Creed
Human Clay
Reviewed by Doug Van Pelt
"Hey! What are you guys doing, compromising? I thought this was a Christian music magazine! Why are you reviewing a band like Creed in here? They said they weren't Christians in an interview . . . C'mon! Are you just trying to sell out, so that you can be cool in the eyes of Creed fans?" Think about that one for a minute: Why would a fan of Creed pick up a copy of HM Magazine, thumb through the back and find a review of Creed, and then think we were cool? That's ridiculous! If we put Creed on the cover or something, and said, "Creed is cool!" Then maybe you could say that. HM Magazine covers a lot of ground and meets a lot of needs. One of those needs is being a resource for people who have faith in Jesus Christ, where they can learn more about music and music-related items that might have something that pertains to their faith, reinforces their faith, and Creed would fall into that, just like The Alarm, U2, The Call, and other bands who make music that, lyrically, focuses on faith. The members of Creed have said recently that they're not Christians; and they've also said that they're considering it and they're searching, but they're not ready to make that commitment, because they're not ready to live up to the standards of it right now. A lot of our readers would really like to know more information about this band, because they hear them on the radio, and they hear lyrics about Jesus, the Bible, and faith. Wouldn't you rather hear about this band from somebody who pledges allegiance to Christ, rather than somebody who could give a rip about that part of the band? So, here's a review of the new Creed album: Creed is a funny band who, like Collective Soul in 1999, they refuse to believe the rumor that grunge is dead. They rely a lot on melody, which gives them a wide scope of fans. This album follows much along the same lines as their multi-platinum debut. You hear a lot of different instrumentation as additives. I hear a lot of Soundgarden here. It's very heavy. There's some blues influence, plus the vocals don't extend a lot of notes, like Chris Cornell did. Songs like "Say I" have a really heavy, heavy crunch feel to 'em, not too unlike Tool, as far as the tones go. "Never Die" is like a Metallica song, with huge, chunky riffs. I think I like this album better than My Own Prison, where I felt like I was getting the same song over & over again. With this one, I feel like I'm getting a nice variety from song to song. I like it a lot. Lyrically, we get more introspective, searching questions and a hint of the Answer. Questions like, "What if your words could be judged like a crime?" ("What If"); "What makes you unclean?" ("Wrong Way"); and "There's a peace inside us all . . . Oh, can't it be your friend?" ("Inside Us All"). In addition to the question, there's also some forthright speaking: "Hey Mr. Seeker / Hold on to this advice / If you keep seeking you will find." Is this music that a Christian could or should listen to? You won't find no flies on these lyrics. Vocalist Scott Stapp does a good job of making you think, and Creed does a great job of making you rock out.