Kutless

Kutless is a Christian rock band known for fusing melodic hard rock and worship music into a powerful, guitar-driven sound that blends intensity with spiritual depth. Since emerging in the early 2000s, the band has sold millions of records worldwide and released multiple chart-topping singles, including "Strong Tower" and "What Faith Can Do." Early efforts, 2004's Sea of Faces (2004) and the gold-selling Strong Tower, (2005) leaned hard into the muscular, post-grunge style of Creed, while later outings like Believer (2012), Surrender (2017), and The Seventh Seal (2025) hewed toward potent, faith-driven melodic alt rock in the vein of RED and Needtobreathe. Kutless was founded in Portland, Oregon, in 1999 by James Mead (guitar), Nathan "Stu" Stuart (bass), Kyle Mitchell (drums), Ryan Shrout (guitar), and Jon Micah Sumrall (vocals). Inspired by Christian rock predecessors like the Supertones, as well as mainstream modern rockers Staind, Creed, and Incubus, the seeds of the band were sown when Stuart moved to Portland from his native North Dakota to attend college, where he met Sumrall, Mitchell, and Shrout. All of the members of Kutless attended the same church, Athey Creek, where they began playing music together. They soon decided to forego college to concentrate on their music career, moving into a group house where they hosted basement party gigs. Kutless released their self-titled debut album in 2002 on BEC Recordings, followed by a string of successful albums, including Sea of Faces (2004), Strong Tower (2005), Hearts of the Innocent (2006), and To Know That You're Alive (2008), which topped the Christian Rock charts and made a strong showing on the Billboard 200. It Is Well (2009), Believer (2012), and Glory (2014) followed a similar trajectory, with a more polished sound and a stronger focus on worship anthems. Their 2015 album, Surrender, produced by Aaron Sprinkle, earned a Dove Award nomination. In 2017, they released Alpha/Omega, a compilation of re-recorded worship songs and fan favorites. Kutless celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2022 with the release of the EP Twenty, another set of re-recorded favorites. In 2025, they returned to the heavier sound of their earliest works with the powerful EP The Seventh Seal. ~ Steve Leggett & James Christopher Monger, Rovi