The new song isn’t preachy or overtly proselytizing in any way, Cooper told ChurchLeaders. Skillet fans who aren’t Christians will be able to take the song “to mean what [they] want,” he said. But fans of Skillet will know what the song is referencing.
“Unpopular” is a song that “the Joe Rogan crowd, the Kid Rock crowd, and even the Bill Maher crowd, would hear and be like, ‘Yeah, I get this because people have gone crazy.’” It describes a sort of good “rebellion” that is relatable for everyone.
Skillet’s new album, “Revolution,” which will release on Nov. 1, will be the band’s first independent record after announcing the end of their relationship with Atlantic Records after 20 years.
Similar to how the iconic Christian metal band Stryper used to have a Scripture reference in their album’s artwork, fans will notice 1 Corinthians 13:13 on the flag in artwork for “Revolution.”
“I thought it would be important [to add a verse] because we’re in a time in this country of revolution,” Cooper said. He then explained, “I wanna make sure that people know the kind of revolution that I am talking about is very different than…the revolution that we often hear about on the news, which is a revolution against America, against God, against Western civilization, [and/or] against the Bible.”
The verse says, “Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.” Cooper added, “The reason that’s so important is because the revolution we’re talking about on this record is not a political revolution, [and] it is certainly not a militaristic one, which I’ve never supported. It’s a revolution for love. It’s a revolution to love your enemies.”
In other words, Cooper called it a “counter revolution” because it’s a “revolution against the revolution that wants to tear down these traditional things that are so wonderful.”
RELATED: Skillet’s John Cooper: ‘Woke Theology’ Is Causing a ‘Civil War’ in the Church
He mentioned that he doesn’t “want to end freedom of speech and freedom to assemble, and the freedom to go to my church and worship God, to preach the gospel unhindered.” Cooper said that even if it came to that one day, Skillet is going “to preach the Gospel no matter what the government says, but it sure is nice to be able to preach the gospel without, you know, being fined, or having penalties, or worse—going to jail, or something like that.”
