John Cooper recently opened up about Skillet’s future musical direction and upcoming releases during an interview on The Sound Lab.
Cooper revealed that the band is currently working on new material and plans to release fresh music in 2026, a milestone year marking three decades of Skillet’s career. He framed the upcoming project as a creative reset, focused on songs the band feels deeply connected to.
“We are gonna be releasing new music [in 2026], Lord willing,” Cooper said. “We’re working on it now. We have a couple of songs finished already. So I’m kind of hoping that next year will be the release of new music that will be a nice 30-year kind of… I don’t know… Starting over — let’s start over again, release new music. Feel like a young person again, releasing songs that you love and songs that you believe in, singing about things that you care about.”
The band has already begun testing out heavier sounds with their November Christmas release, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” Cooper explained that the track allowed Skillet to explore some of their most aggressive metal elements in more than two decades, including lower tunings that are expected to carry over into future material.
“The Christmas song that we [released in November, ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’], we did experiment with some of the new things that we are already trying in some of our newer music,” Cooper explained. “And that’s kind of what we did on this Christmas song on the really heavy parts. There’s some more metal aspects to that that I don’t think we’ve done anything that heavy since, like, 2003 maybe. And that was really fun, getting to do some of the really low tunings again.”
In addition to embracing a heavier sound, Cooper shared that Skillet is leaning into progressive metal influences, both in their live shows and in the studio. He described how the band is drawing from a wide range of past styles while responding to shifts in the metal scene.
“We have a lot in the arsenal, so you can kind of pull out something that maybe you hadn’t done in a little while and try to make it fresh again,” he said. “Also, what’s kind of cool with this resurgence of metal is… we have some touches of prog metal in our set, more than we do on our records. And so now we’re able to bring some of that. We did it in the Christmas [song], ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’, and we’re doing some of that in the new music as well.”
The planned 2026 release stands as a major moment for the Christian rock veterans, signaling continued evolution while staying true to the band’s core identity. The announcement comes as Skillet approaches its 30th anniversary, celebrating a legacy that has left a lasting mark on rock and metal. Their first-ever Christmas single, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” has already proven successful, reaching #1 on Billboard charts. The achievement highlights the band’s enduring popularity and loyal fanbase, even as they push into new sonic territory.
Skillet’s most recent studio album, “Revolution,” arrived in November 2024 and marked the band’s first independent release through Hear It Loud, according to Blabbermouth. The move to independence has provided greater creative freedom, allowing Skillet to fully explore the heavier and more progressive direction Cooper described.
Looking ahead, Skillet is set to perform at the Keith Albee Performing Arts Center in Huntington on February 28, 2026, with additional European tour dates scheduled for spring 2026. These shows are expected to feature material from the upcoming anniversary release, offering fans an early look at the band’s evolving sound.
Cooper closed by underscoring Skillet’s goal of making a bold statement with their 30th-anniversary project, reinforcing that the band remains driven, creative, and forward-looking. With heavier instrumentation, progressive influences, and renewed energy, 2026 is shaping up to be a defining chapter in Skillet’s ongoing journey.
