More Strong Tower

Some time back, I posted some initial impressions from Kutless' Strong Tower, and someone asked for me to re-post after I'd had a chance to listen through the CD a few more times.

I have a tendency to consume modern worship CDs voraciously. Some of them are great, some of them are so-so musically, but almost all of them reflect (and call me to) a passion to pursue God, which is what I really love about them.

A good sign that I'm listening to an exceptional CD is when my wife begins to listen to it regularly, and that very thing has been happening with Strong Tower recently.

This is not a heavy metal CD, although Kutless is probably known for a "harder" style. There are still some pretty strong hooks in some of the songs, and they add a nice "twist" to the worship genre - but in the end Strong Tower is just a very solid modern worship CD, with some very familiar songs and a few new ones. Its well worth the money, if you're partial to the SONICFLOOd/Deyo/Lincoln Brewster/United Live sound.

I particularly like the last track, In the Arms of Love, in which the band vocals are accompanied by a light, string quartet. It is not only a very peaceful way to end the album, it seems to me to be making a statement: "Yeah, there's a certain style of music that we make and that we like, but that isn't what this album is about..."

For what its worth, I think its a worthwhile purchase, even for those who - like me - haven't bought (or even taken an interest in) their other albums.