Two years ago, Christian rock powerhouse Kutless released their mildly popular worship album, Strong Tower, which was full of original worship songs written by the band, plus songs that were popular in their churches. Now, the band has re-released it, with two brand new songs plus a live cut of the title track.

Typically, most re-releases come with a few extra songs, some acoustics, and quite often a DVD that shows the behind the scenes of making the record, or just having fun jamming together. Not so with Kutless' Strong Tower: Deluxe Edition. The only new songs on the disc are old hymns that likely the band does when they are home. The first new song "We Exalt Thee" is poorly done for the first half, with a monotonous piano and Jon Micah's vocals over top. It sounds like the entire song could have been given more justice had it been done a capella. The second half is immediately switched into rock mode, with blasting guitars, which make the song a little more interesting. "My Savior and My God" is a pleasant addition to the original album, while the extra live cut of "Strong Tower" is completely lifted as-is from the band's recent Live in Portland CD/DVD combo. It would have been nice to see this deluxe edition when Strong Tower was first released.

If you're looking for a new and rocking worship album this year, you might want to wait and see what some other bands like David Crowder Band are up to before jumping at the chance to pick up this re-release, especially if you have it already. Diehard fans might even have a hard time coughing up the extra dough for two simple songs, and a live track that they likely already have as well.

- Review date: 4/9/07, written by Justin Mabee