Alien Youth

Skillet

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 28, 2001)
• Original Release Date: August 28, 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Ardent Records
• ASIN: B00005NNE4
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (63 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #58,923 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
When Skillet's John Cooper sings about "worldwide Jesus domination" on the opening track of Alien Youth, you get the feeling he's leading a force seldom seen (or heard) before. That's certainly the case for this fascinating release with few parallels in the Christian music world. Grinding guitars, spacey keyboards, and machine-gun drums are all held together by Cooper's keen sense of melody. It's a lead-heavy release with blast-off tracks like "Rippin Me Off," Skillet's harsh message for Marilyn Manson, plus "Earth Invasion" and "Kill Me Heal Me." Yet Skillet softens the sonic blows with kinder and gentler gems like "You Are My Hope," "Thirst Is Taking Over" and "Will You Be There?" No doubt Cooper and his bandmates have claimed new ground in the name of their Lord. It might be worth catching a ride with this generation of Alien Youth. --Michael Lyttle

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The band continues it's growth..., August 28, 2001

By	bryan chalker (Duluth, GA USA) - See all my reviews

Sometimes, unfortunately, Christian bands trade lyrics for fame, and musical style for acceptance. With their 4th album, "Alien Youth," Skillet has a harder-edged sound, whose lyrics show no signs of selling-out. It really is incredible. I have played the pre-release a half-dozen times, at least, and am amazed at how tight they sound. Production has polished the sound, while keeping the raw feel. The samples make it difficult to tell the quality. The theme is "spiritual revolution," with the title track and "Earth Invasion" making the best points on the CD. "Ripping Me Off" is a great response to a nihilistic message put out at a Marilyn Manson concert. "Eating Me Away," the title track, and "One Real Thing" are my favorites, but the entire CD is great . "You Are My Hope" and "Come My Way" are the more mellow tunes, but they really open their hearts. This band also has an accompanying study kit for youth groups, designed to spur stronger commitment to Christ... Sincere music by a band with a sincere heart for youth and God.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Alternative to the Christian alternative, January 23, 2003

By	Za'chary Westbrook "Jericho" (Salem, OR) - See all my reviews

Okay, I'm a Christian, but I'm not average in any way. This is important because I generally dispise Christian music. With few exceptions, I think it's vapid, soulless and sacreligiously manufactured. Enter Skillet, Christian music you can head-bang to. Alien Youth, their 2001 release, following-up on Invincible, is neither vapid, soulless or manufactured. Naturally, the first I noticed was the NIN-esque riffs, it's John Bonham living large with a bass guitar pulling most of the weight on the music. But the really outstanding factor on this CD are the lyrics. Instead of falling back on trite `exhultating' lyrics like `Jars of Clay' or `Third Day', they mix Biblical references (`Rise like a chosen generation'-Alien Youth, `But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood...'-1 Peter 2:9) with lines that are just plain cool (`Come with us if you wanna live'-Earth Invasion). Skillet has long been known as Christian-music's industrial giant, but what few people don't know is that they make some of the best Praise and worship music on the planet. `You are my hope' and `Will you be there' are prime examples. While neither song can really match `Rest' from Invincible, these are the best Sunday-morning-friendly songs to come out from a rock band in a long time. The CD, overall, has an interesting combination of metal and smooth rock that doesn't seem like it should fit together, but it does, really well. I strongly reccomend this CD for anyone who's put off by Christian mainstream.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Disappointment...? I think not!, December 12, 2001

By	"cougar737" (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews

First off, I want to say that this CD ROCKS. Titles like Alien Youth, Eating Me Away, and Ripping Me Off are amazing industrial rock. But this cd also has a nice mix in it. Other songs such as Will You Be There [falling down], Come My Way, and You Are My Hope are completed masterfully.

Just a little background about me to tell where I'm comming from: I love punk rock, rock, ska, hardcore, and anything inbetween. Fav bands are MXPX, Five Iron Frenzy, Supertones, P.O.D., Project 86, Earthsuit, Speck, Slick Shoes, Skillet, and on and on. So when I refer to a song as one that "rocks," I really mean that it RAWKS! BTW, I've been an avid Panhead sience "Hey, You, I Love your Soul."

Ok, back to the reason I'm writing this review... I give this cd a five because I love the variety that it has to offer. It has soft, hard, fast, light, etc. And all the songs are great! VERY rarely (if ever) will I skip a track on this cd. Some people don't like that skillet switched back and forth between a hard song and a softer one, but for the most part, they didn't. The majority of the time it is a gradual change. I really like that they put slower songs on the cd, because it breaks up the rythem a little bit. You can't deny that songs like "Will You Be There" doesn't move. Absolutely amazing. Once again on the flip side, "Eating Me Away" (I can't get enough of that song...) and "Alien Youth" will blow you away. The only thing better then this cd would be this cd played in concert :-)

Basically, you can't go wrong with Alien Youth. Moving songs, memorable lyrics, and masterful vocals and sounds put this cd at the top of a long list. It doesn't matter what kind of music you like, this cd has it all. If you don't have this cd (well, if you did you wouldn't be reading this review...) then go get it. Now. You won't be disappointed.