A "deep-rooted belief in God" fuels the force of Christian rock band Skillet's lead singer John Cooper. The four American rockers from Memphis, Tenn., released on Wednesday a new music video for their new song "Feel Invincible." The group's colossal, previous hit "Monster" sold 2 million copies.
Skillet formed in Memphis in 1996. The band currently consists of husband and wife John (lead vocals, bass) and Korey Cooper (rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), along with Jen Ledger (drums, vocals) and Seth Morrison (lead guitar).
John Cooper was a bit hesitant to predict how the future album would be received. But, he told Billboard he gets a sense of strength from a deep-rooted belief in God, and finds strength in reading the Bible. "It helps me remember who I am. I also find strength in my wife. We share everything. We are partners. We tour together, rock together, raise kids together, pray together. And yes, we argue together at times. But she is a rock for me."
"Quite honestly, after doing music for 20 years, it's easy to feel like you are outdated, too old or irrelevant to culture to keep writing 'on-point' songs," he admits. "I love touring and playing music. But sometimes the ebb and flow of this business can make you want to give up before you even try. Specifically, when I was writing this record, there were times when I wondered if I should even try."
The band had released nine albums, two receiving Grammy nominations: Collide and Comatose. Awake was certified Platinum, and debuted on No. 2 on the Billboard 200, with Comatose certified Platinum by RIAA.
Skillet had a great run on Billboard's rock and Christian charts, topping out at No. 20 on Rock Airplay, No. 4 on Mainstream Rock Songs, No. 8 on Rock Streaming Songs and No. 1 on Christian/Gospel Digital Songs.
Cooper observes that repeatedly hearing the mantra of "rock is dead" and feeling the pressure to shy away from making such music can be hard to deal with.
"But in the end, I know who I am. I know I couldn't really stop playing music, and I certainly cannot try to be something that I am not," he said. "Therefore, I wanted to make a hard-rocking album that I believe in. If it's 'too rock' or outdated, then so be it. This is who I am. I'd rather fall down swinging than not show up for the fight."
So, Cooper penned "Feel Invincible," the first single from Unleashed (due Aug. 5 on Atlantic Records).
He said the track "represents the album in one facet really well: Unleashed is full of crowd-chanting anthems. The album is very exciting to listen to. Driving beats and melodic choruses, whether it's hard rock or leaning toward pop."
He also notes Unleashed is "quite diverse -- there are more extreme songs on both sides of the spectrum, meaning harder rock and even metal, but also pop and atmospheric tunes/sounds."
"Feel Invincible" has been chosen as the theme for TBS' "E-League," an eight-week live video-gaming competition that will be broadcast in more than 80 countries. The fight song's chorus chants, "You make me brave/ You're my titanium/ Fight song, raising up/ Like a roar of victory in a stadium," making its pick for a tournament a no-brainer.
