
Though Creed would go on to become one of the biggest bands in rock in the late ’90s and early aughts, they ended up calling it quits in 2004; the band would rejoin in 2009, but then would enter a hiatus three years later.
With all the fame and attention being thrown their way, why did Creed decide to initially hang up the towel? Well, per ex-band frontman Scott Stapp, he says he is somewhat to blame.
During a recent conversation with Net Positive With John Crist, Stapp spoke about some of the conflicts that were taking place in the band back in the day.
What gets Stapp talking about the band’s past is when he is asked if he and the guys felt “panic” after releasing a flood of hit songs. In response to this, Stapp shares the following (as transcribed by Blabbermouth):
“I don’t think there was panic; I think there was some frustration and anger. And I think it was one of the handful of reasons that we ended up breaking up. Of course, there were some more that were much more impactful, but that was just the layer. Because the guys were, like, ‘This isn’t what we signed up for.’
“And to their credit, it’s because they didn’t wanna be fake; they didn’t wanna be hypocrites. They were, like, ‘Hey, man, we’re not living the life that someone who claims to be a Christian is living, and we don’t wanna have people perceive us that way and live a lie.’ So that’s just them being authentic.
“So I can’t blame them for that. And me too. I was telling them, ‘Guys, sorry.’ At the time, I wanted to participate in the same lifestyle, and was. So we were all kind of a in a conundrum.
“What went on after the shows, when each one of us were single at various times… We were living like rock stars, man. We were young and living the life… And we were on fire, man. Everyone brought something every night to the stage, man, and people came. We started doing multiple nights in arenas, selling out all over the United States, and then we were moving into stadiums. We had giant stadiums on hold, getting ready to move into the stadium tour scene, and that’s when the band broke up.
“And there was a lot of factors, bro. I can own my part. I got mixed up in some things I shouldn’t have that I go to a program for today. And that, I’m sure, was a major part, because had I not developed those issues, I think we probably could have worked through everything else. So I’ll take the blame about that.”