Creed broke up in 2004, but the band is now back together with the new album Full Circle.
TORONTO — It seems somewhat ironic that following hot on the heels of Michael Jackson's 'This is It,' rock band Creed is taking their own stab at musical redemption.
"Full Circle" – Creed’s fourth studio disc and first album of new material since 2001's "Weathered" – dropped on the same day a film version of the King of Pop's last-ditch grasp for respect hit theatres.
Like Jackson, albeit on a smaller scale, Creed has tasted extreme highs – the band's first three albums, "My Own Prison," "Human Clay" and "Weathered," have sold 35 million records worldwide – and cringe-inducing lows – the foursome was mocked daily by members of Blink 182 and the Foo Fighters.
After an acrimonious split in 2003, frontman Scott Stapp pulled Amy Winehouse-type moves getting into well-publicized dustups with members of 311 and becoming tabloid fodder after a sex tape featuring him and Kid Rock appeared on the Internet.
"A lot of the things we've gone through and a lot of the things Scott [Stapp] went through those four or five years we were apart they almost needed to happen," drummer Scott Phillips recalled in a recent interview at the Spoke Club.
"It's a shame, but it needed to happen to make all of us, especially him, much different people than we were in 2002. We've all grown up, we have families now and we have a better understanding of what's important in life and what's superficial."
To understand why the commercial juggernaut broke up, only to resurface with its strongest album since the mid-'90s, one needs to remember the intense media scrutiny the band came under, positing itself as a sort of Pearl Jam-lite that almost single-handedly took over rock radio.
"After six years in the spotlight, we needed a break," Phillips said with a shrug. "A lot of things had gone on and things got said and done that we couldn't fix."
"But all those things had to happen for us to be where we are now," bassist Brian Marshall added, gazing out on to King West. "I wasn't with them anymore [Marshall left the band in 2000], but I know that inspiration they had wasn't there. So that break needed to happen."
Along with Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti, Phillips and Marshall tapped singer Myles Kennedy to lead a new band, Alter Bridge, in 2004. Meanwhile, only Stapp's drunken exploits seemed to generate any interest after his solo debut, "The Great Divide," flopped in 2005.
But after Stapp reached out to his ex-bandmates last December, the timing seemed right for a reconciliation.
"It was comfortable and familiar for us when we got back together," Marshall said, describing the meeting. "It was initially just supposed to be a tour, but the songs just started happening."
"Full Circle" contains the beefy riffs and anthemic vocals typical of Creed's earlier work. But both Phillips and Marshall maintain the band didn't want to just rehash the radio-friendly sounds of their younger days.
"We tried in the fall of 2003 to make our fourth record, but our hearts weren’t in it," Phillips revealed. "It felt very monotonous to me."
"This time," Marshall interjected, "we honestly feel the record reflects a musical progression. Lyrically, it shows a lot of growth."
"Songs like 'Time' [one of the new album's ballads] reflect the crossroads we came to," Phillips added.
"One of Stapp's best quotes is, 'It's rare that you get a second chance in life to make a first impression.' And I think that we've been given an opportunity to do that both personally and professionaly and we're going to take full advantage it. We're certainly sorry for things that were said in the press and things that happened before, but everyone makes mistakes."
