Skillet's first studio offering since 2006's "Comatose" comes firing out of the box with both barrels, with more of the crunchy, head pumping arena-rock sound and power ballad goodness fans have come to love over the last several years from the Memphis crew.

There are several similarities between this album and "Comatose"; most obvious is the sound. Stylistically "Awake" seems to be a continuation of "Comatose"; more than likely it's what the guys were looking for, and they got it right once again. From the first few songs, it's evident that John Cooper and co. are going by the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy. The only real differences are the near-absence of the prevalent violins from most of the "Comatose" playlist (apparently to make room for more guitars) and the trading of female vocal duties from John's wife Korey to drummer Jen Ledger. The themes surrounding the songs will take you back to 2006 as well, as once again the crew wail splendidly about forgiveness (obviously found in "Forgiven"), overcoming adversity ("Never Surrender"), renewal of faith, and living each moment as if there were no tomorrow ("One Day Too Late", which could pass for the next chapter of "The Older I Get"). Skillet also spend a couple of tender moments discussing relationships; "Don't Wake Me" waxes poetic about a guy trying to hold on to the relationship he apparently messed up, while "Lucy" pays a somber visit to the grave of a lost-too-soon love. The tongue-in-cheek "Should've When You Could've" breaks up the mood a little, though, with a dismissing anthem to cheating ex-girls everywhere.

While it seems the central theme of this album is renewal, as on "Comatose" there are a couple of dark moments within as well. "Sometimes" delves into the ugly side of the Christian walk, demonstrating the potential numbing power sin can have, while "Would It Matter" focuses on someone at the figurative end of their rope, wondering whether leaving this world would make more of an impact than wandering through it.

Skillet overall tell some great stories and offer some pretty good examples of many roads of faith while chugging right along with the same addicting formula that made "Comatose" such a success. The "power ballads" of which John Cooper is so fond (as he's told many a crowd during shows) on "Awake" leave as much of a mark as the arena-pounding anthems, and much as they did on their previous album, will have fans singing right along with the choruses after a few runs through the disc.

Bottom line: if you liked "Comatose", you'll find more of the same to like in "Awake". Skillet's sound of 2006 has in no way gone stale, and crowds will enjoy raising their hands and shouting along just as much when the show hits the road again. (By the way, to those who criticize Skillet for going "mainstream" or "radio-friendly"...sometimes Christian bands will pull that once in a while to get people to listen and find out what they're truly about. Call it either a sell-out move or a stroke of genius, but it happens more now than ever.)

Skillet is a fairly new discovery for me, and I've found their music to be right down my alley. I've been acquiring some of their past efforts, and was excited for this new album. I've heard it several times now, and unfortunately this one hasn't kept that same excitement going. It's not a bad album at all, but I was hoping for something a little better than this.

My main problem with it is that it doesn't offer anything new...recycled melodies (not just of their own past material, but also of other mainstream rock bands) dominate this record, and the lack of originality makes me feel like there's no reason to add this to my collection.

One of my favorite producers, Howard Benson, was directing the show, so I'm very pleased with the sound. But the songs don't stack up to the production quality (my only beef with the production is that the female vocal parts sound like they've been processed using auto-tune software...in other words, they sound a little too polished and perfect).

The opener, "Hero", has a decent amount of power and punch to it, and for me it's the only very good harder song on the album. I didn't care at all for the rocker, "Monster". I haven't counted how many times the word "monster" is sung, but it's a lot...and it gets old fast. Most of the rest of the record consists of mid-tempo, adult-contemporary-type tunes, and while some, especially "Don't Wake Me", do a pretty good job of sending a chill down my spine, the majority don't have any distinguishing characteristics to make them stand out. "Should've When You Could've" is about as cliche as mainstream rock gets, "Believe" has a chorus we've heard a hundred times before, and as the album continues you begin to wonder if the CD skipped and you're hearing the same songs over again. Many of the choruses are virtually identical to each other.

At least "Lucy", a piano/string-based ballad, had an immediate impact on me and strikes me as a song I'll want to hear over and over again. As far as the lyrics, other than "Lucy", I'm not taking in any messages of note. Nothing against Nickelback or Daughtry, but it almost sounds like Skillet tried to make an album with songs that sound like many from those bands' latest offerings. So, while "Awake" is far from being an awful album, Skillet's capable of much better.

