Skillet "Awake"

      This record starts with awesome one two punch of "Hero" and "Monster." One of which is how he needs a hero to save him just in time with a great intro and instrumentals throughout (and the great interplay between husband, John, and wife, Korey Cooper) before he turns into a "Monster." It basocally speaks of his anxiety and that there is another side to him: "My secret side I keep hid under lock and key/I keep it caged but I can't control it/'Cause if I let him out he'll tear me up, break me down/Why won't somebody come and save me from this, make it end?/I feel it deep within, it's just beneath the skin/I must confess that I feel like a monster/I hate what I've become, the nightmare's just begun." The next song,"Don't Wake Me" is okay, but the next track is one of the best songs on this record, almost like this album's "Whispers in the Dark."  The vocal interplay is great, the instrumentals are great, and it almost makes you feel "Awake and Alive." Next track is a song about not putting off something tommorrow that can be done today because it could be "One Day Too Late". So no one is reading this blog, I'm sorry I must say this, but "It's Not me, It's You" which has Cooper talking about a toxic relationship where the blame is always put on him and the offender always tries to set him up to fail, kinda cheeky and different for them. Hope you read this now or you may think you "Should've When You Could've" after I'm famous; I'm just kidding, that will never happen (being famous or you wishing you have read this or gotten to know me). Basically it has a similiar message to that of "One Day Too Late."  If you "Believe" when I said I was wrong..then maybe you can listen to this song. "Forgiven" is a sentimental song that how someone can forgive someone  for their mistakes. "Sometimes" it's hard to have one song that does not sound like another on the same album, and this one sounds kind of like "It's Not Me, It's You," but the lyrics talk about how sometimes one does not want to change for someone else, even if they will change for the better. He mentions how sometimes he doesn't try to make (Korey) happy or does not want to be put back together, and how it would be hard to believe to find someone as mad and p*ssed as him ; broadcasting his flaws to the world? Great solo and lyrics are nice (earnest and heartfelt) and it has this nice ending."Never Surrender" is an inspirational tune telling you to keep on trying and to never give up. "Lucy" is a song about someone real or...He answered this question but did not answer it fully or iIforgot, but it is a nice song too. "Would It Matter" is another great song, and Bonuus! it is one, but it should have been on the record. It is existential, wondering if it mattered if he tried one more time or if he died the next day if he would be missed by anybody, and one that hits home with me for reasons only I need to know. Last bonus track is basically "Monster" with a different title, no really. IfIHadToChoose,Only,7TracksTheyWouldBe: Hero, Monster, Awake and Alive, Forgiven, It's Not Me, It's You, Sometimes, Would It Matter? P.S. I know..."Why didn't you just pick one of those if they sounded the same?" Meanings are different and so is their effect.