Creed is one of the best voices in rock in the 1990s. There’s a gritty, raw feel to their sound which is far better in quality than other hyped-up metal-heads like Korn. This album just helps to reinforce this belief.
The album is in keeping with Creed’s raw sound, but unfortunately, it is too repetitive. I could happily listen to each song a number of times, but all the songs one after another? A little mind-numbing. There are a couple of songs that do have a softer tone, such as “One Last Breath”, which starts off quietly and then launches into a explosive riff and is by far the best song on the album.
There are a lot of songs which have good riffs and a rollicking theme sound - “Hide”, “Weathered” and “Bullets”. Then there’s “Signs”, which has an interesting Gothic feel to it and is unusually different from the other songs. And to top it all off, they throw in a “Lullaby”, which somehow manages to retain a rock feel to it.
The songs are all socially motivated and address a lot of issues; and for a change, you can actually figure out the vocals and they do hit home. The effect of these lyrics is further accentuated by vocalist Scott Stapp, whose accent is just enough to make the lyrics stand out. But, like I said, there’s not enough variety. And that messes up the whole album.
This is a decent album for anybody who’s interested in modern rock, but if you’re a Creed fan, don’t get your hopes up too high.
This article was first published on 28 Feb 2002.