Lack of individuality hurts Creed’s sound

Rock group Creed will perform at the Crowbar tonight, promoting their album My Own Prison.

Creed frontman and lyricist Scott Stapp grew up in a fervently religious Pentecostal household, was told by his father rock n' roll was the music of the devil and didn't hear Led Zeppelin until he was 20 years old.

Needless to say, Stapp, who will appear with his band tonight at Crowbar, 420 E. College Ave., does not have a deep rock background, and most of his songwriting influences come from bands of only most recent history -- most notably, Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Metallica.

With this in mind, it's almost excusable that the music he wrote for Creed's debut, My Own Prison, is sometimes boring and almost completely derivative.

That is, almost excusable.

With mainstream rock radio becoming more streamlined by the hour, it would be nice if My Own Prison, which has been steadily climbing the rock charts since its August release, was just a little bit different. It would be great if Stapp and his bandmates could have put out a record with even a shred of originality, songs that didn't sound like another band's or guitar riffs that strayed from tried-and-true grunge formulas.

But, for the most part, they didn't. From the metal-tinged opener, "Torn," to the hit title track, the record rarely takes risks, and is consequently just plain unexciting. Although Stapp does show some promise as a songwriter, the band's music is so derivative that it hardly qualifies as its own.

With its pensive guitar intro and over-distorted verses, "Torn" is a fitting opener for My Own Prison. It immediately sets the tone for the "Let's pretend to be a Seattle band" sound of the record, and establishes My Own Prison as little more than a grunge tribute album.

Stapp's vocals sound almost identical to those of Alice In Chains' Layne Staley, while guitarist Mark Tremonti does his best Jerry Cantrell impression. He even throws in faded backing vocals, just like Cantrell. Tracks such as "In America" and "Illusion," also show Creed in it's Alice-In-Chains mode, while "Ode" and "Unforgiven" show the band's vast diversity -- tired of mining Dirt for its material, Creed turns to Metallica for these tunes, which feature lightning-fast riffing, choppy power chords and a snarling Stapp.

It's a shame the band couldn't come up with a better sound, because much of Stapp's writing isn't all that bad. On "My Own Prison," he manages an admirable ode to personal responsibility. With "Pity For A Dime," he speaks of the difficulties of remaining true to one's self in the face of adversity. "In a state of self denial," Stapp sings, "Is it worthwhile, sell my pity for a dime?" He's no genius, but he shows he can think.

"Pity For A Dime" probably originates from Stapp's days living in his car after running away from home, and is the album's strongest song -- the band even sounds pretty good, offering Stapp a strong crescendo for his relaxed, then angry, vocals. Tremonti goes overboard with his guitar solo, but the song pulls through, providing a nice moment on an album that doesn't have many. Then again, most tribute albums don't, especially unintentional ones.

If Creed hopes to last beyond the success of "My Own Prison," it might want to expand its range of influences. Stapp may not have been able to listen to rock as a kid, but nobody's stopping him from heading to the record store now. He probably needs some new music anyway -- those Alice In Chains discs must be pretty worn down.