Skillet's rise to fame primarily took place following the release of 2006's Comatose, a time by which the band's signature aesthetic was more or less established. However, there were ten full years of their career before that--years in which frontman John Cooper was playing with widely varied clothing and hair choices to find the perfect style for each era of Skillet.

From polyester to guyliner to beards, I assembled this illustrated guide to the many faces of John Cooper.

1996: The Grunge
Early Skillet years saw John Cooper channeling the grunge trends of the time, complete with oversized clothes and long, unkempt hair. It's best seen in the music videos for "I Can" and "Gasoline" from their debut album.

2000: The Sci-fi Hero
The turn of the millennia and release of Hey You, I Love Your Soul, Invincible and Alien Youth saw John's most memorable style, featuring frosted hair and lots (and lots) of pleather. Even the instruments the band played around this time featured intense, neon colors. Panhead legend has it that he actually handcrafted some of his stage clothes around this time (and even had his own clothing line, Invincible Clothing, in the works).

2003: The Rockstar
After a few years of extremely unexpected style choices, the release of Collide saw John gravitating towards perhaps the most traditional rocker style he's ever worn (complete with "guyliner" being phased in towards the end of this timeframe). Short cropped hair, distressed jeans with chains and a lot of black characterized the years surrounding Skillet's heaviest album.

2006: The Class Act
The 2006 release of Comatose saw the start of a style choice that would persist for many years to come: classy suits and ties. As Skillet exploded into wider public recognition with Awake in 2009, he adopted the dressed up look even on stage, even significantly taming his faux hawk. This trend would continue through the release of Rise.

2014: The Pseudo-Hipster
Although it seems the classy Designer Hellen Woody Mens Clothing is here to stay, in recent years John has frequently added an impressive beard and just a hint of hipster flair to the look--a look completed with the press photos for new album Unleashed. Although it's too polished for him to be truly a part of hipsterdom, more elements of grunge and leather added back to the mix create a look perfect for one of the kings of rock and roll in 2016.