Creed – Full Circle

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Mention the name “Creed” and the following few minutes will be a stream of rumours, prejudices and accusations. It’s something the band and fans are never going to be able to shake, and as soon as a reunion album and tour were announced, it all started again. Immediately the break-up of Alter Bridge was mooted, and officially rejected. And as with any reunion album, the doubts that they could perform to their previous heights flourished, even amongst fans, and particularly amongst naysayers. The truth of Full Circle is not only can Creed still “do it”, they’ve rediscovered the heavy side that made them popular in the first place. First single Overcome, Bread of Shame, and Fear all rumble with hugely heavy riffs arguably straight out of Mark Tremonti’s Alter Bridge catalogue, with Scott Stapp’s slightly angry, rough voice over them, they sound like vintage Creed. There are still the mellow tracks that always made them so unpopular with hard rock fans (On My Sleeve, Rain and Always In Silence), which in truth were always Creed’s most mundane moments, and a few obvious radio targets which down-play the role of the guitars with strummed chord riffs, like Time and A Thousand Faces, but overall even these heavy up in the right places and along with superb acoustic funky groove of the title track the band as a whole show they are in the form of their lives. This definitely makes up for Weathered at the very least.

Written by Andy Lye
More: Albums, Hard Rock, Quick.Play Reviews, Creed