No. 8 - Creed – Weathered – 4/5
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Yes, you heard me. Creed made my list. Surrounded by generic and bland albums, this one stands head and shoulders above the rest of their catalogue, proving they can be emotional, aggressive, diverse and come up with some of the best tracks the genre has to offer. This is a rare case of an album that frequently gets put down, that in my opinion, doesn’t deserve a shred of it.
The guitars are either heavily distorted, or very clean, playing simple chords over a simple drum beat. Yes, its simple, on that front they perhaps don’t shine opting for a two tone approach that adds a surprising amount of variety. The bass and drums once again are prominent, adding the occasional fills but add nothing especially spectacular. The vocals are unique and diverse, being both clean and with a strange tone I’m at a loss to really describe, constituting the main attraction here. Its not his vocal range that draws the attention, it’s the emotion behind it, the atmosphere the combination of all the instruments creates perfectly encapsulating the theme of the song.
The lyrics aren’t clever, they aren’t ‘poetic’ but they fit with the simplistic motif aimed for. They’re bold, emotional, and leave nothing to the imagination. From the soft and emotional “Children don’t stop dancing/Believe you can fly” - (Don’t Stop Dancing) to the more aggressive “At least look at me when you shoot a bullet through my head” - (Bullets), they succeed in being obvious, yet still fairly hard hitting, and sometimes making yourself clear is better than hiding meaning behind clever metaphors.
If you asked for one single aspect to their sound that was done well, I’d be at a loss to come up with an answer. The individual parts are fairly mediocre, but put them all together and the result far exceeds what you would expect. The album is diverse, with plenty of idea’s, tones, emotions, and yet despite this variety, remains consistent, with the only exception being “Who’s Got My Back,” which is disappointing and one of the main reasons for it being low on the list. Certainly an album that perhaps was unwarrantedly overlooked.
Highlights: Bullets, One Last Breath, Don’t Stop Dancing
By T. Bawden
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