Ben Kasica

At 40 years old, Ben Kasica has this physical status:

Skillet, an American Christian rock band, was formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1996.

The band currently includes husband John (lead vocals, bass), and wife Korey Cooper (rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), as well as Jen Ledger (drums, vocals) and Seth Morrison (lead guitar).

The band has released ten albums, two of which, Collide and Comatose, have received Grammy awards.

The RIAA has two of their albums, Comatose and Awake, as well as Gold, while Rise and Unleashed have been designated Gold as of December 4, 2018.

They are well-known for their constant touring schedule, earning them a top-five spot in the 2010 Top Working Bands survey by Songkick.com.

Early years (1996–2002)

Skillet was founded in 1996 by two members: John Cooper, the former singer of Tennessee's progressive rock band Seraph, and Ken Steorts, former guitarist for Urgent Cry. Both bands met while touring together, but they disbanded soon after, so John and Ken's pastor encouraged them to form their own band as a side-project. The experiment was named "Skillet" by the researchers. Trey McClurkin joined the band as a temporary drummer after his departure from the band. Skillet was only together for a month when they were first contacted by ForeFront Records, a major Christian music company. They first released their demo album Right Upside Your Head in 1996. Skillet debuted a self-titled debut on October 29 of the same year on October 29. It was well-received, and the trio continued to write new content as they traveled around the country.

Cooper has said that the band's name was supposed to be comedic as the other founding members had already been in other bands, each with a distinct sound and style. The pastor of Covenant Community Church in Memphis, where the band was formed as a worship band project, gave them their name as if they were like "southern cooking," where you pour a slew of different items into a big ol' skillet and see what it looks like."

Skillet released Hey You, I Love Your Soul, a follow-up album that was released in April 1998. The band's second attempt was a change in style from their first release. Skillet's post-grunge quest for a more contemporary rock and style came with this announcement. Korey, Cooper's wife, was enlisted shortly after to enjoy keyboards online in order to reduce his job duties.

Kevin Haaland joined the band shortly before starting to record their third album, Invincible, Steorts, with his family and new Visible Music College. Korey Cooper joined the band permanently and played keyboards on Invincible's album. The musical style on Invincible has shifted to a more modern sound as a result of the change. Trey McClurkin left Skillet soon after the Invincible's debut in early 2000, and Lori Peters took his place.

In late 2000, the band released their first worship album and fourth album together, Ardent Worship. On their next album Alien Youth, the band kept a lot of Invincible's sound. Skillet released Alien Youth on August 28, 2001, the first album for which John Cooper took on production duties, but there was little time between touring and recording. Haaland left the band before the release of Alien Youth, and Ben Kasica took over on guitar.

Ardent Records' Collide, the band's fifth studio album, was released in 2003, and it contained the singles "Savior" and "Collide." Lava Records, an Atlantic Records imprint, bought Collide's rights in 2004. Collide was re-released by Lava Records on May 25, 2004, with "Open Wounds" as an added track. In 2005, the album was selected for the "Best Rock Gospel Album."

P.O.D., quoting P.O.D. Cooper said, "Well, I'm one of these song writers, so what I hear goes through my John Cooper filter of what I like and what I don't like." [...] All of these things [...] have a huge effect on me."

On October 3, 2006, Skillet's album Comatose was released. It includes the singles "Rebirthing," "Whispers in the Dark," "The Older I Get," "Those Nights," "The Last Night," and "Better Than Drugs." The album debuted at No. 0 on the charts. The Billboard 200 and No. 55 are both No. 233 and No. 109 on the Billboard 200 and No. 10. On the US Top Christian Albums chart, 4th place.

Lori Peters, Skillet's drummer, announced in January 2008 that she would be leaving the band and start a new one. On December 31, 2007, Peters' last concert with Skillet was held on December 31, 2007. However, she took the time to instruct Skillet's next drummer, Jen Ledger, during the 2007 holiday season.

Comatose Comes Alive, a CD/DVD set of the band's May 9, 2008, concert in Chattanooga, Tennessee, was released on October 21, 2008. On December 5, 2008, it was broadcast on the Gospel Music Channel. "Live Free or Let Me Die" as a single on Skillet's Comatose Comes Alive CD, as well as five acoustic tracks that customers could download by inserting the CD in their computer.

The Comatose album was certified Gold and Platinum by the Royal Institute of British Agricultural Association on November 3, 2009, and May 20, 2016, respectively.

Awake, Skillet's seventh album, features twelve songs and was released on August 25, 2009. It ranked at No. 1 in the United States Chart. In the first week, Billboard's top 200 was up to 68,000 units. On July 14, 2009, "Monster" was announced as a single. Despite common belief, John Cooper said that "Hero" was not the album's lead single. However, it was first published in March 2010 as a single. They also released a deluxe edition with "Dead Inside" and "Would It Matter," as well as the original, radio edited of "Monster" that does not have the distorted growl as in the single and CD versions. On one of their most popular podcasts, they had a remix of "Monster." In the episode "Jason: The Pretty Bully" on MTV's Bully Beatdown, the song "Hero" was used in the publicizing of the first football game of the 2009 NFL season between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans, and the word "Monster" was used. The official soundtrack for WWE Hell in a Cell, "Monster," was the theme tune for WWE Tribute to the Troops and Royal Rumble 2010, as well as all songs being included on the WWE official soundtrack for WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010: "Monster" will also be the theme song for the Lake Erie Monsters in Cleveland, Ohio, which will be played in the player intros and after a Lake Erie goal, and it also serves as the opening theme for the Fresno Monsters of Fresno, California. During the 2009 season, Raycom Sports' "Monster" was shown at the beginning of many ACC football games. "Monster" debuted in Rock Band's first week in April 2010. 2.

