Victorious (Skillet album)

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Victorious
Studio album by
Skillet
ReleasedAugust 2, 2019
RecordedDecember 2018 – April 2019[not verified in body]
Genre
Length44:59
LabelAtlantic
Producer
Skillet chronology
Unleashed
(2016) 		Victorious
(2019) 		Dominion
(2022)
Singles from Victorious
  1. "Legendary"
    Released: May 7, 2019[3]
  2. "Save Me"
    Released: June 14, 2019[4]
  3. "Anchor"
    Released: June 14, 2019[5]
  4. "Terrify the Dark"
    Released: July 24, 2020

Victorious is the tenth studio album by American Christian rock band Skillet, released on August 2, 2019.[6] The album was announced on May 7, 2019, and a lyric video was released for the track "Legendary" at the same time on the band's YouTube channel.[2] The band released the song "You Ain't Ready" on July 26, 2019, as a promotional single.[7] "Legendary" was later chosen to be the new theme song for a new look WWE Raw, which debuted in 2019.[8]

Background and recording[edit]

Skillet released their previous studio album, Unleashed, in 2016. During the production stage for Victorious, lead singer John Cooper and his wife, Korey, solely produced half of the album while joining Seth Mosley and Mike "X" O'Connor for two other songs.[2]

Composition[edit]

In an interview with Radio.com, lead singer John Cooper said the album was composed of fight songs and that he wanted to let others know that "you can be victorious through the trials of life, but life is going to suck sometimes".[9] In regards to specific tracks, Cooper told Billboard that "Legendary" was about making the most out of your life and referenced the past criticism the band received about their musical path.[2] Upon the launch of the music video for "Legendary", Cooper told People that the song's meaning was "to live your life the way you think you should". Cooper also added that "Legendary" was chosen as the first released single because of the pumped up energy levels.[10]

Promotion and release[edit]

On May 7, Billboard reported the release date for Victorious was August 2 and included the newly released lyric video for "Legendary".[3] The song became a single for rock radio stations on May 20 and had a later music video published in July 2019.[11][12] For their other songs released before the album's release, Skillet had "Anchor" and "Save Me" available to stream on June 14 while "Anchor" became a Christian radio single on July 19.[4] On July 26, "You Ain't Ready" was made available alongside an accompanying lyric video.[7]

Touring[edit]

In April 2019, Skillet revealed they would be embarking on a tour throughout the United States alongside Sevendust. The Victorious War started on August 11 in Memphis, Tennessee and ended on September 7 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.[13] After the tour with Sevendust, Skillet started a one-month North American tour with Alter Bridge called the Victorious Sky Tour, running from September 22 to October 25.[14]

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Jesus Freak Hideout[15]

Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic called the album a "satisfying, defiant, and rousing collection of spiritual hype music".[1] Alternatively, David Craft of Jesus Freak Hideout felt that the band was limiting themselves on the album and "seem to be stuck on recreating Comatose".[15]

Accolades[edit]

Year-end lists
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
365 Days of Inspiring Media Top 50 Albums of 2019
5
[16]
Loudwire The 50 Best Rock Albums of 2019
Unranked
[17]

Track listing[edit]

The track listing was released along with the album announcement.[18] Credits adapted from CD booklet.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Legendary"
4:05
2."You Ain't Ready"
  • John L. Cooper
  • Korey Cooper
  • Kane Churko
  • Kevin Churko
3:18
3."Victorious"
  • John L. Cooper
  • Korey Cooper
  • Seth Mosley
4:06
4."This Is the Kingdom"
3:28
5."Save Me"
  • John L. Cooper
  • Korey Cooper
3:43
6."Rise Up"
  • John L. Cooper
  • Kane Churko
  • Kevin Churko
3:58
7."Terrify the Dark"
  • John L. Cooper
  • Korey Cooper
  • Mia Fieldes
  • Seth Mosley
3:45
8."Never Going Back"
  • John L. Cooper
  • Korey Cooper
3:34
9."Reach"
  • John L. Cooper
  • Korey Cooper
3:23
10."Anchor"
  • John L. Cooper
  • Korey Cooper
  • Daniel Omelio
  • Nolan W. Sipe
3:37
11."Finish Line"
  • John L. Cooper
  • Korey Cooper
  • Seth Mosley
3:26
12."Back to Life"
  • John L. Cooper
  • Korey Cooper
4:37
Total length:44:52
Japanese edition bonus track [19]
No.TitleLength
13."Victorious" (Demo)4:05
Total length:49:06
Victorious: The Aftermath[20][21]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Dead Man Walking"
  • John L. Cooper
  • Korey Cooper
  • Kane Churko
  • Kevin Churko
3:51
14."Sick and Empty"
  • John L. Cooper
  • Korey Cooper
4:28
15."Dreaming of Eden"
  • John L. Cooper
  • Korey Cooper
5:05
16."Victorious (Soundtrack version)"
  • John L. Cooper
  • Korey Cooper
  • Seth Mosley
4:30
17."Legendary (Destiny Remix)"
  • John L. Cooper
  • Korey Cooper
  • Seth Mosley
3:53
18."Save Me (Reimagined)"
  • John L. Cooper
  • Korey Cooper
3:35
19."Reach (Falling Deep Mix)"
  • John L. Cooper
  • Korey Cooper
3:34
20."Terrify the Dark (Reimagined)"
  • John L. Cooper
  • Korey Cooper
  • Mia Fieldes
  • Seth Mosley
3:35
Total length:77:31

Personnel[edit]

Skillet

  • John Cooper – vocals, bass guitar, additional guitars (7)
  • Korey Cooper – programming (1-5, 7–10, 12, 13), keyboards (4, 7, 10, 11), additional programming (6, 11), additional guitars (10)
  • Seth Morrison – lead guitars
  • Jen Ledger – drums, vocals

