The fiery Christian-rock foursome Skillet (”fiery” … that’s called a pun, sorry) are about to give their fans something they’ve never heard before.
It will be the first live project for Skillet in its 12-year history, a concert CD/DVD combo called “Comatose Comes Alive” that’s due out Tuesday, Oct. 21.
But it won’t just be a copy of the massive 2006 “Comatose” CD done before fans. John and Korey Cooper and their mates are including material from their popular 2003 release “Collide,” and more.
Anyone who remembers Skillet from this past spring’s show at Lancaster Mennonite, their performance at Creation and other times they’ve played knows the CD will be a gooder.
The new live CD includes the full live concert audio plus six enhanced acoustic versions and bonus tracks, while the state-of-the-art DVD includes the full live concert plus four music videos and a photo gallery of live shots.
To catch a clip of the DVD, go to www.inorecords.com/comatoseLive/Skillet-Comatose_live.mov.
Also in harder-rock Christian music news, it was just announced this wek that Michael “Kalel” Wittig, longtime bassist for Dove Award-winning Pillar, has announced he will leave the group to pursue other opportunities, and also spend more time with his family.
For one thing, he’s created a band called Stars Go Dim with former Pillar drummer Lester Estelle, and it is releasing its debut CD, also on Oct. 21.
Wittig first informed fans of his departure from Pillar late last month on Facebook and MySpace.
“It’s been an amazing 10 years of my life that I will never forget,” he said.
“There are many reasons why, but it is just the right time.”
He also plans to focus his energies on JMA Music, a management/marketing/consulting company he developed with partner Joey Avalos in 2007.
It’s a loss for Pillar, to be sure, but it’s good to see a fellow bass player moving on from the good-and-known to the possibly-better-but-still-unknown.