I have to confess that I approached Creed's third album with an incongruous mixture of excitement and trepidation. Creed's last album, Human Clay, was one of the highlights of 1999, a collage of the best of 1990's heavy rock, underpinned by Scott Stapp's astonishing vocals and truly uplifting lyrics. But consider the multi-million selling, breakthrough rock albums of the last 10 years that have one unfortunate fact in common; their follow-ups were significantly less inspired. Remember Razorblade Suitcase by Bush, Secret Samadhi by Live, Insomniac by Green Day, Ixnay on the Hombre by Offspring and Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie by Alanis Morissette?
Whither Creed? Opening song "Bullets" gives us a good pointer to the answer. It builds from an intro of spoken words over a menacing bass-line before unleashing into a blaze of incendiary guitar riffs that the Metallica of old would have been proud of. Yes, this is easily the heaviest song that Creed has ever released and it's wonderfully plain that Messrs Stapp, Tremonti and Phillips have chosen not to go down the road of softening up their music to please the masses.
The quality control is superbly maintained as Creed surges and sometimes strolls through another set of archetypal, well-written songs. Stand-out tracks include the current single "My Sacrifice," which acts as the "Higher" of the album, "Stand Here With Me," which features some sublime guitar tones from Mark Tremonti, and the title track, which boasts a gargantuan, arena-sized chorus.
Fans will also be pleased to hear that there has been no let up in the quality of Scott Stapp's lyrics, as he continues to document his spiritual and emotional fears,
Somewhere in His grace
I cried out heaven save me
But I'm down to one last breath ("One Last Breath"),
despairs,
The covenant has been broken
By mankind
Leaving us with no shoulder
To rest our head on ("Who's Got My Back?"),
and joys,
Within my heart are memories
Of perfect love that you gave to me
I remember ("My Sacrifice").
Creed has accomplished the difficult feat of following up a 10 million selling album with one that can compete for musical excitement, diversity and lyricism. That's one more potential storm that this excellent band has "Weathered."
4.5 tocks
Other coverage for this album
The Rebel Base 2002Reviewed by David MartinIt was about two years ago when I was first introduced to what looked like the happiest hard rock band in the world. I was up late watching David Letterman, and Creed was performing their still-breaking hit "Higher". All I had heard of the band up until then was the press for their first album, My Own Prison, which made them out to be a dark and depressing heavy metal act. That didn't gel with…The Phantom Tollbooth 2002Reviewed by Adam DuckworthI really hate writing this. Creed's a great band, but they can really get on your nerves. Take this new album, Weathered, for example. Here's a better name for it: Human Clay in My Own Prison. Creed seems to have taken the wrong road this time around by falling into the "predictable" category. Maybe the public at large doesn't see that as of right now (this album has been at the top of the charts…ReAL Magazine 2001Reviewed by John M. De MarcoCreed's third album is fully in tune with its angst-ridden brand of philosophical ponderings. Singer Scott Stapp further solidifies himself as a restless poet screaming his stanzas amid guitar and drum explosions. Packaged with expectedly bizarre but brilliant artwork, Weathered soared to the top of the rock charts at its release and continues to hold steady with Creed's expanding base of fans.…The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Dan SingletonCreed's new album, Weathered, struggles to stay true to their hard rock roots. It is the most diverse yet sonically coherent of their three discs. So much for the early Pearl Jam comparisons. The beginning of Weathered will remind the listener at times of everything from Alice in Chains to Bon Jovi to Dream Theater, all held together by the core Creed sound. "Bullets" leads off with dark vocal…Similar sounding releases
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