CREED - POST GRUNGE DIEHARDS

Although it become a multi-platinum record soon after its release, MY OWN PRISON, the debut album for post grunge alternative metal band CREED, has since its 1997 release been largely overshadowed by the monumental and even bigger success of HUMAN CLAY (1999), WEATHERED (2001) and the very unexpected re-formation of the band in 2008 resulting in the band's fourth album FULL CIRCLE in 2009. Due to simmering personal tensions in the band following a grueling world tour in support of the HUMAN CLAY album and a disagreement between singer SCOTT STAPP and bass guitarist BRIAN MARSHALL in the year 2000 over controversial comments Marshall made to the music press which were highly critical of PEARL JAM singer EDDIE VEDDER, Marshall quit the band. Stapp always denied there was any hostility between him and Marshall over the Pearl Jam mouth off and he left on completely friendly terms, but Stapp had burned Marshall at the stake to the music media himself in defending CREED and the other band members. Marshall wouldn't have been human if he hadn't been livid with Stapp for feeding him to the wolves over his Pearl Jam gaffe. By the following year, CREED were busy writing and recording the chartbusting multi-platinum WEATHERED, which produced the mezmerizing ONE LAST BREATH and the blistering thrash metal sounding epic BULLETS. Nearly three years later in 2004, CREED imploded after tensions between Stapp and guitarist MARK TREMONTI had reached boiling point, no doubt exacerbated by Stapp's growing problem with alchoholism from around 2000 onwards and his addiction to prescription painkillers which he took to relieve the after effects of concussion and vertebrae damage he suffered in a car accident. Tremonti, drummer SCOTT PHILIPS and Brian Marshall re-united in the Creed-ish power rock band ALTER BRIDGE, with MYLES KENNEDY handling the vocals. Great band, more musically challenging than CREED but probaly you could say not as radio friendly and commercially exploitable. Tremonti has stressed that ALTER BRIDGE will continue as a stand alone band, even though CREED has reformed and is in the process of recording a fifth album. ALTER BRIDGE has recorded three albums - ONE DAY REMAINS, BLACKBIRD and AB III. Despite the scope and amount of material that CREED and the three members of CREED have recorded with ALTER BRIDGE, there is just something special about the four chart topping singles off the debut album MY OWN PRISON. This was when CREED had the perfect blend of grunge and air guitar and when they were marketing themselves quite openly as born again christians. TORN is a cracker of an opening track, the other singles are the title track, ONE and the very christian rock influenced WHAT'S THIS LIFE FOR? The funk riff that leads ONE off almost sounds like something the RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS would have played on BLOOD SUGAR SEX MAGIK.