There are songs you play in the background and songs that grab you by the collar. Nearly three decades in, Skillet still makes the second kind.

“Lift Me Up” is the beating heart of After the Storm, the band’s new independent EP, out now. Frontman John Cooper wrote it from the bottom of a rough season — betrayal, grief, burnout — and you can hear it in every bar: crushing guitars, drums that hit like a warning, and then that arena-sized chorus that does exactly what the title promises. Cooper calls it a reminder that even when life feels overwhelming, there is still hope, and the track carries that conviction without softening a single edge. This is heavy music that refuses to be hopeless.

That’s the Skillet formula at its best, and it’s why they’re sitting on 12 million monthly Spotify listeners and a “Monster” that has crossed five billion streams. “Lift Me Up” sounds like early Skillet with fresh legs — heavier, leaner, more honest. Produced by David Cowell (Sleep Theory) and the band’s own Korey Cooper, it’s the sound of a band reconnecting with the fire that made them a fixture of NFL stadiums and WWE arenas.

And the timing couldn’t be better: Skillet brings the tour to The Van Buren in Phoenix on November 1. Get there early.

Rating: 4.5/5

LISTEN:
YouTube — “Lift Me Up” (official visualizer)
Spotify — “Lift Me Up”

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