SKILLET Frontman Says 'The Guts' Of 'Victorious' Album Was Recorded On The Road

In a recent interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, SKILLET frontman John Cooper spoke about how the recording process for the group's tenth studio album, "Victorious", was different from the way he and his bandmates approached the making of their previous LPs. He responded: "Maybe not everybody listening knows how records are made, but typically, it's, like, you go on the road and maybe you get ideas for songs or whatever, and then it's time to record a record. So then you take six months off and you go and you record an album. Well, I always get inspired by meeting fans, 'cause I hear all these stories. People come through and they're, like, 'Dude, I was out in Afghanistan in the army. Your album got me through the crap over there.' They tell me these stories, and then I get inspired and I write a song and then I have to wait two years to record that song; I'm not living in the emotion anymore. So I said, 'What if we carry around a recording rig — 24-7, every show we play, we have the ability to record — and then when I meet that guy that tells me that story about being in Afghanistan or whatever it is, if I get inspired, I can write it and I can record it tomorrow? And I can finish the recording later, but I get the vocals now, I get the passion of what I'm feeling in the moment, because that's when it means the most to you.' So we decided to record this whole record on the road. Now, we did go to Milwaukee and do some overdubs — you've gotta make drums sound better — but the guts of the record and the vocals, the whole thing was recorded in dressing rooms or the bus or hotel rooms, because that's what I was feeling. So that was a really cool vibe. 'Cause, to me, it was all about the fans — it was about their stories."

SKILLET is continuing to tour in support of "Victorious", which was released in August via Atlantic.

SKILLET's previous four releases — from 2006's "Comatose" to 2016's "Unleashed" — have been certified at least gold by the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA). SKILLET's 2009 album "Awake" has gone double platinum.

SKILLET has enjoyed success on both the secular rock and Christian charts, with four consecutive No. 1 albums on the latter — including "Victorious". SKILLET has also had 27 Top 5 hits on the Christian Rock charts.