Additional musicians

  • Chris Marvin – additional backing vocals (1, 3, 4, 5, 13), additional guitars (3, 5), backing vocals (7, 8)
  • Seth Mosley – keyboards (4, 7), programming (4, 7), additional guitars (4, 7, 11), additional backing vocals (4), backing vocals (7)
  • Mike "X" O'Connor – keyboards (4, 7, 11), programming (4, 7), additional guitars (4, 10, 11), additional programming (11)
  • Tate Olson – cello (3, 13)
  • Drew Griffin – viola (3, 13), violin (3, 13), additional guitars (13)
  • Cara Fox – strings (4, 7)
  • Eleonore Denning – strings (4, 7)
  • Rosalie Marvin – additional backing vocals (3, 13), backing vocals (5)

Production

  • Zachary Kelm – executive producer, management
  • John Cooper – producer (1, 3, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13), editing (1), engineer (3, 8, 13)
  • Korey Cooper – producer (1, 3, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13), engineer (1, 3, 7, 8, 10–13)
  • Kevin Churko – producer (2, 5), engineer (2, 5), mixing (2, 5)
  • Seth Mosley – producer (4, 7, 10, 11)
  • Mike "X" O'Connor – producer (4, 7, 10, 11), engineer (4, 7, 10, 11), editing (4, 7, 10)
  • Nick Rad – engineer (1, 3, 8, 12, 13), editing (1, 3, 8, 10, 12, 13), mixing (13)
  • Kane Churko – engineer (2, 5)
  • Jericho Scroggins – engineer (7, 10, 11), production assistant (7, 10)
  • Neal Avron – mixing (1, 3, 4, 7–12)
  • Tristan Hardin – Pro Tools editing (2, 5)
  • Nick Schwartz – editing (4, 7, 11)
  • Ted Jensen – mastering at Sterling Sound (New York, NY)
  • Pete Ganbarg – A&R direction
  • Andrew Kemp – A&R direction
  • Anne Declemente – A&R administration
  • Mark Obraski – art direction, design
  • Chino Villatoro – photography
  • Chrissy Yoder – photography

Charts[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Victorious at AllMusic. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d "Skillet Announces New Album 'Victorious': Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Childers, Chad (May 7, 2019). "Skillet Announce 'Victorious' Album, Reveal New Song 'Legendary'". Loudwire.com. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Listen To Two New SKILLET Songs, 'Anchor' And 'Save Me'". Blabbermouth.net. June 14, 2019. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  5. ^ Childers, Chad (June 14, 2019). "Skillet Unveil Two New Songs 'Anchor' + 'Save Me'". Loudwire.com. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  6. ^ "Skillet Releases 10th Album 'Victorious': Stream It Now". Billboard. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  7. ^ a b Longs, Herb (July 26, 2019). "Skillet Drops New Song "You Ain't Ready"". TheChristianBeat.org. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  8. ^ Ahmed, Tufayel (September 30, 2019). "WWE 'Raw' to premiere new stage, theme music and logo". Newsweek. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  9. ^ Timmerberg, Tiana (August 1, 2019). "Skillet Dives into New Album 'Victorious,' Looks Back With Performances of 'Monster' and 'Feel Invincible'". Radio.com. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  10. ^ Mizoguchi, Karen (July 16, 2019). "Skillet Debuts New 'Legendary' Music Video: 'Don't Be Afraid to Go Against the Crowd,' John Cooper Says". People. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  11. ^ "SKILLET: More 'Victorious' Album Details Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. May 8, 2019. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  12. ^ Cerio, Michael (July 17, 2019). "Skillet Triumph in This Exclusive Acoustic Performance of 'Legendary'". Radio.com. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  13. ^ Childers, Chad (April 22, 2019). "Skillet + Sevendust Co-Headline 'Victorious War' Tour With Pop Evil + Devour the Day". Loudwire. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  14. ^ Divita, Joe (June 24, 2019). "Skillet + Alter Bridge Announce Co-Headlining Tour With Dirty Honey". Loudwire. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  15. ^ a b Craft, David (August 1, 2019). "Skillet, "Victorious" Review". Jesus Freak Hideout. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  16. ^ Andre, Jonathan (April 12, 2020). "BEST OF 2019- PART 11: TOP 50 ALBUMS OF 2019 | 365 Days of Inspiring Media". 365 Days of Inspiring Media. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  17. ^ "The 50 Best Rock Albums of 2019". Loudwire. Townsquare Media. December 5, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  18. ^ "Legendary by Skillet on iTunes". iTunes Store. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  19. ^ "Skillet / スキレット「Victorious / ビクトリアス」 | Warner Music Japan". ワーナーミュージック・ジャパン | Warner Music Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  20. ^ "Skillet Releases 'Victorious: The Aftermath'". The Christian Beat. September 11, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  21. ^ "Victorious: The Aftermath (Deluxe) by Skillet on iTunes". iTunes Store. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  22. ^ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. August 12, 2019. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  23. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Skillet – Victorious" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  24. ^ "Ultratop.be – Skillet – Victorious" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  25. ^ "Ultratop.be – Skillet – Victorious" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  26. ^ "Skillet Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  27. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Skillet – Victorious" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  28. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Skillet – Victorious" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  29. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2019. 32. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  30. ^ "Skillet". Oricon. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  31. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  32. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Skillet – Victorious". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  33. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  34. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. August 9, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  35. ^ "Skillet Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  36. ^ "Skillet Chart History (Christian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  37. ^ "Skillet Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  38. ^ "Skillet Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  39. ^ "Top Christian Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  40. ^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  41. ^ "Top Christian Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
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