No one typifies the fine line between popularity and heartfelt worship music as much as popular grunge-pop group Kutless. As many others who have waded in the waters of the worship movement—or fad, depending on your point of view—Kutless says its recent album, Strong Tower (BEC), is simply a return to its roots. Critics panned the CD for lack of creativity; we gave it 1 star, calling it dull and predictable." Vocalist Jon Micah Sumrall recently talked with us about what makes a good worship album, his response to the critics and skeptics, and why they really made their latest offering.

Why make a worship album? Everybody's making them nowadays.

Jon Micah Sumrall: To us it's like going back to our roots. We started out in church doing music together. We basically made a record to give back to our fans for supporting us. It's songs we've been singing for a while. This is what we sing back in our church back home. It's something we wanted to share with everybody.

Were your beginnings just like on this record? Was the decibel level all that high?

Sumrall: We tried to make it upbeat. Perhaps [in the old days] it was a bit more conservative than what we do right now, a little mellower. We've grown as musicians and before it was a bit hard to rock out.

But you're known for your original, grunge-type alternative material. So why regress to songs other people have written? Isn't that a step back?

Sumrall: That's a tricky question. I know there have been a lot of skeptics on this record. People who ask, "Why is Kutless doing a worship record?" Again, the whole reason we did this record is we really want people to see our roots a little bit and be blessed by some of these songs. The first couple of records were much more evangelical. They talk about salvation and things that pertain to people that aren't Christians. This record is more for the people that have grown in the church and enjoy it. This is something for people to pop in their CD player, pump it up loud, and sing at the top of their lungs.

Personally, I think this is the heaviest worship record I've heard to date. We really tried to bring it up a notch. There have been a lot of worship records coming out, and they all sound the same to me. We tried to stay away from that and sound a bit original. Whoever's out there and is critical of it, pick it up, listen to it, and then come see me.

A lot of these songs are anything but original, though. They've been done a million times before.

Sumrall: I've never heard them done like we did them, though. "We Fall Down" and "Better Is One Day" are way heavier than anything I've ever heard them done before. We really tried to breathe a little bit of life into them. When I go to a church, it's not very worshipful if I don't know any of the songs. So we really tried to balance that by picking some standards so people would recognize them and to help establish a worshipful experience.

But at the same time, we wanted to incorporate some songs that may be new to the rest of the country that we've known for a while. And we also incorporated a couple of originals. The idea is to bring recognizable music, but hopefully do it in a way that's really fresh and exciting to someone who's heard it a million times.

Do you think this album will have a long-lasting impact?

Sumrall: For me, the whole "worship thing" kind of started when Sonicflood put its first record out. That record meant a lot to me, although a lot of the songs I already knew. But I'd never heard them done like that before. It was great. So we really hope this record causes the same reaction.

So are you comparing your worship album to that Sonicflood album? Do you think it stacks up?

Sumrall: I think music in general has gotten a little bit heavier, especially in the Christian market, as far as the music you hear on the radio. So we hope this record has a similar effect that Sonicflood did. I hope it's kinda like the updated version of it, with heavier guitars, drop-D tuning, that kind of stuff. I hope the reaction is the same and people say, "Man, I've never heard worship done like this before!"

The critical response to Strong Tower has been quite negative. What do you say to the critics?

Sumrall: It's not that big a deal. Honestly, every worship review I've ever seen, the critical comments are exactly the same. I look at the newsboys' worship record that's done really well, or the Jeremy Camp worship record that's done really well. And the critics pretty much have the same arguments and things to say about those records as they do our record. It seems like the critics always want everything new. Their job is to find flaws in a record.

What's wrong with critics wanting an album of originals? After all, doesn't David say, "I will sing to the Lord a new song"?

Sumrall: But for a worship experience, it's impossible for people to worship if they don't have a clue what's going on. That's why we tried to balance that, by having songs that they could immediately recognize, and hopefully to get them excited about them in a new way. I've been to a lot of different churches—churches where I've pretty much known all the worship music, and churches where I didn't know any of it. For me, when I go to a church, but I don't know any of the songs, to me, that's not very worshipful.

What about artists who are committed to original expressions of worship? They remain mostly under the radar, while those who record "greatest hits" worship ride high on the charts. Aren't you stifling creative art by taking their shelf space?

Sumrall: I don't think so. I think people buy the music that they like or want to hear. Honestly, some of these groups that are under the radar, it's just a matter of getting their music out there. When they do it, people will like it, get the CD, and listen to it. I know, for us, it was a battle on our first record to really get the word out there. In order to do well in music, you really have to have something in your sound to get people excited about it, so that friends may tell their friends about it. People just buy what they enjoy and want to hear.

What do you say to those who accuse you of jumping on a bandwagon?

Sumrall: In the beginning we were a little bit hesitant to do this record, simply because there has been a worship explosion. But after praying about it, we decided to do it. We started out as a worship band, and hopefully, everything we do is glorifying to God and therefore worship. We wanted a different focus. We really thought people would enjoy it. And also we had a lot of fans ask us, "Man, when are you guys coming out with a worship album?" So it's a response to that as well.

Was there pressure from your label [BEC] to record a worship album?

Sumrall: There was a bit of pressure from the label for us to do this. They definitely saw the result of Jeremy [Camp]'s record and thought, "Oh, why don't you guys do the same thing, too?" They definitely came to us with the idea, and that was one of the struggles we had as far as doing it. We really wanted to make sure our hearts were in the right place. We didn't just want to say, "Oh, this'll work! This'll sell!" So we spent some time with the band prayerfully considering what we should do. We came to the decision that this was a pure project, it's good timing, and it feels like something God would have us do right now.

So to set the record straight, you guys are not a worship band.

Sumrall: (Laughs) No, not as far as standards. I believe that music is an act of worship, because worship is anything that glorifies God, so we really hope our music will always be that.

For more about Kutless, visit our artist page for them to read past interviews and reviews. Click here to read the review of Strong Tower, and visit Christianbook.com to listen to sound clips or buy the music.

© Andree Farias, subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

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