SKILLET's JOHN COOPER: 'I've Gone Through Quite A Lot In The Last Couple Of Years' And 'Lies Have Been Said About Me'

In an interview with ChurchLeaders, John Cooper, the frontman and bassist for the Grammy-nominated Christian rock group SKILLET, spoke about the lyrical inspiration for the band's newest single "Scream", which arrived on July 10. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I call it a 'scream' because… I mean, this is definitely not just the song, but the upcoming full release, which is gonna have six songs. It's definitely the most, I think, vulnerable that we've been in a long time. It feels emotional, dealing with the hard stuff in life.

"I think most people immediately understand what the song is about when they hear it," he explained. "I did see a few things like, 'What does this have to do with Jesus? This isn't a Christian message.' And we can talk about that too. But in reality, most people know what this means.

"We all go through things," John continued. "Some people have suffered more than others. And when suffering comes your way, generally you're not expecting it, and you kind of see what you're made of, you see what that testing's all about. And we can all jump in church or clap in church and, 'Amen, man. Nothing can get me down.' And then suffering comes. And it comes in lots of different ways for people. It could be betrayal. It could be grief. It could be the loss. It could be, God forbid, your kid's got cancer. It can come in all sorts of ways — addiction, depression, et cetera. And so 'Scream' is that thing of, like, okay, sometimes there's so much noise that you feel almost trapped inside yourself or in the chaos of things. And so some people have a literal scream, but a lot of times with people who suffer with mental health and things, it's kind of a silent scream. It's an inward scream. And that can come out in different ways — addiction, it could come out in alcoholism. It could come out in all sorts of things. Or just depression, or just locking yourself in your room, not wanting to see people.

"For me, there's a specific — some things that have happened in my life the last couple of years, which I won't get much into except to say I'm writing from a very personal place in this," Cooper revealed. "I've gone through quite a lot in the last couple of years, a lot of my own dark night of the soul and betrayal and lies and things that have been said about me. And the rug pulled out from underneath us in a way that me and [my wife] Korey [Cooper, SKILLET guitarist, keyboardist, programmer and string arranger] never thought would happen to us. And so because of that, I began to really struggle with that chaos, that confusion, and in a way that I really hadn't in decades. And for me, it sort of exhibited itself into some depression and some things I just did not expect. I thought I was done with that, and he came back. [Laughs] The black dog came back. And so I did kind of want to write about that. And I wanted to be open about it because I think that some people that struggle with these kind of things, I think it... I assume most, a lot of people, but I think talking about the church, it's, I think, even more so. Because we can be ashamed about it. And there's nothing shameful about suffering. And I want people to know they're not alone in that. It's okay to admit that, 'Yeah, it was really weird depression.' 'It was a really weird,' et cetera, et cetera. But I think we can get kind of like we feel like 'maybe I didn't have enough faith.' 'Maybe I'm not being a good Christian by admitting that.' 'Don't you know Jesus died for you? He fixes all your problems.' I mean, I believe that Jesus died for me and he is the prince of peace, but that doesn't guarantee you that you're not going to suffer, and that you might not handle it all that well as well. But God's tough enough to handle that. He's tough enough to handle that conversation."

John added: "So that's what it's about. And in the song, I realize for some people, they might think it sounds angry. To me, it's not really about the anger. It's more about this is the first sign that I've got life in me yet, and I'm fighting back. We're not giving into this because when you're in the middle of that dark night of the soul, you do have thoughts that are very much inconsistent with who you think you have been. And you have these thoughts, and you go, 'Oh, my gosh. Am I losing my mind?' And so that scream for me is, like, 'I know my life matters. I know that God can help me, and I'm not gonna give in to this.' So that's kind of what the scream is about. It's actually a sign of resistance."

The "Scream" arrival followed a monumental start to the year for SKILLET. Their six-times-platinum anthem "Monster" recently surpassed four billion global streams, earned a place in Spotify's Billions Club, and solidified its status as one of the most-streamed rock songs of all time. The achievement is particularly historic as "Monster" remains the only song by a Christian artist to surpass one billion streams on Spotify. The milestone arrives on the heels of the band's completely sold-out European headline tour, which moved more than 90,000 tickets across 23 cities, bringing SKILLET in front of the largest international audiences of their career.

For the new music, the band returned to familiar ground. "We went back to Memphis and worked with a producer who knew the band before we'd made our first record," John Cooper said. "Life has taken some great turns, but it's also taken some painful turns. Now we're here, and we still have more of a story to tell. The music kept getting heavier, and I said, 'We've got to go all in.'"

They certainly did with "Scream". Clean electric guitar slips into the undertow of crushing distortion as Cooper delivers a catchy and cathartic chorus: "I wanna scream. I wanna break something beautiful." Ominous keys ring out, the beat snaps, and he wonders, "Will I ever be enough?" before a palm-muted bridge unleashes one final burst of emotion punctuated by glitchy electronics.

"I don't think I'm the only one who's noticing the volatility of the world and how social media is a cesspool where people are constantly yelling at each other," Cooper explained. "It's not helping anyone's mental health. In this landscape, it's easy to feel like nothing matters. 'Scream' is about wanting your life to matter when the world feels chaotic and overwhelming."

SKILLET performed "Scream" live for the first time during its headlining concert on May 14 at Arena 8888 in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The release of "Scream" arrived alongside the announcement of the "Comatose: 20 Years, Still Screaming Tour", celebrating two decades of the landmark album that helped define a generation of rock fans while showcasing the band's next chapter.

"When we released our 2006 album 'Comatose', we all had a feeling that we were making something special," Cooper recalled. "What we didn't know is that the album would change the trajectory of the band's career. It defined our sound, our message, and propelled the band into a much bigger level of notoriety. But most importantly, it resonated with all kinds of people from all walks of life. At every show, someone tells me that this record helped them through the darkest times of their life. That is why we wanted to celebrate the 20th anniversary of 'Comatose' by doing something we have never done — commemorating the album by dedicating a large portion of the show to these songs that are so meaningful to the band and so many others. Some of them we have played a thousand times. Others we have never played. We are excited to perform them alongside our catalog on this once-in-a-lifetime tour."

At the end of 2025, SKILLET released its first-ever Christmas recording, "O Come, O Come Emmanuel", which quickly became a viral success and captured No. 1 on five Billboard charts, introducing the band's music to new audiences while further expanding their worldwide reach.

With more than 23 million albums sold worldwide, more than 12 million monthly Spotify listeners, billions of streams across platforms, and a touring footprint that continues to expand globally, SKILLET remains one of the most successful and enduring rock bands of the modern era.

SKILLET has indisputably become one of the biggest global hard rock bands of the 21st century with total album sales exceeding 23 million, an average of 12 million monthly Spotify listeners, and dozens of massive placements across sports, film, and television.

Awarded multi-platinum, platinum, or gold RIAA certifications for 12 singles and four full-length albums, the group has notably garnered two Grammy Award nominations, earned a Billboard Music Award, and impressively delivered three Top 5 debuts on the Billboard 200. Widening the scope of this vision, SKILLET launched the graphic novel series "Eden" with Z2.

Photo courtesy of Atom Splitter PR