Never ones to saute the same sounds perpetually on each release, or to revisit lightening that's already struck, the members of Skillet are in the constant pursuit of variety, as their name so appropriately implies: a sensory overloading hybrid of diverse tastes, scents, and styles. Since 1996, the John Cooper-led quartet has bounced between modern rock urgency on its self-titled debut, to the electronic domination of "Hey You I Love Your Soul," to the pulsating techno explosions throughout "Invincible," to the prayerful reverence on "Ardent Worship," to the intense industrialization on "Alien Youth."

In the process, Skillet has earned a vast army of "Panheads" and a respectable amount of industry acclaim. With eight number one radio singles under its belt, eleven Dove nominations, and over 200 jam-packed concert dates a year, the group is amongst Christian music's alternative elite with a solid commitment to artistic excellence and evangelistic relevance.

"I've always made a conscious effort to write about what I felt God was telling me on every project, and since we've started, I think we've covered a lot of bases," reflects Cooper. "We've encouraged those within the church and hopefully introduced people to Christ that hadn't known him before. I think this current phase of Skillet will take us further down those roads even more effectively."

That musing the band's prolific front man is referring to is the latest in Skillet's run of top notch quality albums called "Collide", a punch-packed collage of sounds marinating since we last heard from the group two years ago (with the Alien Youth CD and the subsequent concert/behind the scenes DVD The Unplugged Invasion). The lengthy break has paid off for Cooper and company, who not only had time to take and fine comb all of the details on this career cornerstone release, but welcome the Cooper's latest baby.

In the end, ten soon-to-be Skillet classics made it onto Collide, uniting around yet another stylistic direction for the band -- one that sees its departure from keyboard driven sounds and delving into a grittier, guitar dominated pedigree. "It's definitely a lot louder than ever before without any of the techno or industrial elements," Cooper confirms. "In one sense it's stripped down from the keyboard stuff, but it's definitely more loud and aggressive than before."