Except, it's only been two years since grunge ceased being the dominant modern-rock trend. Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alice in Chains. Creed's 1997 debut, My Own Prison , sold 3 million copies. It's even better than the first album. Every song is excellent.
Creed touches many of the grunge bases.
Singer Scott Staap's brooding vocal drone sounds so much like Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder that Vedder should think about asking Staap for a royalty cut. And when it comes to gut-busting guitars, Creed's Mark Tremonti really brings the hammer down. His thunder-crack riffs noisily conjure Nirvana, by way of Blue Cheer. Since Creed was one of the few guitar-rock bands to sustain lasting chart success in '98, the band doesn't tempt fate by tinkering with its winning formula on Human Clay. A mix of fatalism and ennui has always found a home in heavy metal, from Black Sabbath to Judas Priest to Metallica.