Creed - Full Circle Review

Posted by Daniel Wilcox on 11.02.2009

If you've just come to see how bad this, you're going to be sorely disappointed. Creed have come full circle and is rockin' once again.



Creed - Overcome
Review by Daniel Wilcox

Scott Stapp - vocals
Mark Tremonti - guitar
Brian Marshall - bass
Scott Phillips - drums

Track listing:
1. Overcome
2. Bread of Shame
3. A Thousand Faces
4. Suddenly
5. Rain
6. Away in Silence
7. Fear
8. On My Sleeve
9. Full Circle
10. Time
11. Good Fight
12. The Song You Sing

It’s the reunion that absolutely no one asked for. The tour has proved to be something of a success, and by all accounts this isn’t going to be the band’s only album back together, and there’s going to be an even bigger tour next year. Fantastic. Meanwhile, Alter Bridge is still struggling to get that live DVD, and plans for a follow to up to 2007’s mammoth Blackbird are on hold for the indefinite future by the look of things. So we make do with what we have, a new Creed album, titled Full Circle because it theoretically reflects the life of the band and how they’ve come full circle, back to the beginning as it were. So that would suggest that we going to get exactly what we expect with this album, right? But I was pleasantly surprised, and I think you will be too. Scott Stapp may be a cocky, slimy, grubby little prick with a infuriating voice, but he’s fronting a group of musicians loaded with talent and they’re getting a chance to showcase that here, more so than they did with Creed the first time around.

Anyone that has listen to either Blackbird or One Day Remains by Alter Bridge should be more than familiar with the guitar work of Mark Tremonti. For those that aren’t, let me just say that he is an absolute beast on the axe, but he was never a prominent player when with Creed the first time around, but that’s not the case here at all. Tremonti himself has said he’s really proud of the solos on this record, and there’s absolutely no denying he does some hellacious work with the guitar on this record, notably on the lead single “Overcome.” When the band still comes off as bland in some places (just check out some of the song titles, “Rain,” “Time,” “Fear” and Suddenly,”), Tremonti kicks in with some killer guitar work that suggest that this is a band not just rehashing the same old stuff, but doing new things. And while Tremonti provides some heavy moments, the band still has a mellow side, as is displayed notably on album-closer “The Song You Sing,” “Away In Silence” and “A Thousand Faces.”

Now let’s talk about Scott Stapp. Since Creed disbanded all those years ago, he did release a solo album, but that was swept under the rug in favor of reports about his antics, be they getting hammered on stage and not finishing sets, appearing in a sex tape with Kid Rock or assaulting his own wife. None of it has been positive press, that’s for sure. But he’s back and he’s rocking out just like he was in 2002. He lost a little bit of his growl but essentially he’s still the same old Stapp. His voice does grate at times, and he doesn’t have a great range but he does put his all into the vocal and for that I credit him. He also has a knack for writing lyrics that make you want to put your fist in the air and just stand in defiance. If you grew up listening to this band, I think you’re more likely to embrace this rather than turn your back on it because it’s not cool to like Creed any more.

Ultimately, it just feels like the last seven years never happened, like Creed never left at all. If you were a fan of theirs way back when, you will absolutely love this album. If you hated them, you’re not going to be any more enamored with them in 2009. If you disliked Creed, but found yourself getting into Alter Bridge, you might find something worth listening to here, as Tremonti is a beast on guitar and Scott Phillips puts in a typically impressive performance on the drums. The songs do have more of a groove than anything on Weathered or Human Clay, and Stapp may even be a little bit more tolerable than before. At the end of the day I feel like these guys got a lot of hate when they didn’t really deserve it, and this album proves that they can make music that’s actually pretty good. And hey, at least they’re not fucking Nickelback.

Essential downloads: “Overcome,” “A Thousand Faces,” “Away in Silence,” “On My Sleeve,” “Time” and “The Song You Sing.”

The 411: What we have here is a natural progression from where the band left off. Stapp got a little mellower, Tremonti got a little bit wilder and overall the band matured somewhat, so much so that they produced a record that for all intents and purposes, rocks. While not groundbreaking or that stunning, it's a record that has no frills, dabbles in grunge and nu metal, but predominantly just rocks hard and fast. It's not going to appeal to you if you still are of the opinion that enjoying this band is not cool, but if you give it a chance you might just like it.

Final Score:  7.5   [ Good ]