Give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s.
By: Elsie'S Splendour
Tags: Genre, Skillet, Music, Christianity, Rock

Is Christian Rock an actual musical genre or a deviant?

Unconsciously transitioning from listening to slow-paced Christian worship to the fast-paced ‘screaming’ of Skillet’s Monster gives a rude awakening and makes one question if Rock music could be Christian. Traditionally, Rock music has been viewed as rebellious and demonic. Therefore, Rock is generally disliked by the Christian community who believes in Jesus Christ and orderliness. Classic rock songs like Highway to Hell by AC/DC is in direct contrast to classic Christian songs like Give Thanks by Don Moen. Satan and Jesus do not go together. So, is it possible for Rock and Christian music to exist in the same genre?

Musical genres are mostly based on style and content. That is, how they sound and what they sing about. If the style or content of a song strays from its genre’s confines, it no longer is part of said genre (Dirk). Christian Rock is said to be a fusion of both Christian and Rock music. With the average man intuition, one would expect Christian content/lyrics and the Rock style of music. This means that (1) the lyrics should allude directly or indirectly to Christ and (2) use typically the bass or electric guitar accompanied by a piano and drums at a fast tempo. If the song is vulgar, worships/alludes to any other god, or has no instrumental accompaniment, it for sure is not Christian- not to mention Christian Rock music.

Skillet, a “Christian Rock” band led by John Cooper, debuted in 1996 with the aim of sharing the gospel with non-Christians. Skillet’s song lyrics on their first couple albums i.e. Gasoline of 1996, were blatantly Christian with the style of the rock music heard in early 2000s movies. With such lyrics, their audience were mainly Christian teenagers who were seeking a balance between the secular and Christian world. (Cooper, 2017)

In 2001, Cooper attended a Christian youth conference and saw how much these youth appreciated Linkin Park. Linkin Park is a secular Rock band that stole the hearts of many in the late 90s and early 2000s, to the point where these youths remixed their lyrics to the acceptable Christian standard, so they could sing it at the conference. Following this event, Cooper figured that sound is important and lyrics would be a hindrance to reaching the non-Christians as it would seem too forceful. It inspired Skillet to ‘water-down’ their lyrics and sound more Rock in a bid to reach a wider audience. (Cooper, 2017)

Presenting the message of hope and peace of Christ in a relatable manner, helped propel Skillet into the mainstream (Teens for life, 2010) with tracks like Imperfection of 2003 and Comatose of 2006. Comatose, the track their 2006 album was named after, was the song that really put them in the spotlight. Although its lyrics did allude to Christ’s love, it was not at the forefront of the song. Instead, the sound appealed the ears and the lyrics are initially interpreted as struggling to find a reason to live, which is, what most people relate to regardless of their religion (Teens for life, 2010).

The question is if Christian and Rock music can coexist as a genre of its own. The answer is yes, but it does not exist in the Contemporary world of music due to the pressure of pleasing audiences. Contemporary music in both the Christian and Rock genres, for the most part, is no longer about the artiste’s passion but about how the audience will receive the songs. Contemporary music is music made for mass consumption. Lyrics are open-ended to leave space for the audience to interpret for themselves. It is a compromise. This method now makes that however, the majority of the audience interprets the song, that is how it will be interpreted globally unless the artiste comes out to say otherwise. Even in that case, it would not change how the audience views the song because of how ambiguous the lyrics are.

To stay in the mainstream spotlight, one’s music must appeal to its audience. Skillet’s audience loved Comatose — it would be insane not to follow the formula of their breakout song- so they would love Monster, a 2009 release that is Skillet’s most popular track according to Spotify (Ankeny). Monster has that secular rock band sound and open-ended lyrics talking about an inner struggle with oneself without any reference to Christ. Just like Comatose.

