Awake is the seventh studio album by American Christian rock band Skillet. It is the follow-up to their Grammy-nominated album Comatose. The album was released on August 25, 2009, by Lava Records, Ardent Records and Atlantic Records and debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.[3] The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on July 27, 2010, and has since gone double platinum, selling over 2,000,000 copies to date.[4] It was nominated for Top Christian Album at the Billboard Music Awards 2011 and won.[5] This is the last album to feature guitarist Ben Kasica and the first studio release to feature drummer Jen Ledger. The singles "Awake and Alive", "Hero", and "Monster" are certified 2× Platinum, 3× Platinum, and 5× Platinum, respectively.
Background
Skillet began recording for the album around October 2008.[6] The band recorded at Bay7 Studios in Los Angeles, California, with Howard Benson as the band's producer.[7] The album contains 12 songs.[8] Lead singer John Cooper wrote more than 40 songs in preparation.[9] He said that there was much pressure while recording the album: "Every time you do a record, there's pressure because you want to outdo the last record. This time it was intensified because the last project was so successful."[10]
Musical style
According to band members, the album is similar to their 2006 release Comatose, featuring strings and guitars with a harder rock sound than their previous album.[11] John Cooper said that it "sounds like Skillet with some new things people may not expect." On Skillet's website, they describe their musical style as "Classic rock riffs, swirling drums, monstrous hooks, and undeniably catchy choruses... hints of old school progressive rock mixed in with modern alternative flourishes... touches of classical influence as swelling strings intersect with sonic adrenaline rushes."[9][12]
Release and promotion
The band finished the first leg of their Awake and Alive Tour in support of Awake, which opened on September 24, 2009 in Fort Wayne, Indiana and encompassing 52 cities between September and December. They were accompanied by The Letter Black, Decyfer Down, and Hawk Nelson on the tour.[13] The band recently finished the second leg of the tour with RED and The Letter Black in April.[14][15] They also toured with tobyMac and House of Heroes on the Awake Tonight Tour in March and April,[16] and will resume the tour in November and December.
Awake was released on August 25, 2009, through Lava/INO Records,[17] and debuted at No. 2 on the national U.S. Billboard 200 chart, making it the band's most successful entry on the chart.[3] It also placed on other Billboard magazine charts as No. 1 on Top Alternative Albums, No. 2 on Top Rock Albums, and No. 1 on the Top Christian Albums listing.[3] The album sold 68,000 copies in its first week, Skillet's best-selling and highest charting opening week to date.[18]
The song "Awake and Alive" also charted on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 100 and No. 16 on the Heatseakers charts. It was Skillet's first song to chart on the Hot 100.[20] The song was released to Christian CHR and rock radio in February 2010.
The album received mixed reviews from critics. Kevin Chamberlin of Jesus Freak Hideout gave the album 3 out of 5 stars, saying that the album "doesn't live up to Comatose and due to its extreme proximity style-wise, it is lackluster at best and on the verge of uninteresting." He also stated that the heavy amount of ballads on the album were unacceptable, saying that a few songs "wear immaturity like a fedora." He concluded his review by saying that the album "feels like the sophomore slump that Skillet never had to suffer through and a watered down version of Comatose."[27] Despite this, Awake has since gone double platinum in the United States, selling over 2,000,000 copies to date and outperforming Comatose.[4]
