It was 2002 when Kutless came on the scene with their self-titled album — a nu metal record that cemented the band as a prominent name in the blossoming world of Christian rock, alongside Pillar, P.O.D., and Blindside. Kutless embodied the nu metal sound brilliantly while sharing the Gospel message in a bold, “nu” way.
Then they took a different path.
Over the next 15 years, the band evolved into a worship-inspired pop-rock act, and while they’ll always be grateful for that part of their journey, Kutless now returns to their hard rock roots. If their first single in 5 years, “Words of Fire,” is any indication of what’s to come, the future looks bright. This is a true hard rock anthem that demonstrates a band that is older and wiser, both sonically and spiritually.
We sat down with James Mead, a founding member, songwriter, and guitarist for Kutless, to talk about the new single, their return to the hard rock underground, and their continued emphasis on the Gospel message.
Kutless is back with your first single in 5 years. Arguably, it is the hardest-hitting track since the self-titled release in 2002. What inspired you to write this song, and what led you guys to get back to the hard rock vibe from the early years?
The idea of this song came about when we were going through a period of like 180 days straight of riots in downtown Portland, Oregon. It was national news. We had riots for months and gun crime going up. Our city was being destroyed, and it felt like our city was changing. It felt connected to the bigger purview of what’s happening in culture. I just see people getting angry and pointing the blame at certain places, but they’re unwilling to accept their role in society to help make things better.
“I think it’s overall an evangelistic plea. It’s a plea for people to be bold in their faith and to continue to share, even though it seems like the world wants to stop that message of truth being shared.”
I’m also really inspired by movies and movie soundtracks, and I really liked a lot of the kind of gritty, late-70s sci-fi stuff like the movie Alien. It just looks so surreal. It’s just incredible. I was imagining what is happening in today’s headlines and in my own city. I was imagining it alongside the story in Revelation 11 that talks of the two witnesses. It’s truth, but truth is going to burn away those things that are lies. I think that, as I wrote the song, I was trying to imagine that scene in Revelation 11 as if it were really happening right now out in the streets, and I was trying to imagine like, “What would that look like?” The song is kind of from the perspective of someone seeing it happen right in front of them in the streets. So yeah, that’s what the lyrics are about. I think it’s overall an evangelistic plea. It’s a plea for people to be bold in their faith and to continue to share, even though it seems like the world wants to stop that message of truth being shared.
It is definitely heavier than what you guys have done in many years. What led the band back to hard rock?
Frankly, I knew that that was the best way that I could connect with our fans again. That is the most authentic version of me as a songwriter. Otherwise, I feel like I’m kind of pretending and playing in a band that isn’t really my vision for what Kutless should be. I’ve always wanted to push us heavier. Throughout our career on all of our records, if you find the 3-4 tracks that are like “rocker” songs, those usually either included me or were written by me. So, it really just felt like this is who we are right now. We’ve gone through this hiatus the last 5 years where we almost felt like our career got yanked out from underneath us. It was out of our control, and it was very scary. We were angry, we were frustrated, and we felt like we had gone through several experiences back-to-back where people who were Christians had betrayed us and spread lies about us and said evil things about us. We realized that we needed to process those things in a healthy way. Rhetorically, what does it feel like to be betrayed by someone who also calls themselves a Christian, and how do we deal with that anger? And it’s a righteous anger on one side, but we also feel betrayed. We can really sit and steep in that betrayal, and it can become bitterness and evil anger.
These experiences we’ve gone through, I felt like we needed to write songs about those things, because in my mind I was like, “Surely almost everyone else has also dealt with these kinds of experiences and has felt these things before. We’re not really writing songs about these things and we should.” I felt like we kind of reached this place in our faith where we’re not scared to bring anything to the Lord now, because I know that He is gracious and merciful and kind and that He desires peace for me. So, if we are hurt and if we are angry and if we feel betrayed, or if we feel guilty for being the betrayer, we need to bring that to the Lord right away, and be reminded that He characteristically, right away in Scripture, shows us that He wants to give us His presence and He wants to walk with us and talk with us.
