Kutless

Item: Kutless
Author: Trae Cadenhead

(2002)

Reviewed by Trae Cadenhead

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Label Tooth & Nail RecordsThe Phantom Tollbooth2002

alternative metal hard rock post-grunge

Five years ago I heard Creed in Wal-Mart and thought, "wow, it would be awesome if a Christian band could sound like that." Fast forward five years to a time when virtually every rock band tries to sound like Creed and you will find Kutless. The debut from Kutless is a good reminder of what is wrong with the Christian music industry. It takes a style of music that is already being worn into the ground in the mainstream and tries to Christianize it. This album is designed for fans of Creed, Nickelback, Staind, Puddle of Mudd, etc. Yet, I wonder if fans of those bands won't just take the album as an insult.

It's hard to judge the intent of a band. At twenty years of age, the members of Kutless probably have no hidden motive in the way they blatantly rip off popular mainstream bands. That's the kind of music they listen to and want to make. Undoubtedly, Kutless will be a hit in youth groups and celebrated for the fact that they provide a Christian alternative to bands in a corrupt secular industry. Yet with the Christian music industry churning out copycats like this, who is to say that it is not corrupt as well?

The album begins like a Nickelback radio hit would--until the lyrics are heard. "And I realize that it's you I seek you, yes I seek you. And I realize that it's true I need you, yes I need you." Believe it or not, this is actually a lyrical highlight. The lyrics are indeed Christian, but very shallow. There is really no reason that Christian music should dumb an audience down. Yet here we find Kutless singing in their best Scott Stapp-sounding voice "No walking away. No walking away. No walking away... yeah no walking away." Someone should encourage these guys to write choruses with more than three words.

Musically, the album is mostly what you would expect given the bands that Kutless is copying. On "Pride Away" there is a welcome break with a rap interlude, but it comes off as way too forced and really doesn't fit the song anyway. The album's truly worst moment comes on "Tonight," which is basically Creed's "What If" with different words.

All said and done, there are only two surprising things about this album. The first is that Tooth and Nail signed a band like this who would probably fit much better with ForeFront. The other surprise is that the highly respected Aaron Sprinkle would produce this album. His involvement is definitely a disappointment. Perhaps instead of opting for the traditional self-titled debut Kutless should have called their first album "Attack of the Clones"--it would certainly be a fitting title.

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