Skillet do not appear to be mellowing with age. 

Over a 15-year recording career that includes 11 studio albums, the Christian crossover band has firmly established themselves within the metal/alternative rock universe. 

The band’s 10th album, 2019’s Victorious, put a grungy, industrial edge on aggressive rockers like “You Ain’t Ready,” “Never Going Back,” and “Reach,” while poppier, more orchestral-accented anthems like “This Is a Kingdom” and the title song had plenty of heft. 

In February, Skillet released a deluxe version of their 2022 album Dominion, called Dominion: Day of Destiny, which includes five additional songs, including the single “Finish Line” with guest vocalist Adam Gauntier of Three Days Grace. 

Both versions of the album feature a similar stylistic mix. But the deluxe version ups the ante on the louder aspects of their music in “Beyond Incredible,” “Surviving the Game,” and the title track. They all mix thick guitars, aggressive beats, and grimy industrial-ish tones sweetened with big melodic choruses. 

Skillet are currently on a co-headlining tour with Theory of a Deadman. The Rock Resurrection Tour stops at Memorial Coliseum on Tuesday, Dec. 5, with support from Saint Asonia.

Producers play big role

Skillet’s last visit to the Coliseum was during the 2022 Winter Jam, a traveling tour of contemporary Christian artists.

The show came on heals of the original Dominion, which frontman Jon Cooper described as “positively defiant” in a Whatzup interview at the time.

So, how does Dominion differ from Skillet’s earlier work?

“I always laugh and tell people that as an artist I seem to have a really hard time knowing when something sounds different than the last record,” Cooper said in a recent phone interview. “But my feeling is that this record is, it’s heavier… Some of that might be because of the Churko influence. That’s kind of what they do, isn’t it?”

The Churkos would be Kevin Churko, who produced and contributed to the songwriting on Dominion, and his son, Kane Churko, who was also involved in the songwriting and production.

“There’s something about Kevin’s production that’s just very big on the low end. It’s very, very punchy,” Cooper said of his producer, known for his work with Ozzy Osbourne, Five Finger Death Punch, and Disturbed. “He’s just a really, really great producer, and I’m a huge fan. So, I was like, ‘Kevin, do what you do. We want people to hear this music and feel like they’re coming out of the gate: Coming out of the gate from pandemic and depression and sadness and despair. And they are coming out of the gates ready to take the world on. Whatever the world brings, they’re going to crush it. That’s what I want people to feel when they hear this music. And he’s like, ‘Yup, I’m on it.’ ”

Working remotely

The Churkos had co-written two songs with Cooper and his wife, guitarist/keyboardist Korey Cooper, “Rise Up” and “You Ain’t Ready” off Victorious. They were also involved early in the writing process for Dominion. Things went so well that the band, which includes guitarist Seth Morrison and drummer/vocalist Jen Ledger, decided to do the entire Dominion album with the Churkos.

But because the pandemic prevented Skillet from working in person with the Churkos, they had to get creative with how to write and record. 

The solution was to do the songwriting and recording of each instrumental part and vocal remotely over Zoom video conferencing. 

Cooper found this approach to be surprisingly workable.

“It was just a really easy record to make. It was bizarrely easy,” he said. “I didn’t want to do it that way. And I thought, ‘This is dumb.’ But it was either let’s try to write some songs with Zoom or we’re not going to do anything right now, because we can’t (work in person). So, I thought I’ll just try it, and it went really good. I don’t really know why. Some of it might just be because you’re working less, meaning I didn’t have to travel all the way over there (to a studio) and then set up gear. It was more like, ‘Hey, we have a couple of hours. Let’s jump on (Zoom) and write some stuff.”

Reaching the mountaintop

If Skillet’s track record is any indication, fans will agree that the remote recording process produced another solid album — although it has not reached the heights of their earlier albums.

The group, which formed in Memphis in 1996, enjoyed considerable success from the outset in the Christian rock market. But the real breakthrough came with Skillet’s sixth album, the 2006 release Comatose. Certified platinum, it won a Grammy for Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album and spawned five singles, three of which crossed over into the Top 30 on Billboard magazine’s Mainstream Rock Singles chart. 

The next album, 2009’s Awake, did even better, going double-platinum and producing seven singles.

That success continued with 2013’s Rise, 2016’s Unleashed, and Victorious, each of which added multiple Christian and mainstream rock singles to Skillet’s catalog.

Skillet returned to the road this fall, promising to give fans what they want, while filtering in some Dominion material.

“We’ll play a couple of new songs, and then, of course, you’ve got to play the songs that you know people are going to be really mad if you don’t play,” Cooper said.