John Cooper has spent decades giving other people a soundtrack for their darkest moments. With Skillet's new EP, After the Storm, the singer reveals that he needed those songs himself.
The six-song independent release, scheduled for October 9, draws on a painful period for Cooper and his family, including a falling-out with a church they had served for decades. Speaking to The Christian Post, the frontman described depression, anger and uncertainty about whom he could trust-experiences that helped shape what he calls Skillet's most vulnerable music yet.
"I wrote these songs because I needed to be lifted out of my own darkness," Cooper said in announcing the project. That admission gives the EP's title a personal weight: the hope he offers listeners emerged from a struggle he was still working through.
Cooper does not want the record reduced to a retelling of the church dispute. Instead, he has drawn on its emotional consequences to address something listeners may recognize in their own lives: the exhaustion of carrying pain that other people cannot see.
That idea runs through "Scream," which channels anxiety, anger and isolation into a plea to be heard. Cooper described the experience as a "silent scream"-the inward distress of someone who feels overlooked, overwhelmed or unsure whether they can keep going. His aim is to acknowledge those feelings while pointing listeners toward God's presence within them.
Produced by David Cowell and Skillet guitarist Korey Cooper, After the Storm returns to a heavier sound associated with the band's earlier years. The EP also includes "Lift Me Up," an arena-rock track that grew out of John Cooper's own prayer for help when life felt overwhelming.
The release arrives as younger audiences discover a band approaching its 30th anniversary. Cooper told The Christian Post that some new concertgoers have little idea how long Skillet has been making music, a development that continues to surprise him.
The numbers suggest that connection reaches well beyond longtime fans. According to the report, Skillet averages more than 12 million monthly Spotify listeners, while "Monster" has surpassed 5 billion global streams. "Scream" has already accumulated more than 7 million global streams, and the band is preparing its nationwide "Comatose: 20 Years, Still Screaming Tour."
Cooper believes rock's appeal lies partly in its willingness to admit that life hurts. He argues that the upheaval surrounding the pandemic intensified an appetite for music that makes room for alienation, frustration and brokenness.
For Skillet, however, acknowledging despair is the beginning of the conversation. After the Storm carries Cooper's conviction that faith can sustain people through a difficult season even when relief takes time. Its invitation is personal: bring the anger, admit the exhaustion and keep reaching for hope
