CREED: My Own Prison (Wind-Up)
I doubt I’m the only one who heard Creed’s My Own Prison on the radio and thought, “Cool, a new Pearl Jam song.” I was surprised to find out that the Eddie Vedder voice belonged to Scott Stapp of the Tallahassee rock band, Creed. I expected My Own Prison to be another rock knockoff cloning the sounds of the Stone Temple Pilots and Alice in Chains. Surprisingly, Creed brings a whole new intensity and skill that helped make bands like those mentioned so successful.
My Own Prison, the group’s debut album, is a relentless collection of hard rock classics that gets my vote for album of the year. From opening track to the last powerhouse, One, the album doesn’t miss a beat and never lets up for a second. Creed creates a chaotic sound that seems impossible coming from just four guys. The band has the ingredients to go straight to the top of the rock heap.
Stapp’s dynamic voice is the backbone of the band’s music. He’s one of the handful of vocalists who can truly sing. Unlike other front men, Stapp doesn’t have to resort to screaming at the top of his lungs or sound effects to take a song to the next level. He sounds so much like Vedder (Pearl Jam) and Layne Smith (Alice in Chains), it’s scary. In his defense, there’s nothing wrong with sounding like two of the best singers in rock today.
The musical mastermind behind Creed’s sonic blasts is guitarist Mark Tremonti. He can go from playing power chords and raging riffs on One to strumming an acoustic melody on What’s This Life For. His guitar solos on Pity for a Dime, easily one of the album’s best songs, and Unforgiven are nothing short of awesome. Complemented by the smooth baselines of Brian Marshall and the pounding drums of Scott Phillips, Creed has the talent to become overnight superstars.
The songs’ moods range from devastatingly dark Illusion to the upbeat Sister to the just plain heavy Unforgiven. My Own Prison has become the band’s trademark hit, and it sounds even better with each listen.
Tired of mindless lyrics? You won’t run across them here. Insightful lyrics that deal with topics such as anti-establishment on In America to abortion on Sister make this album stimulating to the ears and the mind. My Own Prison joins the ranks of other classic hard-rock albums like Nirvana’s Nevermind, Pearl Jam’s Ten and Alice in Chains’ Dirt. Jump on the Creed bandwagon before the mainstream gets their hands on this group.
