Skillet- Comatose Comes Alive (Classic Review)

This year, Skillet once again blew everyone away with the Comatose Tour 09, featuring Disciple and Decyfer Down. Last year, Skillet's Comatose Tour was an even bigger sucess, selling out at nearly every venue and even making the list of Top 50 Tours of Spring 08. During that tour, they recorded a live CD/DVD at their stop in Chattanooga, TN.

Known for their fantastic live performance, Skillet was very wise in putting out this album. On one hand, you have those who have never seen Skillet live. This album will motivate them to try harder to make it to the next show in their area. On the other hand you have fans who have seen Skillet live, or maybe even this exact tour. For them, this album will be a perfect reminder of that amazing show they went to. So either way, they'll have most real fans buying this album.

And for those fans who think that they don't need this album because they already have all of Skillet's older albums, you're wrong. There isn't a song that doesn't sound different in some way or another. Songs like "Comatose," "Better Than Drugs," and "Those Nights" have different intros written specially for their live show. A good majority of the songs also contain screams by lead vocalist, John Cooper, which helps make the show even heavier and more exciting than thier album. He also inserts fun Skillet facts and jokes with the audience, and it makes the album a lot more personal from Skillet to the fans. But no need to worry, all of the talking is at the end of the tracks, so you don't have to skip through it to get to the music part. A big highlight of the album is during "Yours To Hold" in which Skillet's new drummer, Jen Ledger, does vocals for a verse. She has a great voice, and I'm sure we'll be hearing it a lot more on the new album, Awake.

As far as the video goes, the quality is phenomenal. At times the video is distorted for effect, and can get a little annoying, but otherwise it's very well done. It makes the audio portion twice as good. You get to see how the band uses their energy to perform--mainly headbanging. Lots of headbanging. But they also do some cool stuff with their guitars, and the pyrotechnics are amazing.

The whole thing makes you feel like you're at an actual Skillet show. They put on just as good live show for this album as they did when I saw them on the same tour. The only exception here is the volume and the people stepping on your feet. So, in a way, it's nice to experience a Skillet show from the comforts of your home, even though it's not even close to the real deal. So if you like this album, go to a Skillet show the next time their near you. It's a lot of fun!