Terrify The Dark

Album: Victorious (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Skillet frontman John Cooper based the lyrics of this pop-based ballad on one of his favorite scriptures, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:5). The message behind the track is because Jesus is the light of the world, Christians don't live in the dark anymore. Cooper commented to New Release Today:

    "That's incredible news, isn't it? He's taken us from the kingdom of darkness into His glorious light. I think the depth of that scripture and understanding what it means is so good because of how wonderful His light is. This is why the song's message is so powerful. I think it's a really encouraging song."
  • Many of the tracks on Victorious are fight songs where Cooper tells the listener that though life is hard, with God's help we can make it through our trials. He explained how this song and John 1:5 illustrates this.

    "As you go deeper and deeper with God, the revelation of that verse expands. Something I've really liked about it, and it does tie-in with the rest of the record, is how sometimes we know we're in a spiritual battle and, even though it feels tough for us, it's not a tough battle for God."
  • Skillet sent "Terrify The Dark" to Christian adult contemporary radio stations on August 7, 2020. The song was a good one for the troubled times. "We are living in a dark, chaotic time," Cooper said. "People are angry. People are scared. There's violence. There's racism. People are screaming at each other. People just don't know what to do. It's awesome to know that with all of these powerful forces of darkness that they all still have to answer to the greatness of one name – the name of Jesus Christ. His word is true. He is always faithful. He is always with us. We don't have to be afraid! I hope this song encourages you, because we're living through a pretty difficult time right now."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Paul Williams

Paul WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

He's a singer and an actor, but as a songwriter Paul helped make Kermit a cultured frog, turned a bank commercial into a huge hit and made love both "exciting and new" and "soft as an easy chair."

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn YankeesSongwriter Interviews

Revisit the awesome glory of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees: cheesily-acted videos, catchy guitar licks, long hair, and lyrics that are just plain relatable.

Glen Ballard

Glen BallardSongwriter Interviews

Glen Ballard talks about co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill album, and his work with Dave Matthews, Aerosmith and Annie Lennox.

Randy Newman

Randy NewmanSongwriting Legends

Newman makes it look easy these days, but in this 1974 interview, he reveals the paranoia and pressures that made him yearn for his old 9-5 job.

They Might Be Giants

They Might Be GiantsSongwriter Interviews

Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)Songwriter Interviews

Mike Rutherford talks about the "Silent Running" storyline and "Land Of Confusion" in the age of Trump.