These things that the Church is too scared to process in a healthy way — mental health struggles and accountability for pastors and things that, are happening behind the scenes in churches — I just really felt like we needed to write songs about that because I think art helps people process those things in a great way. I think music is one of the most powerful mediums of art to help people process those things. I just really felt like we needed to be writing about those things in a healthy way and pointing people to Jesus. That kind of music seemed like the perfect vehicle to share what we had felt over the last 5 years. We just knew that if there was any chance of reconnecting with our fans, it needed to be like this.
I remember buying the first album in 2002 and really digging it. At that time, I was big into the nu metal movement. Over time, it seemed like Kutless became more pop-rock than hard rock. For me, it disconnected. The fact that you’re going back to the heavier roots excites me. Are all of the original members coming back?
So, myself and Jon Micah (Sumrall – vocalist) are the only two original members of Kutless in the current lineup. We have a guy named Neal Cameron who is playing bass for us. Neil has actually been in Kutless longer than anyone else besides me and Jon Micah. He’s a great, great bass player. I love him. We have a drummer who also lives in Minneapolis with Neil. His name is Matt Christopherson. And then Nate Parrish is playing guitar with us. Nate and I became friends years ago on a tour called The Creation Tour. At the time he was in a band called Worth Dying For, and they were kind of one of the opener bands on the bill. We just loved each other right off the bat. He’s hilarious, and we have a fun Laurel and Hardy dynamic together [laughs]. He’s rad. I’m also super proud that we have a guy in Kutless [speaking of Nate] who, by all rights, is forging his own career in music, and he’s putting out great indie punk rock music and playing shows. He’s a really talented artist, and he’s handcrafting and sculpting figurines to make toys and action figures, and he does artwork for people. He’s an incredible person to be around. Jon Micah and I area really blessed to have these three guys rocking with us right now.
You mentioned the band going through hard times the past 5 years. Is there anything you can share with us about the hiatus?
I think our audience would be interested to know that we’re also premiering a new podcast called Rock in a Hard Place. We’re going to be talking about a lot of those stories and 20 years’ worth of other stories more in depth on those episodes.
About 5 years ago, we had just come off pretty much the most impactful, most profoundly moving ministry experience we had ever been a part of. It was the first time we went to Ukraine. We did a series of free concerts all over Ukraine the first year in 2015, and at that point we had transitioned to doing mostly free concerts so that we could really preach and be evangelistic. It would be in like public parts and other what we would call “neutral venues” so that we could just play the music and preach and share the Gospel to anyone that would normally find themselves enjoying a concert at a city park. We really wanted to move beyond limitations we were seeing in Christian music markets or heavily promoted Christian events or even churches. There’s a lot of agenda. There are a lot of things added to it that frankly didn’t seem to support the Gospel or to be the institute of Christ.
“You’ve got to say “Jesus” by 42 seconds into the song or they’re not going to play it. And it better not have any sort of deep, dark, and mysterious concepts that we have to work out with the Lord. It better be positive [laughs]. I don’t know. There were just so many rules for so long, it just felt like we couldn’t just make music.”
It wasn’t like a self-righteous moment or anything, we just felt like we were being forced to play a game as we try to navigate the pathways of the Christian music industry, and the demands of radio that seem to be kind of sculpting all bands to this one kind of sound. It took our identity away. I remember getting demos from friends who were also rock bands, and they were like, “Check out this new song!” I was like, “Man, it doesn’t sound like them anymore,” and feeling the same about us! I don’t think we were inauthentic in any of our presentations of any of our recorded music over time, but I felt there were a lot of driving factors. I felt like there were a lot of people who wanted something from us. We didn’t have a relationship where we felt trusted, I guess.
