Skillet singer John Cooper has taken a shot at Rage Against the Machine calling the influential hard rock/rap group “government rock.” Cooper, who has opposed vaccinations, disagrees with Rage Against the Machine requiring vaccine proof to attend the band’s upcoming reunion shows.
Cooper made the comment during an interview with Apologia Radio.
“In general, I think, I’m a fairly gracious person, or I try to be, where it’s, like, I really don’t care, Luke, if you get the vaccine or not,” Cooper said. “And I don’t know if you care if I get it. It doesn’t matter to me. There’s certain things that you can make a choice. But there’s been this collective mind… I mean, people going crazy. I fully expect half the country to be eating grass.
“What’s really weird to me is that I’ve been speaking out about my faith in Christ for a long, long time in the mainstream world. Now, let’s be honest — not everybody in the mainstream world is nuts about that. They don’t necessarily love hearing about Jesus, but they have always put up with me — some have supported me even. But I’ll tell you what: the most kickback I have ever received — ever — for my faith has been on my stance on vaccine mandates and mask mandates. It is as if I just — like the unforgivable sin.
“I mean, you’ve got Rage Against the Machine telling people that if they don’t get a vaccine… Rage Against the Machine has become the machine. It’s crazy. I’m, like, wait a minute — I’m the revolutionary here? I’m the revolutionary and Rage Against the Machine is just ‘government rock’ now.”
Skillet singer John Cooper
“I said to my wife, I said the amazing thing that it shows me is that it wasn’t the gospel quote, it wasn’t the gospel of Christ that made them really, really angry — meaning, ‘Jesus is the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the father unless they come through him.’ A lot of people didn’t love that message, but they can deal with it. But they will not deal with you speaking out against the state. They will not deal with it. And what you’re really witnessing is an actual you’ve spoken against their God. You did not bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s idol of gold. And it is the one thing you’re not allowed to do. It’s just been really amazing to me.
“So a lot the bands, they just don’t know what to do. And when I say ‘they,’ I mean we’re in there, too. We just don’t know what to do, because you’re in an entertainment industry that’s largely driven by social media and media at large. And you’re not allowed to speak anything against… I mean, you’ve got Rage Against the Machine telling people that if they don’t get a vaccine… Rage Against the Machine has become the machine. It’s crazy. I’m, like, wait a minute — I’m the revolutionary here? I’m the revolutionary and Rage Against the Machine is just ‘government rock’ now. My older brother made up the term ‘government rock,’ which I find pretty awesome. I think it’s pretty great — it’s a great way to scoff at someone.”
Skillet’s new single, “Surviving The Game,” is out now. Taken from the band’s forthcoming album, “Dominion,” (coming Jan. 22 via Atlantic Records), Cooper described the song as “a defiant song about not giving in to the fear that the world is and has been experiencing. This song brings a feeling of survival; you have to do what you need to do in order to get your life back; a defiance against fear and the things that want to hold you down. For so many, that’s depression, isolation, loneliness, suicidal thoughts, etc. This song is about becoming the person you are meant be and coming out on the other side of all the madness.”
“‘Dominion is about the celebration of freedom, a liberation from fear — to be who we want to be, say what we want to say, believe what we want to believe. In some ways, it’s a reminder of the God-given rights that we were born with.”
Rage Against the Machine’s tour dates can be viewed here.
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