The best thing about Skillet’s new EP is that, unlike its abhorrent predecessor Revolution, it’s not another jingoistic, anti-woke power fantasy. The second best thing? Erm…well, it’s pretty short?
Alright, to be fair, there’s a bit of due credit to account for on After The Storm. Unlike plenty of their contemporaries in radio-rock and Christian-rock, this isn’t just another languishing in the airless, overpolished filth that is their modern output. In a move that would blindside Nostradamus himself, Skillet have taken some initiative, looking to recapture the energy of their earlier work. That’s still Skillet to a T, but at least some people like Collide. That counts for something, right?
Well, there has been an improvement since last time. By keeping on the straight and narrow of current-day hard rock, there’s nothing on After The Storm that’s ideologically contemptible. This is Skillet clocking in for as honest a shift as they can muster, leaving the ten-ton baggage of Revolution firmly behind them. In doing so, songs like Scream and Lift Me Up punch a bit harder, and the title track is even a little energetic. The production could do with sounding more organic to match, but, hey—baby steps.
Of course, any improvement is immediately crushed under the fact that, as a Skillet release, it sucks by default. What hope of reliving a heyday is there from one of the most slavishly bound-to-format bands currently operating? Skillet have no ideas or creative drive anymore; it’s why John Cooper dabbles in the right-wing grift-sphere as it is. And even if After The Storm is a mild improvement, does that say much when what came before was completely odious from front to back?
At a baseline, After The Storm is scooping up crumbs for something to call its own. As far as wholly brand new ideas go, the stabs and squeals on Grave Stomper come from a bit deeper in Skillet’s wheelhouse, not unexpected but not dusted off as often, either. By comparison, Scream, Lift Me Up and Come And Find Me could’ve been plucked from any point in this band’s catalogue, with their fundamental lack of advancement on full display. A band 30 years into their career should be aiming higher than this. And yet, when that’s what Revolution ultimately was, Skillet have painted themselves into the tightest of corners, from which there’s little hope of escape.
Not that that bothers them, of course. They’re a radio-rock band, so kowtowing to the most base, broad, switch-your-brain-off impulses is all good for them. There’s a place for that, of course, and in Skillet’s case, it’s the bin. Superficial bigness is the only hurdle they’re qualified to clear, if Scream and Lift Me Up are any indication. Grave Stomper might aspire to be more, but it’s really just a good, old-fashioned, cognitively dissonant ‘fuck the haters’ song. “I was being slandered,” says Jon Cooper of this track, “but I knew those untrue words didn’t have any power over me.” So little power, naturally, that he felt the need to write an entire song about it, calling it “an everyday nightmare inside of [his] head”. At least ‘grave stomper’ is an unfeasibly hard coinage for a Christian-rock band of all things to drum up. If that’s too aggressive and scary for the Panheads to handle, though, there’s always Heaven Help Us, venerating the Big G with all the fluff and quasi-conservatism you’d expect from religious music.
A cynical man might even say that’s the fallback to cover for Cooper’s terrible singing voice…so, yeah, that’s what I’m saying. He sounded shot on Revolution and it’s just as bad on After The Storm, almost to the point of no return. Even the most magnanimous production job can’t make Lift Me Up sound good, a song that’s fixed in a normal range with no gymnastics or histrionics required. There’s an awful, uncared-for quality to Cooper’s voice, craggy in a way that, on Heaven Help Us, rips and tears away at what’s supposed to be a cleaner ballad. When he does push himself, it’s even worse. The screams on—where else?—Scream sound as though they were physically painful to produce, and are no better elsewhere.
So, there we go, then—After The Storm. It sure is a Skillet release, and it sure has come out in 2026. It’s a relatively harmless one, to be charitable about it, but what exactly does that count for? Even to take it in the best faith imaginable and say that Skillet really are trying to re-stoke their old fire, that doesn’t amount to anything. At best, you’ve got a couple of inoffensive hard rock songs that could’ve come from anyone; at worst…it’s Skillet. The Panheads will love it, though as usual, how worthy of consideration are the opinions of a group who actively call themselves ‘Panheads’?
For fans of: Three Days Grace, Thousand Foot Krutch, RED
‘After The Storm’ by Skillet is released on 9th October.
Words by Luke Nuttall
You’re genuinely just trying to hate on Skillet, and you couldn’t even give enough effort to properly spell John Cooper’s name. As a big fan of most of their music, especially what they released around 2003-2009, this EP is AMAZING. Sure, it may have a few problems, and it could be better in some areas, but to claim “as a Skillet release, it sucks by default” is crazy. Honestly, after reading this, it’s not at all surprising why this has zero likes even after three days.
Man, if you can’t be objective, you have no business being a reviewer. “It’s a Skillet release so it sucks by default”? Get out of here with that. You hate what the band stands for, and that’s why you can’t be objective, so just stop.
Not only that, but he can’t even at the very least spell John Cooper’s name correctly.
Not even close to objective. Terrible review.
Well reviews are opinion based and yours is pretty clear. Hating their ideology and ignoring their steadfast holding to their core values and beliefs is your choice but it doesn’t come off well at all to those of us interested in objectivity. The EP is notably better than their previous release. The production is markedly better and there’s way more overall energy. Skillet needs that pulsating push on every instrument and the lyrics and vocals have to match or it all falls flat and most of After the Storm does a good job of driving second after second. It’s not perfect at all but Lift Me Up, Scream, After The Storm all deliver thrilling listening experiences. It’s not fresh but because recent releases have been very “mid” this feels more impactful than it otherwise might be. I enjoy the band, enjoy their commitment to faith and uplifting messages. In a world where people think rock and metal have to be hateful, aggressive, even overly violent Skillet stand out. It’s a band I can get my young son into and gateway him into heavier music without feeling like I’m exposing him to a hateful cult experience. After the Storm is a B-grade release – it’s not overly memorable but it’s far from forgettable and it tips the scale in the right direction for the band relative to their releases after the truly fun Unleashed came out 10 years ago.