Skillet: O Come, O Come Emmanuel

ALAYMAN

ALAYMAN

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I thought it was a very reverent rendition overall. The singers have very strong voices... I thought his voice was especially powerful for the song. Even though I'm not very familiar with Skillet, I was expecting them to come in with some crashing guitars and I was not disappointed. Much as I expected, it resembled the hard core heavy metal one would expect from the likes of Korn, but it was much tamer. There was a darkness in the whole video from the song itself (what else do you expect from a minor key?) to the dark metal crunch of the guitars, the dark scenes, the muted videography, but the light breaks through during the chorus in the video and the female's vocals. Very appropriate for this song.

How's that for a nerdy review?

🤓
 
I'm not adding it to my holiday playlist but I didn't think it was offensive.

John Cooper is pretty sharp theologically. While his music is not my cup of tea I find him to be a solid voice for Christ.
 
To loosely paraphrase what someone I follow on Twitter said about it, they've taken a song about Advent anticipation of the Messiah, and turned it into a desperate plea from people in a world that's lost its mind. Which was roughly my thought when I saw the imagery in the video: scenes of sickness and darkness and cold that seem to be looking for someone to set things right.

My only complaint is that the heavy breakdown at the end doesn't really mesh with the verses. Kind of breaks the unity of the composition. I like both styles, I just don't think they work together.

Stylistically, it reminds me somewhat of Disturbed's cover of "The Sound of Silence."
 
ALAYMAN said:
Thoughts on this?


www.premierchristianity.com

Angry Christians are condemning Skillet’s ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’ as ‘demonic filth’. I think they’re wrong

Christian heavy metal bands are reaching countless people who would never step foot inside a church, argues London School of Theology's Dr Daniel Johnson. You may not love their sound but you should be supporting Skillet's evangelistic mission, he says
www.premierchristianity.com www.premierchristianity.com
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i don;t think many people here would want to know my thoughts on this.......... but to put it this way - if someone is into this and they want it played in their own church - that;s fine with me..... as long i am not in ear shot of it........ ............. and if it;s ever brought into the church i go to - i;m walking out.......
 
ALAYMAN said:
Thoughts on this?


www.premierchristianity.com

Angry Christians are condemning Skillet’s ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’ as ‘demonic filth’. I think they’re wrong

Christian heavy metal bands are reaching countless people who would never step foot inside a church, argues London School of Theology's Dr Daniel Johnson. You may not love their sound but you should be supporting Skillet's evangelistic mission, he says
www.premierchristianity.com www.premierchristianity.com
Click to expand...
I listened to the first couple of minutes and didn’t hear the ending so I couldn’t figure what the controversy was. After listening to the last couple of minutes, I felt like Joshua when he told Moses coming down from the mountain. “There is a noise of war in the camp.”

1 Cor 14:8 For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?
1 Cor 14:9 So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air.
 
It’s not my cup of tea, but I’m not going to condemn someone who wants to listen to it.
 
DrHuk&Duck said:
It’s not my cup of tea, but I’m not going to condemn someone who wants to listen to it.
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I'm not condemning anyone. I was just giving my humble opinion. I was listening to a beautiful song about Emmanuel and then all of a sudden they were banging on pots and pans screaming like a Jackass. But hey, everyone to his own taste.
 
Ransom said:
Are you saying Skillet's message is unclear?
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I would say that the distorted "music" and cacophony of screeching certainly is muddled at best. I couldn't understand a word they said after the loudness began in the middle of the song. How is that not the very definition of unclear?
 
DrHuk&Duck said:
It’s not my cup of tea, but I’m not going to condemn someone who wants to listen to it.
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I would advise them to think about getting some ear muffs so they preserve their hearing. Old age comes quick enough without inviting it in via abuse.
 
aleshanee said:
i don;t think many people here would want to know my thoughts on this.......... but to put it this way - if someone is into this and they want it played in their own church - that;s fine with me..... as long i am not in ear shot of it........ ............. and if it;s ever brought into the church i go to - i;m walking out.......
Click to expand...
You bring up a good point. Skillet disavows the idea of them being a Christian band, particularly the notion of leading worship. They are professed entertainers, and use their platform to get the message of Christ out to people that otherwise would not give the Christian gospel a first look. I respect that, even though I am very skeptical of the discord between their sound and intended message.
 
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Ransom said:
Stylistically, it reminds me somewhat of Disturbed's cover of "The Sound of Silence."
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If I like a song in its original version I rarely like a remake nearly as well as that original. That is one song that breaks that tendency for me.
 
Biscuit described war, and Alayman described discord. I think that sums it up pretty well.

Dithyrambs were a well-established form in Paul's day. A wildly exuberant form lead by "one struck by the thunderbolt of wine" as one secular source I consulted long ago put it. A key feature of the Bacchanalian/Dionysian festivals...

...and a form conspicuoulsy absent from Paul's famous list in Ephesians when describing the character of Christian conversation in the world.

I believe Paul would have described it as devilish.
 
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