vocal predictability or string utilization. My rankings: 1. Comatose 2. Collide 3. Dominion 4. Awake 5. Revolution 6. Unleashed 7. Rise 8. Victorious (The old stuff)

Great album. Awesome songs, and a potent assessment of the world we are in.

Vinyl arrived on time and in excellent condition. Skillet is the best!

It won't let me do 3.5 stars. I would say this album is not bad, but it seems really overproduced. Some songs on this really are good and great to turn up loud in your car. However, the drum sound and the overall sound of the album seems overproduced and too slick. The album would benefit from a rawer sound and when Skillet is heavy less polish on the guitars. I am an Original Panhead and will forever support the band. I would have liked to like this album, something seems missing.

Love the music during the hard times.

Skillet’s Comatose was my gateway into hard rock and eventually metal. Demon Hunter eventually became my all time favorite, but I still cherished the memories I had listening to Skillet. When coming to this album, I knew John had taken a deep dive into political matters, I even checked out his book Wimpy, Weak, Woke. I wanted to stay neutral because TBH an artist’s political views don’t impact the quality of the music. Or at least that’s how it should be…but when you release a song which has “My freedom is all that matters to me” featured in the chorus in a ridiculous and cringey manner, you lose my interest. This stuff may be good for a DJT rally, but any self respecting listener should probably skip.

This is one of skillets better albums

I have to be honest, as a long time Skillet fan, I was apprehensive about this release. The songs they released early didn't do that much for me. However, my fears were soon to put to rest after just one listen of 'Revolution'. They have amped up the heaviness, the energy and 'catchiness' somehow. The album rockets out of the gate with 'Showtime' and doesn't really edge downhill at all. A solid listen from start to finish. I know some Skillet fans bemoan the fact that nothing they've done will ever top 'Comatose' but I think that misses the point of being productive as a band. They are consistent and clearly have more in the tank.