Skillet w/ Storm Orchestra @ O2 Academy Brixton, London – 21/04/26
Awake & Alive in Brixton: Skillet unleash a Monster of a show
Almost fifteen years ago, I walked into my brother’s room playing a WWE game with a very catchy rock song in the background. It has been two decades after its release and nearly three decades since the band formed; the song was “Hero” and the band is called Skillet. Sitting in the intersection between hard rock, arena spectacle and message-driven songwriting, Skillet do not need gimmick to engage their audience; they only need hooks, choruses and a few wrestlers entering the ring using their epic songs. Having them at the O2 Academy Brixton feels like a spring treat, because we were promised a hell of a show.
Before the first note of their own songs, support band Storm Orchestra took the stage just after 8pm. By comparison, the band is operating in the earlier stages of their career trajectory, yet they have been steadily building a reputation for blending alternative rock with cinematic flair and drama. The Paris-based trio was the perfect opener; taking the stage with theatricality and full force, their setlist evolved from slow builds to full on choruses that had the crowd swinging since the second song. The audience’s observational mode did not last long, and engagement increased rapidly as the set progressed. Personal favourites would include “Drummer” (dedicated to all the drummers in the crowd apparently), “Superplayer” and “Suspect”. Despite the short set, Storm Orchestra achieved the primary objective of any support act: convert passive listeners into active participants. May we say they took the venue by a storm?
And now on to the main event. Skillet were formed in the mid-90s and are led by John Cooper. The band is unique in that it has evolved from grunge-adjacent into one of the most commercially successful rock bands of their era. Albums like Comatose and Awake don’t just perform well, but they defined a sound that merges radio accessibility and arena-scale intensity by having recognisable melodies, dual male/female vocals and the epicness of a wrestling video game. Naturally, when Skillet took the stage, the reaction was immediate.
Their set opened with high-impact material and full momentum. Tracks like “Feel Invincible” and “Rise” landed like loud anthems, whilst “Awake & Alive” was met with full crowd participation. Similarly, “Hero”, “Psycho in my Head”, “Comatose” and “Monster” triggered the night’s loudest responses that could be heard outside of the Academy due to crowd participation. The setlist was also peppered with newer material as well as older anthems, including “Never Surrender”, “Not Gonna Die” and encore “Persistance”. It was a ruthlessly efficient sequence of songs with legacy hits weaving through newer material in a way that maintained the energy through the night. The band’s catalogue was also complemented by a spectacle of a live performance, with CO2 jets making John look like a superhero onstage, platforms elevating the band high above the crowd and endless energy that was contagious. The synchronised visuals elevated the performance making it feel like a full-scale arena show. It just proves that Skillet are a band that know exactly how to perfectly deliver a show.
Finally, Brixton’s crowd required very little encouragement. From singing “Numb” in unison before the concert even started, participation levels remained high through the whole set. It was not as chaotic as a metal crowd, but the audience was still fully focused and engaged.
Given the band’s approach and visuals, I didn’t expect anything less.
