Creed'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 harmonies and drummer Scott Phillips adds a new weapon to Creed's sonic arsenal by infusing soundscapes into the interlude.
The addition of an eight-minute song, "Who's Got My Back," is a pleasant sign that Creed is opting for artistry over radio, but its opening and closing sequences seem forced and really only fit with two lines of the song's lyrics.
"One Last Breath" will be this album's "With Arms Wide Open." It is one of the few pure pop constructions with grinding guitars on this album. The topic, which appears to be turning back from suicide, should also be popular and is adroitly treated. Elsewhere, however, the lyrics are not so deep, leaning more toward "One" than "My Own Prison." In "Signs," Scott Stapp sings, "This is not about age... This is not about God... This is not about race... This is not about sex." Well what is it about? Apparently these signs are pretty important, but Creed doesn't care to tell us why. Also dominant is an old Creed theme in which they decry deception and the hiding of truth but, instead of returning to truth, naively say everything will be fine if the children of the world join hands and sing.
"Stand Here With Me" is a welcome exception to this theme. "Stand" merits at least a "9" on the spiritual encouragement scale and musically is one of the best hard rock songs of the year. You'll be pressing the repeat button on this one for days to come. But unless you like a blend of adult contemporary and pop-rock guitars, you might as well program the disc to repeat after the excellent title track and skip nine through eleven. Not bad, but not what I'm after when I pop in Creed.
If you were willing to buy My Own Prison on the strength of the title track, definitely pick this one up for "Stand Here With Me." If Weathered were an eight song EP, I might give it four tocks. Instead it gets...
3 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 Vik BansalI 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…Similar sounding releases
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