The latest from Christian rock band Skillet is their take on the conceptual album; seeing through the eyes of a teenager coming into adulthood, looking behind the curtain for the first time, realizing the world is not a perfect place but instead filled with the reality of war, hatred and cynicism that surrounds everyday life and issues. The culmination of the appropriately titled album “Rise” as described by frontman John Cooper is “about the main character's path to salvation and wanting to be significant in some way.”

The anthemic title song, followed by the single “Sick Of It” will have you pumping your fist in the air on each beat, while slower songs like the ballad “American Noise” really show the musicianship of the quartet; simple in melody but sometimes that subtlety and control of not overdoing it shows real maturity. The call-and-response between singer Copper and drummer/singer Jen Ledger is good; it could have been utilized on less songs but the chemistry was still powerful throughout.

I would definitely suggest this album to young and old fans of music; it rocks like Flyleaf and Paramore, and on a conceptual level, has the intensity and darkness of Queensryche’s “Operation: Mindcrime” with bits of pop-rock like Green Day’s “American Idiot”.