Skillet’s Version Of Christmas Song Sparks Backlash
Apparently, it’s Advent season, which means we’re all supposed to be sipping cider, hanging twinkle lights, and pretending we don’t secretly love the chaos that erupts online over—of all things—Christmas music. Enter: Skillet.
Yes, that Skillet. The Christian metal band that’s been doing loud, theologically sound rock anthems for nearly three decades dropped their version of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel," and—surprise!—some folks are acting like they just put a Slipknot remix on the communion playlist.
O COME, O COME EMMANUEL OUT NOW. pic.twitter.com/9gEDsfW5B9
— Skillet (@skilletmusic) November 15, 2025
Within minutes of the release, the comments began piling up like ugly Christmas sweaters at a church swap meet. Outrage. Disbelief. A few pearl-clutching accusations of blasphemy. Because apparently, nothing celebrates the coming of the Messiah quite like fighting over guitar distortion levels in a Facebook comment thread.
Let’s start with the basics: Skillet has always been loud. Their fans know this. Their critics definitely know this. They’ve been a Christian hard rock band since 1996, which means this genre-bending, amp-rattling rendition of a sacred hymn? Not a left turn. More like exactly what they’ve always done—just with a Christmas tree in the background.
Protestants will call this worship?!? Then, say we dishonor Jesus by loving & honoring his mother. Say what!!
— Jennifer (@J6655391045251) November 16, 2025
Still, the audacity! To take a centuries-old Advent hymn and make it interesting! Imagine thinking a band can “ruin” a hymn that has survived medieval Europe, the Reformation, the King James Bible, four global empires, and at least two Glee covers. If your theology gets unraveled by a guitar solo, it may not be as rock-solid as you thought.
And let’s not forget the biblical principle at the heart of all this noise: make a joyful one. God didn’t give us Psalm 150 just to tell us what not to use in worship. Trumpets. Strings. Cymbals. Loud clanging. It’s in there. The whole passage is basically an ancient soundboard.
Worship is for God and His glory. This doesn't glorify God. It has nothing to do with taste , worship should have zero to do with your taste. This is chaotic God is not a God of chaos.
— DaughterofYeshua (@SealeMiche99851) November 15, 2025
Some listeners did, thankfully, get the point. Christian influencers and music fans alike jumped in to defend the band, calling the track “fantastic,” “intensely reverent,” and “emotionally spot-on.” One post in particular nailed it: the song starts tenderly, carrying the mournful, haunting tone of longing for a Messiah—and then builds. The heaviness reflects the intensity of our current moment, our aching for Christ’s return in a world spiraling further from sanity.
And then there’s the Jen Ledger effect—her voice has always had a haunting, ethereal quality that cuts straight through you, and in this version? She practically soars. It’s not an interruption of the original spirit of the hymn. It’s a reinterpretation through the lens of today’s darkness. A declaration that the cry of “Emmanuel, ransom captive Israel” still rings out in modern chaos.