Album: A2J
Released: 1998
KMG Records
But let's move past that, shall we? These kids came out in 1998 and found some amount of initial Christian radio success with a couple of singles off of this, their debut album: Remedy and Justified, in particular.
The former is the album opener, and an interesting choice at that. The song begins with a stripped version of the chorus:
'Cause my humanity is my leprosy
I need a remedy for my disease
Wretched man I am
A slave to sin
Someone in my condition
Needs the Great Physician
Cheery, isn't it? Then the tempo kicks up a bit and we are introduced into the dour world of According To John. And it is bleak. The record is sort of a downer. Lotsa minor chords. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but lead singer John Waller's whiney vocals get more than a little annoying. Wretched, indeed.
And that's the most I can say for the entire project. It's a decent rock effort, but I can't listen to it for too long. And, indeed, after those initial singles, the band rather went away. They've released one more record, Beyond What I See, which attempted to capitalize on the Prayer of Jabez trend with the track Song of Jabez. . .but there's been no more word from them; indeed, Amazon.com doesn't even bother to carry that particular project in stock.
I don't fail to recommend According to John. It's not a bad record. The best way I can describe John Waller's (According to Who?) vocal sound is a more annoying, more nasal Billy Corgain (of The Smashing Pumpkins). If you're not finding what you're looking for in Christian rock that takes a more classic, riff-based stance, check it out.
Final Grade: B Nasal, Downer
Rock