Hearts of the Innocent, Compact Disc [CD]

On the heels of their hugely successful worship album, Kutless return with Hearts of the Innocent, a harder edged collection of new, hook driven, funky rock and roll. Songs include "Shut Me Out," "Promise of a Lifetime," "Winds of Change," and more.

This dog will hunt!

Modern rock act Kutless returns with its greatly anticipated fourth album entitled Hearts of the Innocent. As one of the top-selling hard rock bands in Christian music, expectations are high for these Portland natives. Fortunately, following on the heels of a largely successful worship-themed project last year, Kutless is further establishing itself as the big dog of epic, modern hard rock in Christian music.

Huge, almost super-human riffs are the stock-in-trade of Kutless’ sound. Longtime producer Aaron Sprinkle (Jeremy Camp, Hawk Nelson) is all about tonal saturation, and on Hearts of the Innocent he has captured some of the toughest tones yet. Left to the imagination, an arsenal of Gibson Flying Vs or Les Pauls churn through mountainous amplifiers, cranking out rhythms that seem to have been swirling around the primordial swamps of classic rock’s past seeking whom they may devour. If this approach wasn’t so incredibly common these days, the sound might stand out as truly monumental.

Purveyors and consumers of this flavor of rock & roll, however, are not usually too concerned about innovation. This is all about reinventing the jacked-up, chrome-plated, mag wheel, and, as such, Kutless fits right into the pantheon of modern rockers such as Staind, Seether, Nickleback, and, to a lesser extent, Creed. When Kutless really nails it, the band even recalls the uber-hooky Foo Fighters.

Vocalist Jon Micah Sumrall continues to hone his tone and attack as he matures as a singer. Though no songs stand out as lyrical masterpieces, they have come a long way since the band’s debut. Themes of righteous defiance and determined optimism run through most of the tracks, especially the barn-burners “Shut Me Out” and the strangely familiar title track. (Fans of the obscure indie Star Wars tribute band Twin Sister will definitely notice some similar riffage here.) Mid-tempo and increasingly textured tunes like “Somewhere in the Sky” and the impressive “Winds of Change” fill up the middle ground with substance. But as riff conscious as this band is, Kutless is certainly not afraid to add some strings and get radio friendly, as it does on the extremely accessible tracks “Promise of a Lifetime,” “Changing World” and “Mistakes.” Shades of the increasingly commercial sounding Green Day weave around layers of piano and effected guitars for the mod-rock equivalent of mood music; thus, Kutless is sure to increase its stock value with the females in the audience as well as the fist pumping males.

In the end, Kutless shines brightest when it leaves any attempts at artsy or vibey ballads in the rear view and goes speeding down the highway of monster rock. “Change Your Legacy” and “Million Dollar Man” make up for so-so lyrics (sincere, just slightly predictable) with some of the best melodies on the disc. Interestingly, the record’s certain standout track “The Knife” offers up truly Foo-worthy grandeur, even bordering on classic metal at times (Blue Oyster Cult, The Smithereens, Iron Maiden and Barren Cross must factor into these boys’ collective unconscious somehow), and includes a poignant, inspiring and painfully relevant lyric tackling the increasingly troubling problems of cutting and suicide amongst teens and twenty-something; Nicely done.

John J. Thompson – CCMMagazine.com

Average Rating:

8 of 24 Reviews Showing:(View All Reviews)

Reviewed by CMR (USA), September 24, 2009

I actually got the special edition with the DVD of music videos with was awesome! This a great CD. You can really see Kutless improve with every album.

Reviewed by D. Marks (somewhere), November 29, 2007

This is the first album I got of Kutless, and I must admit I had mixed feelings, and I still do.I loved Hearts of the Innocent, Shut Me Out, Smile and Promise of a Lifetime.While listening to tracks like Million Dollar Man,Somewhere in the Sky,Push Me Away, and Legacy, I was minding my own business, listening to some great songs, but then they go and scream.In secular rock music they call it the death scream.Should it even have a place in CHRISTIAN rock?Anyway, I loved at half of the CD. If you don't mind the screams they throw in, you'll love the rest of the CD.

Reviewed by Matthew (Timaru New Zealand), June 12, 2007

I think this cd is awesome but their songs lost their meaning a bit but if you like a good rock cd this is the one to go for.

Reviewed by David Silliman (Woodland,WA), May 27, 2007

Best album really touched me, amen to Kutless.

Reviewed by Amy (CA), May 05, 2007

Kutless is an amazing mission from GOD. I'm not a huge fan of their music, but their genuine, real true love for the Lord shows such passion.. it is pretty obvious once you look into their lives.

Reviewed by John (Colorado), May 05, 2007

Wow.. God most certainly gets all of the glory through Kutless' music! Even I say that, and I'm a 43 year-old father of 6!

Reviewed by Christina (Orlando, FL), May 05, 2007

This band is amazing. All of their cds are so up-front for God, I recommend them to anyone! They are really good at making music for everybody.. a little of this and a little of that.. Amazing balance. This cd leans more to the rock side, with hard guitar riffs and loud vocals (Jon Micah still has his awesome voice as usual), but there are still soft, melodic songs such as "Smile", "Mistakes" and more. Most important is the awesome message through each song. Seriously, the love these guys have for Christ will blow you away! I pray they stay this strong for God alone every step of the way during their music career.. they are definitely a great band to be speaking to this generation :)

Reviewed by Patrick (Terre Haute, IN), May 05, 2007

I'll start off by simply saying that this album just blew me away! It is probably their heaviest album yet (even more so than their first self-titled album) as they really rock out pretty much throughout the entire album. "Shut Me Out," "Hearts of the Innocent," "Beyond the Surface," and "Million Dollar Man" are just a few of them. There are some great "slower", but still awesome, ones on here in "Smile" and "Promise of a Lifetime" as well. The powerful guitar riffs are fresh (there are even a few solos on this one), and Jeff and Daves added drums and bass are really great. Also, Jon Micahs vocals are just about perfect (as they always have been) and they blend seamlessly with the music. Lyrically, the album is spectacular. The words are really deep and really penetrated my heart. They talk about subjects such as the tragedy children endure in divorce, perseverance in spreading the truth of Christ even when people put you down, and keeping our hope in Christs promise, just to name a few. "Hearts of the Innocent" is probably Kutless best album yet. I'm a huge Kutless fan, so I may be a little biased. But they seriously blew me away with this one! Check it out! If you like good hard rock music with an inspirational message, you wont be disappointed in the least...

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