Kutless – To Know That You’re Alive
Category: Music
Kutless – To Know That You’re Alive
BEC Recordings/EMD
Rock/Hard Rock/Nu-Metal
Reviewed October, 2008
To my mind Kutless have always been a band that has struggled to find it’s true identity; moreover, what music genre they fit into. While some of their songs can be considered hard rock, many of their songs fall into the pop-rock category.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Kutless. Many of their songs go well on a compilation, but after listening to an entire CD’s worth of their offerings I am usually a little bored. The problem is not their songwriting abilities or lyrics, it’s that their songs have the tendency to get a little samey. I have always thought it would be nice for them to mix it up a little and experiment musically.
Well, I am please to say that on their latest CD, To Know That You’re Alive, they have done just that. Breaking away from the typical Kutless sound they plunge headfirst into a heady mix of Nu-Metal and power ballads. It’s still Kutless, but a more mature, seasoned, and heavy sounding Kutless.
There are plenty of string arrangements throughout, reminiscent of the latest Skillet and TFK releases, and singer Jon Micah Sumrall pushes his voice to new levels of emotion and passion; I have always believed him to be someone who actually puts weight being the Christ-centered lyrics he sings.
I cannot fault any song on this CD, I enjoyed every one. Sure there are some weak points but not whole songs. Some of the musical intro’s are very inspired and there is some amazing guitar work care of new guitarist Nick DePartee. As a whole the band feels a lot tighter musically and this shows on tracks like Sleeping City and Dying to Become.
I still think the best is yet to come. I would love to see Kutless experimenting more musically, many even venturing into the heavier, darker musical realms of bands like Demon Hunter. With that said this CD is one step closer to Kutless realizing their full potential as a band.
At least I didn’t get bored with this CD.
Christian St John M.Div, BChM, ACS
Image sourced from Amazon.com
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