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Skillet frontman John Cooper opens up about depression, betrayal and the fans Skillet lost over COVID.
On the Rock Feed Podcast, John Cooper talks about Skillet's new EP After the Storm, out October 9, 2026, the real meaning behind Monster, finally seeing a counselor, why Skillet is bigger in Europe than America, touring with Nickelback and Creed, Joe Rogan, and every track from Scream to Come and Find Me.
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0:00 Cold open
0:34 John Cooper on After the Storm
2:01 Depression, his mom and "the fuse"
4:05 Church turmoil and betrayal
7:07 "I feel like You let me down"
10:39 Praying every hour
12:40 Why he finally saw a counselor
18:31 22 million records, not a household name
21:59 Disturbed, COVID and free speech
26:14 Becoming a frontman
28:45 Why a Skillet show is a feeling
29:37 Chester Bennington's lyric secret
34:57 The pyro secret he kept from Jen
36:14 Being called hateful
40:50 Why Skillet fans are so loyal
45:39 How Creed and Nickelback opened Europe
50:58 Bigger in Europe than America
52:00 Individual freedom and surveillance
56:46 Losing up to 15% of fans in 2020
58:38 Joe Rogan and the rise of faith
1:01:10 How he handles the hate
1:05:54 After the Storm track by track: Scream
1:09:09 Lift Me Up
1:10:18 Grave Stomper
1:11:22 After the Storm (the double-wide)
1:13:10 Heaven Help Us
1:16:22 Come and Find Me and David Cowell
1:19:19 Going independent