Skillet -- Invincible

7/10

And now we come to that phase of Skillet. Yes, the one where they became very uncool almost entirely on the basis of John Cooper's bizarre, lamentable, wet-poodle hairstyle on the cover of their third album, Invincible. Even overlooking his puppy-esque mop-top, the album itself is distinctly uncool, trading in even more of Skillet's original rock sound for dancey electronics. I'd say the album has its moments, but it kind of hits this  futrocentric lime-green wallpaper vibe for me that turns it into one long song. I think its because so many of these songs sound the same--"You Take My Rights Away," "Come On to the Future,"I Trust You," and "Say It Loud" all have a cool, high-energy vibe, coupled with some underlying ambient textures I can definitely vibe on, but they also all sound like the same song. It seems like the band is transitioning to the addition of Cooper's wife, Korey, on keys and programming, as the programming really takes over here. That's fine and all, but the songwriting isn't quite there enough to make all of these songs memorable. Invincible is just solid. Even the lead single, "Best Kept Secret," is...just solid. Nothing remarkable, but enjoyable enough. Also, if you thought Cooper's hair on the album cover was regrettable, check out these mind-boggling, space-age meets secret S&M club duds.

It's hilarious to see Cooper rocking out this look, when he'd be sporting a close-cropped haircut, a beard, and muscle-shirts a few years afterward. This is the last Skillet album to feature Trey McClurkin on drums (check out the fashion-disaster discomfort on his face in the album artwork), as Lori Peters would soon take over (she's featured in the above video). It's also the first to feature Kevin Haaland on guitar. Kevin has the honor of being known as Skillet's transition guitarist--this and 2001's Alien Youth work as a bridge from the band's Christian-market, garage-band days, to their mainstream success. Thankfully, Alien Youth does things a bit better. Invincible does have a standout moment that rises about the sameness of the rest of the album, though. It's hidden-track, "Angels Fall Down," a power-house ballad that turns up the volume on Korey's background vocals, and proves how powerful the Coopers' voices can be when they're blended together. I picked this album up with the last couple dollars in my bank account in August 2001 (what was left after buying the final session of Cowboy Bebop), right when I moved into my first college apartment at the start of sophomore year. Broke and depressed, and an insomniac, I blasted this song in the middle of the night, to my roommate's chagrin, as I lay facedown on the floor of my room. Good times.

I'm also thinking about that first Fast and the Furious movie. I hated it at the time, but I ended up going to see it twice, cuz my brother and our cousin wanted to see it again. Somebody told me I looked like Paul Walker shortly after, the first of about a million comparisons. I've gotten it every time my hair is short and I'm beardless. Now I enjoy the movie, and don't mind the comparisons. Weird. This has nothing to do with this review other than a time period note for me if I start forgetting things some day. Hopefully that never happens, though, right? And hopefully Google never gets bored with Blogger?

2000 Ardent/ForeFront
1. Best Kept Secret 3:55
2. You Take My Rights Away 4:32
3. Invincible 3:51
4. Rest 3:48
5. Come On to the Future 3:54
6. You're Powerful 3:26
7. I Trust You 3:38
8. Each Other 3:26
9. The Fire Breathes 3:41
10. Say It Loud 3:32
11. The One 4:12
12. You're in My Brain/Angels Fall Down 10:40