Creed’s “Human Clay”

When

Sep 30, 2023

Where

Into the neighborhood down the hill

Why

Curiousity

Rating

4/10

Distance

4.3mi

Vibe

Like a cop wrote a christian-rock album

How was the run?

I saw Heather and Raven walking this morning, but I changed my direction so I didn't have to say hello. My heart rate was too uncontrollably high and my anxiety was piqued for no reason. My right foot hurt a little bit because I tied my shoe too tight.

However, I did notice a new house with a yellow door; the Zillow listing is very cute, they did a good job.

How was the album?

I don't even think this album was a real presence in my house when I was growing up, but somehow I still know the entire song structure of Higher, including when the guitar solo starts and when he switches to harmonies on "to a place where blind men see" in the last chorus. There was a strong cultural osmosis happening in the early 2000s; every radio station was playing the same stuff.

All in all, this is actually not as bad as I thought. It's a really smooth listen for a hard-rock album. I'm also impressed that they put their two singles at #8 and #9 on this album. I had to make it through more than half the album to hear a song I knew.

Also – and I can't quite put this into words – but I think the guitars sound too in tune. Too clean, no grit, not sleaze. Maybe that’s a symptom of the christian rock, but I feel like they could have had more staying power if they made these songs sexier.

With that said, I can’t give this a score over 4/10. My punk rock cred strictly prohibits it.

Anything interesting?

There is the world’s most embarrassing hard-rock breakdown on Say I (somewhere around 3:00) that I think is supposed to come off as menacing, but maybe I don’t understand what “Say I” means.
There’s a version of With Arms Wide Open with a string arrangement that is kind of fun and was a nice way to cool down.
Beautiful sounds remarkably similar to a System of a Down b-side, and it's mind-boggling to think that both bands existed at the same time.
Listening to this makes me realize I gotta listen to a Pearl Jam record; I've never listened to them and I guess they sounded kinda similar.
The christian themes are really preoccupied with getting into heaven, rather than living a good life. Seems like they were worried they wouldn’t get a ticket.
This cover art is the best Windows XP could offer.

How do I listen to it?

How was the run?

However, I did notice a new house with a yellow door; the Zillow listing is very cute, they did a good job.

How was the album?

With that said, I can’t give this a score over 4/10. My punk rock cred strictly prohibits it.

Anything interesting?

There is the world’s most embarrassing hard-rock breakdown on Say I (somewhere around 3:00) that I think is supposed to come off as menacing, but maybe I don’t understand what “Say I” means.

There’s a version of With Arms Wide Open with a string arrangement that is kind of fun and was a nice way to cool down.

Beautiful sounds remarkably similar to a System of a Down b-side, and it's mind-boggling to think that both bands existed at the same time.

Listening to this makes me realize I gotta listen to a Pearl Jam record; I've never listened to them and I guess they sounded kinda similar.

The christian themes are really preoccupied with getting into heaven, rather than living a good life. Seems like they were worried they wouldn’t get a ticket.

This cover art is the best Windows XP could offer.