I have been a loyal and passionate Skillet fan since 1995. I have bought every one of their releases, seen them in concert a couple times, etc...

I was very excited about the new release, but after a couple of listens, I am already bored. It attempts to be a follow up to Commatose, so much so that it could have probably been the other half of a double album if done correctly. The problem is though, that though Awake is very simlar to Commatose, it only ends up being a pale shadow of that release. It is a major, extreme let down when comared to albums such as Invincible, or Alien Youth.

There are only about 3 songs in my opinion that are strong, enjoyable songs on here (Hero, Monster, Sometimes). That has never happened to me as I have listened to any album from Skillet. Each release, I have loved every song. There is far too much repetiveness on the disc, as well as far too many ballad type songs. One or two is Ok I guess, but there are about 6 songs that fit that description.

Another thing that really dissapoints me is the overwhelming level of generic, mainstream radio, shallowness that is on display with this release. I mean, I never thought John Cooper would write mushy, young love songs, or ones that show whiny bitterness about past breakups filled with mediocre pop punk flavorings (Should've When You Could've). I mean, gross!

My plea is this: "Come back John! Come back to the jaw dropping musical creativity you have so long delivered. If you feel you must be mainstream, then stick to the feel of Comatose, but please still mix it up some and that doesn't mean going the route of Simple Plan or Avril Lavigne! Be Skillet! Please!"

I'm not a longtime Skillet fan, and only ever listened to Collide before hearing Awake. I heard the tracks 'Monster' and 'Awake and Alive' on the radio, and enjoyed them enough to hunt the physical album down. I found 'Hero' to be a moderately pleasing opening track, and enjoyed the two singles upon hearing them again. In fact, I was enjoying this album up until I heard 'It's Not Me It's You'. The track is so bitter, even for a harder rock song, that I ended skipping through the rest of it. And, really, that was my assessment of the rest of the album. I kept skipping over tracks after a minute or so in simply because I found the music tiring and the lyrics, in some cases, insipid. Hearing the vocalist insist 'You're gonna miss my love, girl / You should, it would've been so good' ('Should've When You Could've) and 'I went to bed I was thinking about you / It ain't the same since I'm living without you' ('Don't Wake Me') made me grit my teeth, not to mention that one should not rhyme 'you' with 'you'.

Overall, I found Awake to be a mediocre album at best, and an unfortunate album with 'potential' written all over it at worst. There are some good tracks, notably the two lead singles, 'Monster' and 'Awake and Alive', and I found myself enjoying 'One Day Too Late' more for it's lyrical content than the music. I understand that Skillet is (perhaps was, I'm unclear) a Christian-identified rock band, and I realize that religion influences some of their lyrics, but most of the words seem flat and without much meaning. It's a pity, because, again, there is a lot of potential here, and I was really hoping for a good solid rock album to get me through December. Unfortunately, I'll have to look elsewhere.

I just got the new Skillet cd Awake, in the mail yesterday. A day early since I preordered. Well, I remember now why I don't buy cds when they first come out or preorder. As soon as I got it and gave it a listen, I got onto amazon to see what others had too say about the cd. And what do I find? There is a Deluxe edition of the new cd with 3 bonus songs. The preorder, on the Skillet website, did not give that option and you can't purchase 2 of the bonus songs as mp3 downloads. The only way to get them is to buy the whole album again. Now I am a huge Skillet fan and in no am I trying to take this out on them. It is most likely a marketing scheme to get more money.

"Revision: OK, I found that you can buy the 3 bonus tracks on the panheads website. Since I got a free membership with my pre-order I was able to purchase the tracks."

On to the actual review...

OK, enough ranting about that. The cd was actually very good. It is not their best cd. I am still a big fan of Collide. Comatose was also better. But, it is definitely a great cd. More of a continuation of their last without the orchestration. Skillet has always been known to change their style up a bit on each new release. But maybe they found what works for them. And it is good. I just am more partial to the heavier sound of their last two albums. I really do enjoy the addition of Jen's vocals. That adds a nice touch to the overall sound that is Skillet. Well, I look forward to whatever they put out next and as always... Keep Rockin' for Jesus!!