Skillet to headline tour, January 2005

LOS ANGELES (Lava Records) - After spending the year touring on the See Spot Rock Tour and with mainstream acts including Saliva, Three Days Grace, Shinedown and Finger Eleven, Skillet has announced dates (see below) for their 2005 'Collide Tour,' which they will headline and will hit 30+ U.S. cities and feature Seventh Day Slumber and Kids In the Way.

'Skillet has been working very hard this year to not only reach new fans when they've toured with acts like Saliva, but also their very loyal fan base through See Spot Rock and the summer festivals,' commented Zach Kelm, Skillet's manager. 'With 'The Collide Tour' we are able to really combine the two, as we're working with local promoters in conjunction with both Christian radio and Rock radio to really seed the markets. The band is very excited to be on their own tour and play what they're known for, a full, loud and rockin' set.'

Skillet's latest single, and new addition to the band's best-selling COLLIDE disc, "Open Wounds," was released to mainstream rock radio, and was the second most added single at Active Rock it's first week out, with markets like KUPD--Phoenix, WIIL--Chicago, and WRIF-Detroit immediately adding the song to their playlists. The song also climbed the Christian Rock charts, peaking at No. 2 following the No.1 success of 'Savior' No. 2 with 'My Obsession.'

Skillet's first love song ballad, 'A Little More,' has also been climbing the CHR charts, currently moving up from No. 17 to 15 on CRWs CHR chart and up from No.23 to No.18 on R&R's CHR chart.

Skillet has released a total of five albums, which have sold upwards of 600,000 units in the U.S., with Collide being their best-selling project to date. The band, fronted by the husband and wife team of John Cooper (vocals/bass) and Korey Cooper (guitar/keyboard), combine elements of rock, metal and goth with pulsating, hook-filled melodies. Rounding out the band are 20-year-old guitarist Ben Kasica and powerhouse drummer Lori Peters.
Together, Skillet has performed over 200 live dates in the last year alone in front of 500,000 people.