Creed is an American post-grunge band, from Tallahassee, Florida, that became commercially successful during the late 90's. Creed formed in 1994 with their debut album, My Own Prison. After hearing them play live, Diana Meltzer of Wind-Up Records decided to sign the band to her label. After making it more radio friendly, the album was re-released by Wind-Up across the country and became a success, reaching the Top 40 of the Billboard 200. My Own Prison is, as of now, 6-times platinum. Creed's mainstream success came a few years later, throughout 1999 and 2000 with their second album, Human Clay. The album was a massive success, thanks to the single Higher, and later, the single With Arms Wide Open. Human Clay remains their most commercially successful album at 11-times platinum. Creed's ... third album, Weathered, was released in 2001. It debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Top 200 and stayed there for 8 weeks, a record Creed shares with The Beatles. Its success was propelled by the singles My Sacrifice and One Last Breath. Weathered is, as of present, 6-times platinum. On June 4, 2004, it was announced that Creed had broken up. Scott Stapp has recorded a solo album, The Great Divide, collaborating with Roadrunner Records recording artist Goneblind, while the other band members Mark Tremonti, Scott Phillips and former bassist Brian Marshall formed a new band, Alter Bridge, with vocalist Myles Kennedy of the Mayfield Four. When the band broke up, a Greatest Hits album was released. Many of their songs were released on movie soundtracks and singles . One may notice a Christian bent in Creed's lyrics as well, which partly owes to Scott Stapp's strict Christian upbringing and constant alcohol abuse. Reunion and Full Circle On November 3, 2008, Blabbermouth.net reported that a Creed reunion could materialize in 2009. According to Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider, Alter Bridge vocalist Myles Kennedy was rumored to replace Robert Plant for a Led Zeppelin reunion tour in 2009. Blabbermouth states that "if Kennedy should take the job with the Zeppelin offshoot, the sources have indicated that there are already "significant dollars" on the table for a Creed reunion. On December 2, Rolling Stone reported that an announcement of a Creed reunion was "imminent". However, Kennedy himself denied the rumor that he would be fronting "Led Zeppelin or any offshoot of Led Zeppelin," but also said that he did indeed jam with the instrumental members of the band. It was later stated by Jimmy Page's manager that there will be no Led Zeppelin reunion and that Myles Kennedy will remain in Alter Bridge to record the band's third album. Because of this, a Creed reunion appeared unlikely. However, on March 17, 2009 a teaser trailer for a possible tour was leaked, pulled, and then on April 2 re-published on the re-launched Creed website, Creed.com, which states "coming summer 2009". On April 27, Creed's website officially announced the band's reunion tour and plans for a new album. According to Tremonti, "We're all very excited to reconnect with our fans and each other after six long years. He later added that being in Creed again was "the last thing [he] expected." Phillips also stated: "Our career as Creed came to a very abrupt and unforeseen ending. After reflecting on some of the greatest personal and professional moments of our lives, we've come to realize that we are still very capable of continuing that career and our friendship on a grander scale than ever before. Bassist Brian Marshall also confirmed he would rejoin his former band, following his departure prior to the recording of Creed's third album Weathered. Marshall says of the reunion: "This is a development we are all happy about. It has been a long time since the four of us have taken the stage together, and without hesitation or reservation this is something all of us are in to. The anticipation to get back out there is electrifying. Singer Scott Stapp concluded on the band's official press release that "it's amazing how life can change and bring you full circle. Time gave us all a chance to reflect, grow and gain a deeper appreciation of our friendships, artistic chemistry, passion for music, and sincere love for our fans! It's rare in life to get a second chance to make a first impression and we embrace the opportunity. We all believe the best is yet to come. In an interview for People.com, Stapp elaborated on the reunion, saying, "We never felt like we weren't together. We're not looking at this as a reunion. It's more of a rebirth. According the article, it was Stapp who pushed for the reunion to take place who spoke to the other 3 members, saying that he told his former band members, "I love you and if I've ever caused you any pain in your life, forgive me," and then went on to say that "they said the same things right back. Stapp also confirmed the band were "jamming" and "not trying to stay in a certain place or conform to where we left off. The music is fresh, edgy, raw, passionate, honest, and it rocks. Stapp discussed how he and guitarist Tremonti reconnected, thanks to the Champs Sports Bowl, according to Rolling Stone. According to Stapp, "[they] exchanged family pictures and within 20 minutes, [they] were jamming on acoustic guitars and talking about new songs. All four original members then sat down in a meeting, their first since 2000. "At that meeting, we were collectively saying, 'Hey, man, I’m sorry if I hurt you or my choices did anything to cause you any pain. I have nothing but love and forgiveness for you and I hope you can forgive me.' It’s all part of the process of reflection and not looking back at the six months out of 10 years that were trying,” says Stapp. They recorded the album, to be titled Full Circle in Nashville during June and July 2009. Stapp elaborated on the title, which is also the name of a track to appear on the upcoming album: "It really defines and articulates, melody-wise and lyrically, what’s happened with us. We’ve come full circle and it’s a great place to be. The goal is to release the first single before the tour and have the album come out during the tour or right after. Stapp has confirmed that the reformation of Creed will put work on his second solo album on indefinite hiatus. Mark Tremonti, Scott Phillips, Brian Marshall, and Alter Bridge's publicist, Mark