[3] Skillet went through several lineup changes early in their career, leaving founder John Cooper as the only original member remaining in the band.

[4] Skillet formed in 1996 with two members: John Cooper, former vocalist for Tennessee progressive rock band Seraph, and Ken Steorts, former guitarist for Urgent Cry.

Cooper's wife Korey was enlisted soon after to play keyboards live in order to alleviate his performance duties.

[9] Soon after the release of Invincible in early 2000, Trey McClurkin parted ways with Skillet, and Lori Peters filled the drummer's position.

[9] With little time between touring and recording, Skillet released Alien Youth on August 28, 2001, which was the first album that John Cooper took on production duties.

[11] In January 2008, Skillet announced that their drummer, Lori Peters, was retiring from the band, feeling that "it's time for her to come off of the road and start a new chapter in her life.

[13] On October 21, 2008, Comatose Comes Alive was released; a CD/DVD combo featuring live recordings of the band's May 9, 2008, concert in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

[18] They also released a deluxe version with the extra songs "Dead Inside" and "Would It Matter", along with the original, radio edit of "Monster" that does not have the distorted growl as in the single and in the CD.

[26] On February 14, 2011, Skillet officially announced that longtime lead guitarist Ben Kasica would be leaving the band.

[31] On June 21, 2011, John posted to his Twitter account that the band rehearsed new music for the first time and that they are getting ready for a new album.

They planned to enter the studio at the conclusion of the Winter Jam eastern tour, approximately in May, for a release in late 2012.

[34] In an interview on January 26, 2013, in Beaumont, Texas, John Cooper announced that the new album, Rise, would be coming out in May 2013,[35][36] but was later scheduled for a June 25, 2013, release.

[37][38] In an interview with NoiseCreep, John Cooper stated the first single and music video is scheduled to be released by late April.

[47][48] On February 16, 2015, Skillet announced they were writing material for a new album with recording to begin in June with a potential release in the late half of 2015 or early 2016.

[49] On April 8, 2016, Skillet released a preview of a new song, later revealed to be called "Out of Hell", on their social media pages.

[53] On June 6, it was announced that "Feel Invincible" was the theme song for TBS' E-League, the live video game tournament.

[57] On November 17, 2017, they released a deluxe edition, Unleashed Beyond, containing new material such as "Breaking Free", featuring Lacey Sturm and remixes of "Feel Invincible" and "The Resistance".

[64] In March 2021, John Cooper received backlash concerning comments he made on the 2021 Grammys, particularly the live performance of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion and their song "WAP".

[85] Then Skillet headlined their own Comatose Tour alongside Thousand Foot Krutch and traveled to approximately 30 cities.

On September 26, 2009, Skillet appeared at Awakening Music Festival in Leesburg, Virginia, alongside Jeremy Camp, Kutless, Hawk Nelson, Disciple, Decyfer Down, and others.

[citation needed] The band had a small international tour in January and February 2011 visiting Australia,[97] New Zealand's Parachute Music Festival,[98] and Japan.

[citation needed] In October 2011, the band continued their Awake and Alive tour with Disciple, We as Human, and Manafest.

[citation needed] Skillet headlined the Winter Jam Tour 2012 for the central and eastern parts of the United States.

[107] In August and September, they joined Godsmack, Seether, and Buckcherry in the Rockstar Uproar Festival in twenty one American cities.

[109] Starting January 2, 2015, they co-headlined the Winter Jam Tour 2015 in the central and eastern part of the United States alongside Jeremy Camp.

[111] In July, it was announced that Skillet would be going on a headlining Unleashed Tour with Sick Puppies, Thousand Foot Krutch, and Devour the Day, playing at club-sized venues in 18 cities primarily located along the East Coast of the United States to take place during September and October 2016.

In 2017, Skillet opened for Korn and Stone Sour on the second half of The Serenity of Summer Tour which started in Syracuse, New York on July 19 and finished in Cleveland, Ohio August 2.

[122][123] They performed on the Fourth of July 2023 at the National Cherry Festival[124] in Traverse City Michigan alongside Theory of a Deadman.

The band also embarked on the Day of Destiny Tour in spring 2023 in Europe, featuring Like a Storm and Eva Under Fire.

Skillet was recognized on February 1, 2016, as having recorded the biggest digital single in the history of Christian music since their song "Monster" had garnered over 2.6 million sales.