Christian Rock's Kutless is a Kut Above the Rest

Everyone likes music and has different tastes sometimes depending on where they live or what heir values are. Christian Rock is a genre that has many musicians that a lot of people haven't gotten the chance to hear about or hear their music. Skillet is one of the bands that have crossed the barrier into mainstream music with their song "Whispers In The Dark," but they aren't the only ones who have made an impact on the Christian world as well as the secular market. Kutless has been making a name for themselves since 2000. The original name was Call Box which they changed to Kutless before releasing their first three track album which was soon followed up with their self-titled full length album in 2002.

The name Kutless actually comes from one specific scripture from Romans 6:2 which states For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." The band members have said that because of Christ dying on the cross "He took our cuts for us...leaving us Kutless." The founding band members were Ryan Shrout on guitar, Jon-Micah Sumrall as vocals, and James Mead on guitar, Kyle Mitchell on drums and Nathan "Stu" Stuart. But like all good bands they went through members leaving and others joining which brings the band to Nick De Partee on guitar taking the place of Ryan Stout, Jeffery Gilbert on drums, and Dave Luetkenhoelter on the bass. With the addition of Gilbert and Luetkenhoelter gives the band a new, different sound than they had before.

Their second single from their self-titled album holds the record for longest charting song in the history or R7B Top 40 charts. After releasing Sea of Faces which is their second album the band started their first headlining tour, they were also scheduled to play at the Summer Olympics in 2004 in Greece, but because of the airline cancelling their flight, was unable to perform. Their next album was a worship album called Strong Tower. That launched another tour in 2005, and then later that year they began recording thheir fourth album Hearts of The Innocent. The band cross mainstream barriers when the March 28, 2006 episode of scrubs played a portion of the bands "All Of The Words" during the final scene. Their video for "Shut Me Out" was placed on an exclusive give-a-way. People who bought the XBOX game The Apprentice would recieve a copy of the video. To top it off their song "The Feeling" is featured on the video gmae Rock Band 2 as a extra song that can be downloaded.

These things are what sky-rocked the band into stardom. Not many Christian rock bands get the recognition that Kutless has had over the years. They have been compared to other Christian bands as Pillar, Skillet, Unhindered, and secular bands as Nickleback, and Switchfoot. There is more to this band than meets the eye. They are also known to play benefit concerts for cancer victims, abused women and children, and more. When you listen to a Kutless song, you will not mistake it for another band. Sumerall does not hold back when it comes to his vocals. Some songs make you just want to rock out in the car while others make you want to sit back and think about the lyrics.

Kutless is one of Christian rock's top bands. They have shown their likeablity numerous times and popularity with being placed on the special downloads of Rock Band 2. In this day and age, being included in a game like that gives a band a certain status among musicians and music lovers. It is so hard to find a Christian rock band that stays true to what they believe and what the Bible teaches, but Kutless is one of those bands that holds their beliefs close to their hearts to go as far to have incredible meaning behind their names. These Portland Oregan natives make Christian rock something everyone would want to listen to whether you are Christian or not. If you are a music lover, you need to have at least one maybe two Kutless albums among your collection, I know they are in mine.