By Loudwire.com

Skillet Working On A New Album

Skillet are coming off the most successful album of their career and if they fail to meet the bar set by the last disc it won’t be through a lack of trying. Singer John Cooper tells Noisecreep that the band began the process for their next album with an overabundance of tracks.

He revealed, “Before we started work on the last album, I brought in full demos of 36 songs. This time, we had 72 at the beginning. So there was a lot of cutting down we had to do. Also, I’m not sure we even expected ‘Awake’ to do as well as it did, but since it did perform so well, now there is this sort of pressure to do it again. But that’s okay. I’ve enjoyed writing from my heart and from my faith and I think the new music is a really honest look at where Skillet is today.”

Cooper confirmed that the group as a whole managed to cut the final number of tracks down to 15. He adds that there were eight tracks that everyone was in agreement on, with the other seven opening themselves up for debate. “That’s where you have to trust each other and believe in each other and be willing to let go once in a while,” says Cooper.

As for the sound, the vocalist says, “This is an album unlike anything we’ve really done before. We’ve all been listening to more edgier, indie, alternative bands and it’s really affected my writing. The sound is more raw and it has a tougher energy than our previous records.” He added that the band has added some new sounds to their palette, including a dulcimer and some harp to go along with their aggressive guitar sounds. Cooper concludes, “One really important thing is that this is an album that’s meant to be played live, so once we hit the road you’ll be hearing a lot of it.”

Though a firm release date and album title have yet to be revealed, Skillet expect to return to the road this spring. Cooper says the group are currently deciding on what the lead single and their video plans will be. Check out the full interview with Noisecreep here.

By Loudwire.com

THEORY OF A DEADMAN START WORK ON NEW ALBUM

If they have it their way, Theory of a Deadman won’t leave their fans hanging without new music for too long. The group is getting a quick jump on their follow-up to ‘The Truth Is…’ album, confirming that they’ve already started on their next disc.

In a new posting on Twitter, the guys revealed, “New album underway!!! New stuff by summer!! Thx Theory fans.” Should the band meet their proposed deadline, new music would arrive in approximately half a year from their last tour date supporting ‘The Truth Is’ album.

The group fifth and final single from that record, ‘Gentleman,’ was issued last September, though the band continued with tour dates through December. Little is known about the new disc at this point, but it has lofty goals to reach if it is to surpass the band’s last record. ‘The Truth Is…’ debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart and peaked out at No. 1 on the Billboard Rock Albums, Alternative Albums and Hard Rock Albums charts.

Even with the quick turnaround, the Theory of a Deadman members have enjoyed some fun off and on the road. Last year, singer Tyler Connolly played up the band’s anonymity with a series of man-on-the-street webisodes titled ‘You Don’t Know Me.’ In addition, just last month Connolly and Dave Brenner likely loaded up on gear before hitting the studio by making appearances at Anaheim’s NAMM conference.