Review: Skillet- Unleashed Beyond
Adding to the success of their 2016 record, Unleashed, Skillet have released a Deluxe Edition in Unleashed Beyond, which features five new tracks and three remixes, giving it a feeling of a completely new record.
The original release was more than enough to soak in and handle but with Unleashed Beyond, we have even more to sink our teeth into and has something to make any Skillet fan- Christian or not- listen to for hours.
First we have “Breaking Free,” which is a head-scratcher regarding why it didn’t make the original cut. Featuring Lacey Sturm, this is the first time a guest vocalist has been featured on a Skillet track and they knock it out of the park. This may be one of the strongest Skillet songs ever recorded. With a vocalist like Sturm, there is so much potential for what Skillet could have done and they ended up with pure perfection.
Then you have “Stay Til the Daylight” and “Brave,” which stand up with songs like “Stars,” “Lions” and “Watching For Comets,” and are two of the most beautiful songs on the entire album with “Stay…” being peacefully soothing while “Brave” could easily be heard being sung by 70,000 people in a stadium.
“You Get Me High” is a fast-building power track that’s as addicting as it is driving while “Set It Off” shows where the album title could have come from and finishes the bonus tracks on a high note before remixes of “Feel Invincible” and “The Resistance” and an alternate version of “Stars” round the album completely.
In the end, even though this is a Deluxe Edition, it feels like an entirely new album. “Breaking Free,” “Stay Til the Daylight,” “You Get Me High” and “Set It Off” all could have easily made the cut for the original release and honestly should have replaced a few tracks on it.
Skillet continue to show why they’re annually one of the highest-selling rock bands and the lyrics on these songs mixed with the arena-anthems on Unleashed Beyond have made this one of Skillet’s strongest records to date.
Rating: 9/10
-Reggie Edwards