Creed: Full Circle
When Creed announced that they were getting back together for a tour and an album this year, a cold shudder went through the rock critic community. “With Arms Wide Open” would reverberate from arena walls once more. We could not take this injustice lying down, so we put on our cardigan sweaters and horn rimmed glasses and hit our laptops with a vengeance. It was time to rip Full Circle to shreds and send Scott Stapp back to Florida.
As the release date approached, I had a change of heart. I realized that Creed was nothing but a Big Dumb Rock Band. I had always been a champion of Big Dumb Rock Bands, to many of my friends’ chagrin. I decided to approach Full Circle with a set of fresh ears. He who listens to Pretty Boy Floyd should not throw stones.
Full Circle kicks off with a wall of bombastic guitars and drums. The riff is frozen in 2001, but there’s nothing too offensive. Guitarist Mark Tremonti pulls off some entertaining solos, hits the whammy bar a few times, and makes good use of the distortion pedal. Drummer Scott Phillips and bassist Brian Marshall create a solid foundation. If Creed consisted of these three people, they would be a competent hard rock band…like Alter Bridge.
Alas, there is one more member of Creed. When “With Arms Wide Open” was plastered across every modern rock playlist in the country, Scott Stapp was an easy target. He was so self-important that Fred Durst seemed like a wise old sage when he proclaimed Stapp to be an “ego-maniac” onstage at the K-ROQ Weenie Roast. A decade removed from the hoopla, Stapp can finally be judged on his musical merit.
The frontman is the cornerstone of arena rock. It’s a difficult position because you not only have to sing, you have to be the center of the storm. A good frontman takes the audience out of their reality and brings then into their world. To his credit, Stapp is able to do this, but who would want to visit his world
Stapp is still on a spiritual and emotional quest. He’s still persecuted, he’s still angry and he still has an unhealthy college boy fixation with Jim Morrison. Stapp is so earnest that he makes Aaron Lewis look like David Lee Roth. If “Bread of Shame” contained a hint of irony, it would be the greatest parody of post-Nirvana hard rock ever written. The track kicks off with Brian Marshall’s rumbling bass over some pounding drums, and then Tremonti comes in with some drop-d chords. Stapp opens his mouth and sings: “Guess there is nobody to blame/when you are living on this bread of shame.” Stapp delivers this line with a tone that most people reserve for family emergencies. Every lyric that comes from his mouth bursts with heavy handed pathos. My personal favorite: “I stand surrounded by the walls that once defined me/knowing I will be underneath them when they crumble, when they fall,” from “A Thousand Faces.” Stapp is obviously being sincere, but he is always the victim. Always sacrificing, or challenging, or eating baked goods made of shame.
The problem with Creed is not that they are a Big Dumb Rock Band. The problem is that they are a Big Dumb Rock Band masquerading as a Deep Rock Band. Alter Bridge is not my cup of tea, but at least they aren’t pretentious. Stapp honestly believes that he is writing in the grand rock n’ roll tradition, but no matter how you slice it, it’s still arena rock. If Creed had released an unpretentious slab of hard rock, it would be just fine. Unfortunately, Scott Stapp is 30-something and still locked in his own prison. Cheer up buckaroo.