I feel like now I’m saying, “Hey, follow my lead” and we’re all on the same page. But back then, saying, “No, we should stick to a rock record,” I was laughed out of the board room, because the drive was, “Worship albums are selling, and this format of music is all that the major stations want to play for their format.” You’ve got to say “Jesus” by 42 seconds into the song or they’re not going to play it. And it better not have any sort of deep, dark, and mysterious concepts that we have to work out with the Lord. It better be positive [laughs]. I don’t know. There were just so many rules for so long, it just felt like we couldn’t just make music.
We went through this incredible experience [in Ukraine], came back to the States, and we jumped on a tour, and it ended up being a disaster. It almost caused us to go bankrupt. It certainly shook us to the core emotionally and spiritually and led us to a period of about 5 years where we just felt too scared to even get back out there. It felt like we were wrestling with big questions like, “What does it mean to seek God in this kind of area of pain in my life?” “What does it mean to trust the Church again?” “What does it mean to engage with the Gospel again, but be so frustrated or suspicious of what people are trying to do to us or want from us?” It was really unsettling. I spent almost a year walking by this room in my house with my amps and guitars and stuff and I wouldn’t even look in there. I was literally turned away. I didn’t want to think about music. I didn’t want to confront the pain I was feeling. It took honestly about 5 years for me to work up the courage to even start therapy. Jon Micah and I are doing therapy now. I’m surrounded by a really healthy group of people who love me and who are helping disciple me. I started a church with some friends and I’m back in it now, but I’m trying to hold on tightly to Jesus and not let people pull me away and frustrate that in my life.
I think we feel like we have something important to say again, and I feel like this period of time has helped galvanize us in a certain way to know that we need to reconnect with people again. People need hope more than ever now. We’ve always had a unique way of connecting with people and that’s super important. We want to move on from that pain, but we know that we need all of you to go through it with us. We’ve always felt so blessed by the support of our fans. Moving forward, I think this is something we’re going to experience together. We want to use our platform and our voice to guide this conversation in a healthy way, to guide people towards healthy reconstruction of their faith rather than deconstruction of their faith. To help people feel closer to God. You know, they’re dealing with the pain and hurt of something that may have happened from God’s people. If I betray a friend, that’s not Jesus betraying them or letting them down. I’m accountable for my actions and I have to be brave enough to ask them for forgiveness and humble myself and really accept that I was wrong, but that doesn’t change who Jesus is in their life. So, I hope that people embrace that concept and remember that we’re going to need to help each other through these kinds of things. I feel like the Church is going through a pruning season right now too, like we read about in John 15, and that’s painful when the pruning is happening, but it’s also exciting to think about the fact that it leads to new, healthy growth. I want to use our voice to be on the frontlines of reform if that’s what the Church needs again. I want to be helping people trust God and His Word again. I want to help people process this pain and grief through this music again. I want to be honest about the things we’ve struggled with and the things that hurt us over the years using our voice via the podcast. It feels like we have something to say again.
We have so many examples of former Christian music artists who no longer identify as Christians, often attributing their conversion to “deconstruction.” It’s refreshing to hear someone like yourself talk about reconstructing faith rather than deconstructing it.
These things keep happening, and what is happening in my life is happening to us collectively as Christians. Probably the best way to minister to all of these people is to look at exactly what I needed. What did I need when that hit me so hard and it hurt and I needed to hold on tighter to Jesus than ever before? And that’s what helped me through — the accountability of friends who were committed followers of Christ and who were willing to be honest about the pains and hurts that we all go through in life, and to bear one another’s burdens in Christ as the Bible compels us to do. They were willing to sit and cry with me when it was time to cry. They were willing to lovingly correct me and guide me away from attitudes that weren’t serving me. I look around and I see all this stuff keeps happening. That is how we can help. We can start writing songs about this. We can start inviting people to be a part of that faith movement again.
We’ve seen an exodus, as you said, of people just walking away from faith. Many of these people were my friends. I don’t understand how we can just reject Christ knowing that people are flawed and knowing that the source of that pain came from their own hurt too. It might not have even been a personal attack against you or me. I know that God can use us to help guide people back to trusting Him. It’s not because I’m special, but it’s because I’m going through the same things, and He is faithful.
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