Tremonti's brother Michael, all stress that Creed's reunion will not affect Alter Bridge in any way and that they will go back into the studio after the Creed tour to record their upcoming third album. Tremonti also stated that, in spite of this, both bands will co-exist, so it is expected that Tremonti, Phillips, and Marshall will "switch off" between the two bands while Scott Stapp and Myles Kennedy work on solo material while the other band is touring and recording. A blog was posted on Alter Bridge's MySpace page stating that Alter Bridge by no means has plans of breaking up as a band. Stapp, Tremonti, Marshall, and Phillips performed together for the first time in 10 years on the recently released AOL Sessions, showing the band playing "Higher," "With Arms Wide Open," "My Own Prison," and "My Sacrifice. In addition, the band performed live for the first time in 6 years on Fox & Friends on June 26, 2009. They later confirmed the new album will be out on October 27, 2009 on the official website. The Full Circle 2009 Creed Tour kicked off on August 6 and will end on October 20, one week before the release of the album. The the first single from Full Circle, "Overcome", was posted on the band's official website on August 19, the same day the radio premiere started along with its release as a digital download on August 25. The second single, "Rain", will hit radio on September 23 and be released on October 6 as another digital download. On Tuesday, August 25 2009, Creed played an acoustic concert, at the Backyard BBQ for 101.1 WRIF in Detroit. Later in the day, they played a concert at the DTE Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan. A live Creed DVD will also be filmed in Houston. 242 cameras will be used to capture the concert on film, breaking the world record for the largest amount of cameras used at a live music event. Reception and controversies Creed was one of the most commercially successful rock bands of the late 90s and early 2000s, having sold an estimated 35 million records worldwide. Their three studio albums, My Own Prison, Human Clay, and Weathered, have all gone multi-platinum in the United States, selling 6 million, 11 million, and 6 million copies respectively. The band won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Song for the song "With Arms Wide Open" in 2001. For many years, Creed collaborated with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) by allowing many of their songs to be played for promotions. In addition, many of the band's songs have been featured in film and television soundtracks. Despite enormous commercial success, Creed was poorly received by professional critics such as Robert Christgau, Rolling Stone magazine, and Allmusic. The band is often criticized for being too derivative of the band Pearl Jam. Rolling Stone stated, "Creed resembled a ham-handed version of early Pearl Jam", while SPIN magazine stated that "Creed was an unremarkable, plodding muscle-bound reworking of Pearl Jam, with all of that older band's warmth and psychological intensity replaced by chest-beating bravado and blandly messianic lyrics". Apparently fed up with these comparisons, bassist Brian Marshall angrily attacked Eddie Vedder, claiming Scott Stapp is a better songwriter, and criticized Pearl Jam's recent albums for "having songs without hooks". Stapp later distanced the band from Marshall's comments, and stated, "Yes, we get tired of the PJ question, but there is no excuse for the arrogance and stupidity [of Marshall]. I ask you all not to judge Creed as a band, because the statements made were not the band's feelings, they were Brian's. I'm sorry if Brian offended anyone, and he has already apologized for his comments". Marshall was fired from Creed soon after the controversy, however Stapp has stated his firing was unrelated to the incident. In an interview with PopMatters, Jerry Cantrell, guitarist for the band Alice In Chains, described being on tour with Creed as "stale". Cantrell stated, "I was on tour with them for ****in' ever and I still hadn't even met em'. When you spend two months together, you generally find some time to ****in' say hello or whatever. It was really kinda weird in that respect. I'd never been on a tour that was that ****in' stale on a personal level." Interviewer Michael Christopher derided Creed's neglect of Cantrell throughout the tour, stating that "the arena rockers owe a major part of their existence to the influence of Alice in Chains." Creed is sometimes labeled a Christian rock band due to the fact that their first three albums focus on questions of faith, Christianity, and eternity. The band was never signed to a contemporary Christian music label, nor did it perform in Christian music venues or get any widespread regular play on Christian radio. However, the band's namesake creed itself denotes a popular Christian theological concept, of absolute individual belief, usually monotheistic. Also, themes within their musical titles such as "Higher", "My Sacrifice", "What's This Life For", "My Own Prison", "With Arms Wide Open", and "One Last Breath" contain allusion to Christian theology, though it hasn't been confirmed that the songs were meant to be Christian songs. The band, however, rejects this label and they are predominantly considered post-grunge or hard rock. Creed was sued in 2003 by four concert goers who claimed Scott Stapp "was so intoxicated and/or medicated that he was unable to sing the lyrics of a single Creed song" at a December 29, 2002 concert in Chicago. The lawsuit was later dismissed. Scott Stapp contemplated committing suicide sometime in 2003 after drinking a bottle of Jack Daniel's whiskey. According to Rolling Stone he was convinced that anyone involved with Creed wanted him dead so he would become a "Kurt Cobain martyr-type" and increase record sales. "I had crazy thoughts going through my head," he said. However, he decided against suicide upon seeing a photo of his son just as he had the gun held to his head. In 2004, prominent music magazine, Guitar World, ranked Creed second only to Limp Bizkit in its "Worst Band of the Year" feature article. There is also a German Christian metal band called Creed. They have released at least one album called "Sign Of Victory" on the Pure Metal label in 1992.
Updated Mar 10 2011 10:11 AM

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