November 20, 2001 - Weathered

Five days after my last release and a little over two years since the mega popular "Human Clay", Creed released their third album "Weathered" on November 20, 2001. Bassist Brian Marshall was going through a really tough time with substance abuse and was fired from the band. Creed becomes a 3-piece for this album as Mark Tremonti does both guitars and bass. Scott Stapp was going through problems of his own so this was a very tumultuous time for the band, but that didn't stop them from making a second straight album to reach #1 on the charts. Let's check out the latest from Creed!

The album kicks off with it's second single "Bullets" and after a slow opening with some quiet talking they emerge nicely into the main riff with Tremonti playing some fast, heavy and pretty sweet guitars. Stapp sings a pretty solid verse in his typical post-grunge voice and things sound pretty heavy for Creed, especially for a single! They quiet things down briefly before returning to the main riff to close things out and I thought this was a pretty good way to open the album! Up next is "Freedom Fighter" and Tremonti leads the way with another heavy and cool guitar riff. Tremonti plays some solid bass as well and Stapp continues to sound pretty great yelling overtop the heavy music. This song is only two and a half minutes, but it's another well above average tune! Track 3 is nearly eight and a half minutes and it's called "Who's Got My Back?" It opens with what sounds like an Indigenous tribal chant by someone who isn't Stapp and this is a pretty unexpected way to get things started. After the chant dies down Tremonti starts up a quiet but epic guitar riff then Stapp enters with a slow verse to nicely match the mood. The first chorus is also in this light and epic style and then the rhythm section finally joins the mix with some light bass and a light drum beat by Scott Phillips. As they ramp up into the second chorus Tremonti finally shifts to a much louder version of the same riff and Stapp yells nicely in this slow chorus. They jam out this loud version of things for several more minutes and things sound solid, but also with nothing too flashy happening and they end it as it began with more tribal chanting. The next track is "Signs" and it's got a nice headbanger of a main riff with Phillip's playing some solid drums and Tremonti playing some super catchy and cool guitars. Stapp sings a solid verse as well and altogether things sound pretty good. This is probably my favourite song so far, and it's been a good album so far! Track 5 is a much more typical single titled "One Last Breath" and Tremonti leads the way with a light and epic guitar riff while Stapp sings a sappy verse overtop. The chorus is super made-for-radio, but it is pretty catchy and when they add strings to the mix the epicness only goes up. The quiet parts are pretty sappy, but when they turn it up and get loud things sound pretty good and it's no wonder this was a successful single. Up next is the album's lead single "My Sacrifice" and Tremonti starts things off with an epic light guitar riff, but they nicely move into a nice hard rock main riff that is slow and very made-for-radio. Stapp sings a solid verse overtop and the chorus is super pop-y and accessible, but Tremonti's guitar still sounds solid and it is pretty damn catchy. They quiet things down after the next round, but Stapp just continues to sing the same verse and chorus overtop, then things pick up again for a louder finish. A good single, but a little repetitive and pretty pop-y. Track 7 is "Stand Here With Me" and Tremonti follows the same formula by starting light, then segueing nicely into a heavier main riff with some cool guitars and some nice heavy bass. Stapp delivers the name of the song with no music behind him, then they slam into a heavy and pretty cool chorus riff and things sound pretty epic and cool. Tremonti even delivers a solo that has a bit of shredding going on and this is what I'm talkin' about! They finish out the song with a repetitive but heavy new riff mixed together with a final chorus riff and the two riffs together does sound interesting, and this was a cool tune! The next track is the title track "Weathered" and Tremonti plays a smooth and cool light guitar riff, Phillips plays a simple but catchy drum beat and Stapp sings a soft post-grunge-y verse that rolls perfectly overtop. The chorus is heavier and pretty solid with some much better drums, some more catchy guitars and of course a solid chorus by Stapp. They really nail this slow but smooth vibe and it's not a headbanger, but it is really well done. Five and half minutes might've been a little long, but it's a good song still. Track 9 is "Hide" and it's got an upbeat rhythm section with Tremonti playing some pretty cool light guitar as Stapp sings a typical verse overtop. He really holds his grunge-y notes in the chorus and things sound pretty sappy; it's a decent sappy with some nice guitar, but still pretty damn sappy. It's no surprise this was also eventually a single but it's not one of their better songs. Up next is "Don't Stop Dancing" and Stapp starts right into another sappy verse as Tremonti plays some more super light and sappy guitar in the verse. The chorus is louder and a bit heavier, but still very simple and sappy and this album is not finishing very strong at all! Tremonti plays a long "solo" but it's so simple and made-for-radio and the addition of a female vocalist for the latter half of the song does not help with the sappiness. The final song on the album is "Lullaby" and Tremonti plays some very soft acoustic guitar while Stapp sings another super pop-y and sappy verse. It's just the two of them for the whole song and I'm not a fan of this love-y dove-y duet. It's a super soft way to end the album, even softer than the previous two songs, which is really saying something.

That is the end of "Weathered" and I thought it was a good but not great album by Creed. The first half is pretty good with some faster, heavier stuff, but the second half is very slow and sappy and not what I want to hear from Creed. I think it's easily the worst of their three albums, not close to "My Own Prison" at all, but it was still very succesful with the masses. This also happens to be the last album of the year, and so begins the year-end wrap-up! 26 albums (plus 2 EPs) this year is down two from last year, but still pretty strong and once again there were all kinds of great albums.

Top 15 Albums of 2001

1. Lateralus by Tool
2. Toxicity by System Of A Down
3. Iowa by Slipknot
4. Blackwater Park by Opeth
5. Origin Of Symmetry by Muse
6. Wages Of Sin by Arch Enemy
7. Sounding The Seventh Trumpet by Avenged Sevenfold
8. Invitation To The Dance by 40 Below Summer
9. Last Night In Town by Every Time I Die
10. Inertia by Derek Sherinian
11. Recordings by Porcupine Tree
12. So Sedated, So Secure by Darkest Hour
13. God Hates Us All by Slayer
14. The Interzone Mantras by The Tea Party
15. Beneath The Encasing Of Ashes by As I Lay Dying


The top 4 albums are all really fucking good this year, anyone of them could be album of the year in a different year, but Lateralus takes the cake as the best album of 2001. More awesome music to come in 2002!