Comatose Deluxe Edition

I hate rereleased. I will be reviewing both Comatose and the addition track in one blog. Take that, management.

6/10

Adding symphonic elements like those found in Collide's title track to a hard rock sound, the Comatose theory is great! It also comes free with a Kutless Copycat trick, where about half the CD is in fact, not hard rock! Yay!

I wanna live for love, I wanna live for you and me
Rebirthing
Kicking things off with an intense strings sections, which only gets more intense after the other instrumenets kick in, Rebirthing is one of the album highlights. The song speaks about being reborn in your faith as a Christian, or in life in general.
Tell me when I'm gonna live again, tell me when this fear will end. Tell me when I'm gonna feel inside, tell me when I'm gonna feel alive!

You come to Me with scars on your wrists, you tell Me this will be the last night feeling like this....
The Last Night
Starting with a soft piano intro, the song proves itself to be too heavy for a ballad, but doesn't exactly fall in the same category as the rockers either. Odd, but enjoyable, none-the-less. Here is what I got out of the song: Cooper, who plays God, has a person come to Him in prayer, desperately seeking help, but lacking patience, and wanting to kill himself or herself. God's answer is that He is always there for him or her, and He wants to be everything s/he needs.
This is the last night you'll spend alone! Look Me in the eyes so I know you know I'm everywhere you want Me to be. The last night you'll spend alone, I'll wrap you in My arms and I won't let go. I'm everything you need Me to be.

Starving for your attention, you don't even know my name
Yours to Hold
The album's first ballad, of several, it is one of the better ones. It's...well, not much to say spiritually. It could be taken as being there for a friend.
You're going through so much, don't you know that I could be the one to hold you

Feel Your every heartbeat, feel You on these empty nights. You're the strength of my life.
Better Than Drugs
A song that could have been on Collide. Using softer music and slight voice distortion during the verses, but getting heavy for the choruses, it follows a pattern from Collide. Lyrically, the song compares (contrasts?) God to drugs, saying that there is no need for them while He is in our lives, and that He is greater than anything this world can offer us.
Calm the aches, stop the shakes, You clear my mind!

I hate feeling like this, so tired of trying to fight this. I'm asleep and all I dream of is waking to You!
Comatose
Starting off with a synth reminsicent of Journey's Separate Ways, before introducing guitars signifacantly louder than Journey decided to use (...if only.....), Comatose is the third Highlight (Rebirthing, Better Than Drugs, Comatose). The songs, on the surface, is about living a life without God, and realizing that we Him. And it carries a metaphor on from Better Than Drugs: Comatose....I'll never wake up without an overdose of You! John Cooper also explained the message behind calling the record Comatose. Basically, the world is detiorating every day. Terrorism, war, child abuse, child abduction, violence, riots, drug use, suicide, depression, crime, sexual references are EVERYWHERE, etc. If we don't stop this, if we don't wake up from our comas and see what's going on in this world, then we are going to lose it, and then, when Judgment Day comes, we are just going to lose.
I don't wanna live, I don't wanna breathe, 'less I feel You next to me, You take the pain I feel-Waking up to You never felt so real. I don't wanna sleep, I don't wanna dream, 'cause my dreams don't comfort me the way You make me feel. You take the pain I feel-Waking up to You never felt so real!

It started getting better but it's easy not to fight when I'm not with you.
The Older I Get
Another soft song. Softer than the last night, a little faster than a ballad. I'd call it soft pop-rock, at best. It's okay, but gets old very quickly. The song has a theme similar to Open Wounds, except more peaceful, serene, and hopefuly, showing that John has put his anger and bitterness behind him.
The space between our calm and rage started getting shorter, disappearing slowly day after day

Remember when we'd stay up late and talk all night in a dark room lit by the TV light? Through all the hard times in my life, those nights kept me alive.
Those Nights
A song that is lighter than The Last Night, but still not a ballad. It actually has quite a pop-rock feel to it. Odd for Skillet, but not bad. It's my favorite "non-rocker" on the album. The song talks about being there for a friend...but on the flipside. John narrates about one particularly good friend who he was always with, and helped him through a lot of stuff in his life. Assuming this song is based on Cooper's experiences, one could assume that meant the death of his mother and his dysfunctional relationship with his father. I know I can relate to this song, and actually describes one of my friends really well. I didn't even realize it until I wrote this, either.
Listen to the radio play all night, didn't wanna go home to another fight. Through all the hard times in my life, those nights kept me alive.

