The wait is almost over for all Skillet fans.  Predicted release of May and maybe now June, Skillet will release their new album titled Rise.  

Coming up on the release of their new record, they received the exciting news that their 2009 album Awake was certified platinum.  Skillet joined Mumford and Sons and Black Keys the only three rock bands to go platinum last year.

Skillet haven't put out an album since 2009 when they release Awake to massive success.  The surprise success of Awake naturally made Skillet even more busy and tour on the record more then originally planned.  Also the touring schedule of headlining Winter Jam 2012 again made them push the new record back from originally a 2012 release to 2013.  

Skillet has been in the studio for months now with producer Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, Daughtry) who also produced their record Awake.  They have kept things tightly under wraps and don't do many interviews, so not much has been known about the record.  

The guys over at Noise Creep (www.noisecreep.com) did get an interview with the singer, John.  Here are a few questions and answers.  

What has the creative process been like on this record you're currently working on?

"Well it's been strenuous. Put it this way, 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."

As far as the specific sound and feel of the album, what can you share?

"I can say this, 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. We've also incorporated a lot of new sounds on the record. For instance, there's a dulcimer, there's a harp, some really natural earth sounds to go along with the super aggressive guitars. Overall the sound is more raw and live, perhaps not as slick as some of our earlier stuff. 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."

Everyone is waiting to see if the record will live up to Awake, but the fans are just ready to hear new songs from Christian's hottest rock band.