The thing is, the majority of Skillet’s audience are not Christians, so their interpretations would not be either. Since the audience interpretation determines what a musical piece is, it is safe to say that Skillet’s contemporary music should be classified as Rock, or at most, Soft rock since they are not vulgar. It takes for one to know that the members of the Skillet band are Christians, to begin to try to interpret their lyrics into the Christian life. Christian music, no matter what musical style, can be identified with the content even without the explicit mention of God, where it is played or who the artist is.

At their debut album, Skillet, they attempted to blend movie type rock music with obvious Christian lyrics which appealed to a young Christian demographic. Take for example their song Gasoline, it mentions God and talks about having a relationship with him. The aim of the song was to help young Christians pour their heart out to God in a musical manner that appealed to them. The song accomplished its purpose and did the Christian rock blend quite well. That would certify it under the Christian Rock genre by Kerry Dirk who wrote that genre is determined by the action it is meant to accomplish and its intended audience. (Dirk)

At their 2009 album, Awake, which housed Monster, the lyrics are less blatantly Christian, and the music evolved from a classic mainstream movie Rock type of sound to actual Rock music — the electric guitars and screaming — Monster could be classified as Christian Rock but at the edge and titling towards pure Rock. Awake debuted when Skillet newly entered the mainstream world. At least, it accomplished its purpose and reached its intended audience of both Christians and non-Christians.

Skillet’s most recent album, Unleashed Beyond which was initially released in 2016 and re-released in 2017 (Ankeny), sounds so much as a rock album. It would take one to know that Skillet professes Christ, to listen to a song like Feel Invincible ~ on the album ~ as a Christian Rock song. There is no allusion to Christ and the sing sounds very Rock. It is easy to categorize this song under the Rock genre but following the Dirk principles, Skillet did reach its audience and its purpose. Skillet intended to reach non-Christians and they definitely have done so with this album.

Skillet has been around for 22 years now, so it is easy to see the evolution of Christian Rock music through theirs. From their first album titled Skillet to the most recent titled Unleashed Beyond, Skillet helped define the Christian Rock genre. Now keep in mind that all genres are determined by the intended audience, its purpose. (Dirk) For Christian Rock to be deemed a genre of its own, it has to be acknowledged as such. It is safe to say that Christian rock does exist, but Contemporary Christian Rock cannot be classified as a genre and should not be put under the genre of Christian Rock as it strays too far from the Christian Rock confines. The more recent the songs are, they sound and are interpreted as more Rock and less Christian due to concealed Christian lyrics and a more hardcore rock sound. Point is, Christian Rock only is able to exist if the blend with Christian lyrics and Rock music is perfect, and according to the evolution of Skillet, Christian Rock thrived in the past. Contemporary Christian Rock is Rock music — lyrics are too ambiguous to be Christian rock. It has become so blurry and if Jesus was asked such question, he would say “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to God.” (Holy Bible, 2004) In other words, let Rock music be Rock music and let Christian music be Christian music.

Works Cited

Ankeny, Jason, and Steve Leggett. “Skillet.” Spotify, open.spotify.com/artist/49bzE5vRBRIota4qeHtQM8?si=GS6bK7H6TWuP1XcYKIsyhw.

Cooper, John. “Skillet’s John Cooper: Evangelism.” YouTube, New Release Today, 7 Dec. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af6iNVWYXmg&t=0s&list=LLWqkdqvfVXcy5ETerdJ91eg&index=2. Accessed 14 June 2018.

Dirk, Kerry. “Navigating Genres.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, vol. 1, Parlor Press.

Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Tyndale House Publishers, 2004. Matthew 22:21

Skillet. “Comatose.” Comatose, www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbjKOI8VTY0.

Skillet. “Feel Invincible.” Unleashed Beyond, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qzw6A2WC5Qo.,

Skillet. “Gasoline.” Skillet, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bURrpxHSdT0.

“Skillet Interview, Skillet 2010, John Cooper Jesusfreakhideout.com Interview.” Jesus Freak Hideout, www.jesusfreakhideout.com/interviews/Skillet2010.asp.

Skillet. “Monster.” Awake, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mjlM_RnsVE.