Creed Resurrected... Like Jesus!

04/27/09 5:23pm

by Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

Christians believe it took Jesus three days to rise from the dead. It looks like Jesus beats Creed, since it took the band five years to do the same. But unlike Jesus, nobody believes they ascended to heaven.

The rumours are true. Creed have reunited and will launch an American tour that's slated to run from Aug. 6 to Oct. 14. Venues aren't set yet and no Canadian dates have been announced.

"I wouldn't call it a reunion," singer Scott Stapp told Rollingstone.com. "It's a renewing and a rebirth.

"I missed my boys and wanted to create music with them again. We're all thrilled to have a second chance to make a first impression."

Stapp and guitarist Mark Tremonti apparently met in December, put the band's acrimonious 2004 split behind them and started jamming. They connected with drummer Scott Phillips and original bassist Brian Marshall, who left the band in 2000, before long.

That soon led to the creation of six demo recordings for a new album tentatively titled Full Circle that Creed want to make in Nashville. They haven't lined up a producer yet, but Stapp says they've contacted Brendan O'Brien, Mutt Lange, Bob Rock, Steve Lillywhite and six or seven other producers.

"It really defines and articulates, melody-wise and lyrically, what's happened with us," Stapp says of a new song called "Full Circle."

"We've come full circle and it's a great place to be. The goal is to release the first single before the tour and have the album come out during the tour or right after."

Tremonti and Stapp formed Creed in 1995. Their My Own Prison debut and 2001's Weathered have sold more than six million copies in the U.S., while 1999's Human Clay moved 11 million units.

Creed's break-up was presaged by the Weathered tour, which ended with a show in Chicago at which Stapp appeared drunk and laid down in the middle of the stage. Stapp, who Rolling Stone magazine reports became addicted to Percocet on the tour, now says he doesn't even remember playing the show.

Stapp struggled with alcohol problems and thoughts of suicide before entering rehab after Creed's break-up. He released a solo album titled The Great Divide in 2005 and made a sex tape with Kid Rock the next year.

Count how many times Stapp does a Jesus Christ pose here:

Aug. 6 Pittsburgh, PA
Aug. 8 Darien Lake, NY
Aug. 9 Hershey, PA
Aug. 11 Saratoga Springs, NY
Aug. 13 Philadelphia, PA
Aug. 15 Wantagh, NY
Aug. 16 Holmdel, NJ
Aug. 18 Boston, MA
Aug. 20 Hartford, CT
Aug. 21 Washington, DC
Aug. 22 Virginia Beach, VA
Aug. 25 Detroit, MI
Aug. 26 Cleveland, OH
Aug. 28 Cincinnati, OH
Aug. 29 Indianapolis, IN
Aug. 30 Chicago, IL
Sept. 1 Milwaukee, WI
Sept. 2 Columbus, OH
Sept. 4 Raleigh, NC
Sept. 5 Charlotte, NC
Sept. 11 Atlanta, GA
Sept. 12 Birmingham, AL
Sept. 15 Orlando, FL
Sept. 16 West Palm Beach, FL
Sept. 18 Lafayette, LA
Sept. 19 New Orleans, LA
Sept. 20 Bossier City, LA
Sept. 22 Dallas, TX
Sept. 24 San Antonio, TX
Sept. 25 Houston, TX
Sept. 27 Las Vegas, NV
Sept. 29 Glendale, AZ
Sept. 30 Irvine, CA
Oct. 2 Salt Lake City, UT
Oct. 3 Denver, CO
Oct. 6 Minneapolis, MN
Oct. 7 Omaha, NE
Oct. 9 Tulsa, OK
Oct. 10 Kansas City, MO
Oct. 13 St. Louis, MO
Oct. 14 Nashville, TN