
The cool thing about this band is that each record has significant differences from the previous discography. Some fans gladly moshed when Jesus Freak came out, learning every word to every song; others stood in the corner with arms folded, muttering "Sellouts" under their breath; still others, like me, for instance, enjoyed the new music, realizing that Toby, Mike, & Kevin know their own hearts more than any other human. This issue is actually addressed in "My Friend (So Long)," but with the tongue in the cheek. Never let it be said that dc Talk lacks variety. With Supernatural, gone is the rap that began to disappear with the last record. Still here, though, are the guitars - some heavy, some not - all played with great skill. Some light dance electronics make an appearance among the distortion in "Dive." A modern pop spin is plugged into the 70's Motown funk in "We All Wanna Be Loved." The song "Red Letters" could be an early Petra ballad, but with awesome rock guitar in the background and a sudden orchestral transformation into Kansas. The band starts bearing a little resemblance to labelmates with two tracks: "Since I Met You" could almost be Audio A or Bleach in a Southern California setting, and the title track reminds me a lot of Grammatrain's passion. Tracks like "Consume Me" and "God Send" were disappointing, but I guess that's distaste for radio schmaltz talking. "The Truth (is Out There)" made me search the universe to figure out which TV series' popularity the band is cashing in on, with this song. My first listen to the entire record was somewhat unsatisfactory, but once a few more listens were afforded, a few standout songs seeped out but I don't hear another hit like "Jesus Freak" to send it over the top.