Creed Returns with
Aggressive Grunge-Rock Album 'Full Circle'
Back together after six years apart, and a few weeks
into a reunion tour, singer Scott Stapp said Creed is preparing to
come all the way back with an album he promises delivers exactly
what the fans want.
Produced by Howard Benson (Daughtry, Hoobastank), Full
Circle was recorded before this summer's tour, and Stapp said
its 15 songs are the band's most accomplished effort to date.
"I think we've gone in many different directions, sonically and
musically. It's at a higher level, because everyone's grown as
players and in their art," Stapp said of the years since their 2004
split, during which he released a solo album and the other three
members released two albums as Alter Bridge with another vocalist.
"We're comfortable with our own identity, confident in what we
play."
One of the reasons he's so confident about the new songs is because
before entering the studio, the band - which includes guitarist
Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott "Flip"
Phillips - threw out their old rule about not tracking any songs
that they couldn't play exactly the same way live.
"We know we can hire a guy to play piano or another electric
guitar, and while I think we have this massively produced record
with all these sounds on it, it's also a raw, edgy, guitar-driven
rock album with some sex appeal," he said.
Stapp described the songs on the new album as some of the heaviest
Creed has ever recorded. "But it also has a groove," he added. "A
sexiness to it. If you're driving down the street and you've got
your arm on the steering wheel, no matter what song is on, you can
move your head to it. I think what you can hear is the confidence
in the band and what we're doing together."
He also mentioned that songs like "Full Circle," "Away in Silence,"
"Overcome" and "On My Sleeve" are every bit the aggressive, grungy
rock that fans have come to expect from the 35 million-selling
group.
"They really drive home the fact that we're a rock band and that's
at the core of what we are," he said of the group, which suffered
some slings and arrows from critics the first time around for a
sound some considered derivative of other grunge acts. "It's time
for us to say, 'Here we are. This is who we are.' No shame, no
embarrassment and no worry about what anyone else thinks. It's not
from a pretentious standpoint. If you like it, cool. If not, as the
Australians say, 'Good on ya.'