Different heat levels

Hard-rocking CCM band Skillet can adjust the temp depending on the type of audience

Being a wolf in sheep’s clothing and a sheep in wolf’s clothing aren’t mutually exclusive for John Cooper, who for two decades has watched his Wisconsinbased band, Skillet, meticulously navigate an existence in both the contemporaryChristian-music and hardrock worlds.

Proving this point: In a span of a little more than a month, the platinum-selling outfit will have opened for the decidedly secular band Korn in August at Blossom Music Center, as well as appeared at the annual CCMbased PointFest, taking place Sept. 16 at Cedar Point in Sandusky.

For some, it’s a duplicitous existence, but that’s not how Cooper sees it.

“To be honest, I know this sounds like a non-answer, but I feel at home in both worlds because I love both worlds,” said Cooper, calling from outside Denver. “I’ve been in Christian music for 20 years. I was raised on Christian music, so it’s very special to me. I love the people.

“But at the same time, I grew up on rock ’n’ roll, as well, and, you know, I love those fans. A lot of the times my songs are spiritual because I’m passionate about my faith. Sometimes I think about love or heartbreak, which might be through my worldview, which is Christian, but they’re not always necessarily religious songs. It’s hard to pin us down to who we exactly are, but I think that’s probably helped us to have a lot of fans in different worlds, which is really cool.”

Despite the fact today’s musical audiences are seemingly more accepting of other genres than in the past, odds are when it comes to content the average hard-rock listener and CCM fan are seeking different things.

That’s why there’s a good chance Korn’s alternativemetal audience has very little knowledge of, say, Casting Crowns and Lauren Daigle — two artists appearing with Skillet at PointFest — and vice-versa.

Still, despite Skillet’s CCM bonafides, the outfit has gained credibility in the hard-rock world. For example, for the group’s latest album, 2016’s “Unleashed,” Skillet worked with co-producer Kevin Churko, whose credits include projects with Five Finger Death Punch, Ozzy Osbourne and Disturbed.

Nowhere is Skillet’s double existence more evident than on the concert stage. You’d better believe the setlist and performance style is different regarding the makeup of the audience.

“Whatever tour you do, you kind of appropriately choose your songs, and that’s not necessarily due to Christian versus mainstream,” Cooper said. “Like, at PointFest — more of a family-type of event — you’re going to have lots of different kinds of people there as opposed to a clubrock show.

“So it depends. On the

“Whatever tour you do, you kind of appropriately choose your songs, and that’s not necessarily due to Christian versus mainstream.” — John Cooper, member of Skillet

Korn tour, not because of the mainstream thing, but because they’re such a heavy band, yeah, we’d come out and play pretty much all heavy, hard-hitting rock. We wouldn’t play the crossover stuff, pop stuff.”

Regarding the band’s quick return to the Buckeye State, Cooper said he’s excited about not only playing PointFest for the third time but also visiting Cedar Point.

“I’ve ridden the rides there, they have some amazing roller coasters,” Cooper said. “I remember Top Thrill Dragster, that was pretty awesome.”

The frontman admitted going from 0 to 120 mph in four second was truly a test of faith.

“Yeah, you have to make sure you’re all settled up with the Lord,” he laughed.

SUBMITTED Skillet’s most recent album is 2016s “Unleashed.”