Music has an uncanny ability to strip away the externals and drive straight to matters of the heart, unveiling both the darkest and most hopeful parts of the human soul. In Skillet's last several albums in particular, they have crafted introspective masterpieces in both ballad and hard rocker form, songs exploring the soul's geography in both grief and redemption.

As they release brand new album Unleashed, we've been exploring the multi-faceted musical phenomenon that is the Skillet sound. You read about their face-melting hard rock tracks last week. Now, explore the soul-searching, heart-baring side of Skillet with these five songs.

"Imperfection"
Where the first several Skillet albums had been largely worship-focused, Collide first introduced us to a darker, moodier Skillet. This album still stood in unflinching dedication to the truth of who God is, but it also began to emphasize how we often still feel. "Imperfection" is one of the most purely introspective songs in their discography, featuring the heart-rending chorus "you fall to your knees, you beg, you plead / can I be somebody else for all the times I hate myself?" But this song too holds hope with the poignant bridge "you're worth so much that heaven would touch the face of humankind for you."

"The Last Night"
Even though this song is largely written from God's perspective (or His heart as expressed by a friend), it's still a song that drives straight to matters of the heart. "The Last Night," featured on Skillet's Comatose, would catalyze the band's rise to the status of a beacon of hope for those struggling with depression, self-injury and suicide. The song was one of the first in Christian music to frankly address the subjects, starting with the chilling lines "you come to me with scars on your wrist, you tell me this will be the last night feeling like this." The declarations of the chorus would become one of the most powerful in Christian rock history as it met thousands of fans exactly where they were: "this is 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." 

"Never Surrender"
John Cooper has shared that this powerful ballad from record-breaking album Awake was written after an encounter with a teenage girl about to enter treatment for an eating disorder. The song captures the desperate plea "do you know what it's like when you're scared to see yourself?" Here Skillet captured perhaps better than ever before the tension between knowing you want to get better yet not knowing how to get there yet. The song pleads "Make me feel better, I wanna feel better / Stay with me here now and never surrender."

"Everything Goes Black"
One of the most underrated songs on Skillet's concept-focused Rise is also one of the most vulnerable. "Everything Goes Black" was featured on the album's deluxe edition, a mellow duet between John Cooper and Jen Ledger's contrasting vocals. The song begins by capturing a depressed state of mind, the lyrics speaking of "Chasing these shadows around this darkened room / I've laid here so long I don't even want to move." As the ballad builds, it crescendos to the desperate plea "Give something to believe in, I still believe in you / But if you're never here and I'm left all alone, tell me what am I supposed to do?"

"Out of Hell"
This blazing track from brand new album Unleashed features searing guitar riffs and perhaps the darkest lyrics on the project. The song creates the impression of being sung from life's rock bottom, John's vocals rasping out the confession "I'm suffocating waiting for you, because the angels don't fly down here / I need you because no one else can get me out of hell." The song beautifully captures the feelings of a soul mired in despair, reaching for the only true Rescuer.

What are your favorite Skillet introspective songs?