I'm falling in the black, slipping through the cracks, falling to the depths, can I ever go back?
Falling Inside the Black
Highlight #4 opens up with some synth, before blasting into full rock mode. This song probably earns the most highly underrated song from Comatose, without a doubt (Older I Get is the most higly OVERrated). The song is about slipping away from God, and begging Him to take us back. The good news is, He will always take us back, as long as we truly want it.
Don't leave me here like this, can't hear me scream from the abyss, and now I wish for you, my desire.

I wish we could be laughing; instead I'm standing here asking "Do we have to end this now? Can we make it last somehow?"
Say Goodbye
A ballad, and my least favorite song on Comatose. The lyrics speak for themselves, and while relatable, the music is, for me (and I am the one writing the review), enough to make the song not worthwhile.
And if it's over it hurts, but I'm giving you my word: I hope you're always happy like we were.

Despite the lies that you're making, your love is mine for the taking. My love is just waiting to turn your tears to roses.
Whispers in the Dark
The last highlight on the standard edition, it is my favorite from Comatose, and the best song they perform live from the Comatose album, followed by Better Than Drugs. Heavy, with a more synth-keyboard feel than straight-up synth, the music is, well, rock-solid. As is the message. Addressed to us from God, the song basically says that even when we feel the most low, God is there with us, and wants to help and guide us. If only we would learn to let him...
No! You'll never be alone! When darkness comes I'll light the night with stars, hear my whispers in the dark. No! You'll never alone! When darkness comes you know I'm never far, hear my whispers in the dark.

We want it, we want, we want a reason to live.....We need it, we need, we need more than this
Looking For Angels
...is not a song. By any sense of the word. The only part that has any melody are the choruses, and the lines above during the verses, and even then it's more of a pop-rock feel than a real rock song. The words are SPOKEN. I don't know about you, but when I listen to music, I want to hear MUSIC. The song doesn't even feature John's real speaking voice! The ONLY redeeming quality of the song is last verse, where John actually stops using a monotone and speaks with passion in his voice! Maybe if the entire "song" were like that, I'd like it more. As it is, it's my third-least-favorite on Comatose.
I became a savior to some kids I'll never meet, sent a check in the mail to buy them something to eat. What will you do to make a difference, to make a change? What will you do to help someone along the way? Just a touch, a smile as you turn the other cheek. Pray for your enemies, humble yourself, love's staring back at me. In the midst of the most painful of faces, angels show up in the strangest of places.

Don't you know the cost of your betrayal? You're the one that's lost, you're gonna fail!
Live Free or Let Me Die
The only reason to buy Comatose Deluxe Edition is this song. It is an awesome song, very reminiscent of Whispers in the Dark, but different enough to be it's own. It's fast paced, and heavy, but keeps the gothic/synth element to it. It actually reminds me of Pain's "Same Old Song" in an abstract way. The lyrics are encouraging, refusing those who would want to bring us down.
You can't take away my strength, fix these broken veins, there's nothing left to fight, live free or let me die. You can't take away my pride, I won't be denied, there's nothing left to fight, live free or let me die! Do you remember how you became who you are now? Do you remember how it felt to breathe without gasping with all of you might?

I am not going to review the acoustic tracks. Reviews of the orginals are included, and if you like acoustics, they are well done. If you don't, they are still well done, you just won't like them. I still suggest getting the deluxe, because Live Free or Let Me Die is worth it.