Skillet was nominated for six Dove Awards in the 41st Annual GMA Dove Awards. Awake was awarded gold on July 2, 2010. Also in 2010, Ardent released The Early Years, a collection of their songs from 1996 to 2001. Skillet released an iTunes session EP on November 12 that featured songs from Comatose and Awake. A day later, "Monster" was awarded gold.

Longtime lead guitarist Ben Kasica will be out of the band on February 14, 2011. Kasica has been with the band for ten years, contributing to the albums Alien Youth, Collide, Comatose, and Awake, as well as the live album Comatose Comes Alive. On March 20, he appeared at what was supposed to be his last concert with the band but he resurfaced and continued touring until a new guitarist was prepared. Seth Morrison replaced Kasica as the lead guitarist on April 16, and Skillet now tours full-time.

In early March 2011, Skillet revealed the debut of Awake and Remixed EPs. Korey Cooper and Ben Kasica were the remixers. Skillet's album artwork was revealed on March 2, 2011. The theory was born when Korey Cooper and Ben Kasica remixed Monster for their popular podcast, according to John Cooper. On March 22, the four-song EP was released.

Awake was nominated for and received the "Top Christian Album" award at the Billboard Music Awards in 2011, and the song "Awake and Alive" was confirmed to be on the Transformers: Dark of the Moon Soundtrack in May 2011.

On June 21, 2011, John revealed on Twitter that the band rehearsed new music for the first time and that a new album is coming soon. John Cooper, a question and answer session before a show, announced that they would have a new record in January/February 2012. However, the band was then set to headline the Winter Jam Tour. They intended to enter the studio at the end of the Winter Jam eastern tour, which is likely in May, in the event of a release in late 2012.

In an interview with CCM Magazine, John Cooper referred to the latest album as "a roller coaster ride." "We have aggressive tracks, artists, and musical tracks, which is new territory for Skillet." A few songs are classic American heartland anthems, and a few of songs on Skillet are a symphonic-classical rock Skillet version. Guitars are filthy and edgier, with absolute shredding solos by Seth." "Salvation" was one of the songs discussed in the interview.

In an interview on January 26, 2013, John Cooper revealed that the new album, Rise, would be released in May 2013, but that it would be delayed until June 25, 2013. In an interview with NoiseCreep, John Cooper said that the first single and music video would be released by late April. On April 23, 2013, the album's first single, "Sick of It," will be broadcast on US Rock radio. Later announced that the first single, "Sick of It," would be published on April 9, 2013. During the first week of the album's debut, the album debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and No.1 on the Top Rock Chart and Christian Album charts, selling 60,000 copies in the United States alone. Rise was designated Gold by the RIAA on July 12, 2016. The band unveiled a deluxe version of the album on June 21, 2013.

On the day of Conan's airing on July 11, 2013, the band performed the title track off Rise.

Skillet was nominated and received a Dove Award for Best Rock Song of the Year for their song "Sick of It."

Vital Signs, a compilation album released solely in Europe, was released on October 13, 2014.

Skillet revealed on February 16, 2015, that they were writing for a new album with recording to debut in June, with a prospect of being released in the late half of 2015 or early 2016. Skillet's social media pages unveiled a preview of a new song on April 8, 2016, which later revealed to be titled "Out of Hell." Unleashed, the album's name, was announced on May 20, 2016, and it was later released on Atlantic Records on August 5, 2016. "Feel Invincible," a lyric video, was also available. The lyric video and digital single "Stars" was released on May 26, as well as a preview of another song named "Back From the Dead." The theme tune for TBS' E-League, the live video game tournament, was announced on June 6, "Feel Invincible" was the theme tune. WWE revealed on July 7 that it had chosen "Feel Invincible" as the official theme for WWE Battleground. The complete version of "Back From the Dead" was available online on July 8. The band released a new recording of "Stars" in an acoustic style that was not present in the film, The Shack. They launched "Unleashed Beyond," a limited edition of "Unleashed Beyond" on November 17, 2017, with Lacey Sturm and remixes of "Feel Invincible" and "The Resistance." Skillet has also released a five-track EP with remixes of "Feel Invincible." Unleashed Beyond's website had this information.

Skillet's forthcoming album tenth studio album, Victorious, was released on May 5, 2019, where they announced that the band had sold over 12 million units around the world. On May 7, 2019, the band's first single off Victorious, "Legendary" was released. The band dropped two new singles on June 14, 2019: "Save Me" and "Anchor." "You Ain't Ready" was the band's second single on July 27. On August 2, 2019, the album was released.

"Legendary" debuted as WWE Raw's theme song on September 20, 2019.

Victorious: On September 11, 2020, The Aftermath, the album's deluxe version, was released.

On September 15, 2021, Skillet's first single in a year, "surviving the Game" was released. "Standing in the Storm" was the release of three other singles on November 12, 2021, "Refuge," and "Dominion," followed on January 7, 2022.

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