Stemming from various cities in Nebraska comes a Southern-rock style band known as From Dust. Now you may be wondering "how can a band from the Midwest be considered southern rock?" It basically has to do with thick and rich vocals, and influences from other bands of the south like Third Day, Joan Jett, and Lynard Skynard. The name 'From Dust' is taken from Genesis 1 in which God made man in His own image from the dust of the earth. This five-member band actually began as a two-piece outfit back in 1997 and has grown into a full-out rock band since.

The band's latest release Sown In Weakness will actually take a few listens before it can be fully appreciated as a worthwhile effort. The opener "In the Garden," as well as "Who I Really Am," begin with a 'marching band' type drum lead-in, accompanied by smooth rock guitars and melodies to permeate the rest of the songs. Quite a few of the album tracks actually draw huge comparisons to the former Word Records band Skypark, as acknlowledged in "Bleeding Mediocrity," "Den of Thieves," and the urgent plea of "Pardon Me." The ballad "Numb No More" portrays an individual running away from his problems and waiting on God to come and heal his pain; on another note, the heavy-rock track "Den of Thieves" takes the listener back to the story of when Christ drove the merchants from the temple of the Lord because they had turned it into a house of profit. Probably the most surprising number is the acoustic ballad "Jacob," which has the singer putting himself in the position of Jacob when he wrestled with God, which eventually earned him the name of Israel.

From Dust's primary purpose as a band is to make music creatively and to give all credit to their Creator. An added bonus to the album is a 30-plus minute track at the end featuring an impromptu interview with the band on the basis of their name and their particular means of ministry. Sown in Weakness may not have the best overall quality in sound and production, but in the underground scene, professionalism tends to be a dime a dozen these days. The main advantage of a band like From Dust is that they are able to focus more on bringing glory to the kingdom of Heaven and less on gaining fame and popularity. This band has had the drive and potential to go places where some Christian indie bands in their position have had little chance of doing, creating quality music and opening for huge Christian acts like Skillet, Jonah 33, Justified, and The Supertones.

- Review date: 11/20/05, written by Paul Portell