Skillet Frontman Discusses New Single and Upcoming Album

Skillet is planning on releasing their ninth album, Rise,  on June 25 and as of right now, they have released two songs off the album, Sick of It and American Noise. You can check out both of the lyrical videos below.

In a recent interview though, founder, frontman and the only original member of Skillet, John Cooper, sat down with NoiseCreep to talk about the single Sick of It and was asked what he is personally sick of. His response: "School shootings -- of all the terrible things, that is the one that makes me the craziest -- the one I can't deal with the most. The thought of innocent kids becoming targets -- my God. In my own life, I'm sick of stress and listening to so many voices -- all of them coming at you -- trying to find the right one to listen. I'm also sick of Hollywood -- the influence they have on our kids and the negative way that many films and things affect our kids."

And while the single may sound like an angry song, Cooper states that Sick of It is a positive song overall all and said, "It sounds so angry. It's got that kind of like Nirvana angry thing to it, yet it's an extremely uplifting lyric. You kind of listen to it, and by the end you feel inspired to change something about your life. So 'Sick Of It' to me is kind of a very liberating song."

Cooper also said the song is based on how feels about the world and that "We see something like the Boston bombing and it's shocking, but not as shocking perhaps as it might have once been because of all the terrible things that happen today . . . We are all sick of all this tragedy."

Rise, due out June 25, is Skillet's first concept album and according to Cooper, it follows "a basic everyday American teenager coming to grips with the all the terrible things happening in the world . . . It's about finding faith and looking for a positive way out of these many messes in life today."

I'll tell you right now Buzzhead, I'll be waiting for this album. It'll be interesting to see how the band follows their 2009 album Awake, which debuted at number two on the Billboard Album charts and included singles like Heroes, Awake and Alive and my favorite, Monster(also a pretty sick music video if you haven't seen it). Plus I'm loving the art work they have released so far.

You can check out the two songs off of Skillet's new album below and be prepared to see them if you plan on attending any of the big festivals this year. The band has scheduled performances at Rock On The Range, Rocklahoma, the Spirit Song Festival and Rockfest, although no word yet on a tour to support Rise.