Alter Bridge or Creed?

[SorgFamily]

Van Halen. AC/DC. Black Sabbath. These bands plus a slew of others changed lead singers and found themselves not only in a battle against other bands but in a battle against there past selves. How do they measure up against who they were as compared to who they are. Most fans will all agree that David Lee Roth makes Van Halen just as Ozzy makes Sabbath. AC/DC fans seem to be the most mature ones. I don't see too many flame wars about who the better singer is, although from what I've seen it seems to slightly go to Bon Scott.

Now, this is a bit different than those examples but not a far cry. Mark Tremonti (guitar), Scott Phillips (drums) and Brian Marshall (bass) dropped Scott Stapp while in Creed and found a new singer in Myles Kennedy. Then they changed there name to Alter Bridge. So basically Creed with a different singer, even though I hate looking at it like that because they are not Creed in any way. The style is heavier, lack (for the better) the "faith" lyrics and feature guitar solo's out the wazoo.

My question to you is: Between Alter Bridge and Creed, which do you consider the better band? Do you prefer Creed for their anthemic singles like "Higher" and "With Arms Wide Open"? Or perhaps you like their earlier work like "My Own Prison" and "Torn"?

Or would you rather listen to Alter Bridge which did start out a little like Creed (contradicting myself) imo with the single "Open Your Eyes" before finding their footing with songs like "Blackbird", "Words Darker Than Their Wings", "Slip to the Void", "Ties That Bind" and "Coeur d'Alene" among others?

Personally I much prefer Alter Bridge. I was a fan of Creed just like every other teenager was in the early 2000's. I hadn't really discovered music on my own at that point, I was just listening to whatever was on the radio. With Alter Bridge (now smashing my own words) they do sound like Creed on just about every single they release ("Rise Today", "Open Your Eyes", the breakdown in "Find the Real", even parts of "Isolation") but it's the songs in between where the magic is. Their last album was a loose concept album about faith, not in a religious way like with Stapp, but about life. Myles said he had lost faith about life. He didn't know what is was for and he was thinking nothing mattered. Tremonti on the other hand was trying to help him and get him through this period in his life. This is all pretty much documented in the song "Words Daker Than Their Wings" where Myles takes the pessimistic verses and Tremonti takes the 2ns part of the verses about holding on. It's kind of heart wrenching when you know the story behind it. Besides that Kennedy's voice is simply amazing and Tremonti really gets a chance to shine here. In Creed he was more of a riff man. He could deliver riff after riff but his solos were limited because imo the music was more about a message than the actual music. In Alter Bridge there's still a message but they are being musicians here not just people to keep the song going.

Please check out this song Kennedy is the first voice, Tremonti the second. And if you can't understand why you always see people going on about Kennedy check out his scream in the last 35 seconds or so.

[YOUTUBE]ZClrm9NhQmU[/YOUTUBE]​

I could go on and on but I would like people to actually read what I typed instead of saying "Shit, I'm not reading all that", lol. Replies are appreciated.

 

[JWGunslinger]

I have to go with Creed on this one, simply because they had a bigger impact on my life when I was younger. I started listening to Creed when I found their My Own Prison album in my dad's truck(I found alot of bands like this) and I became a huge fan. They were my favorite band of any genre for years, I remember "borrowing" my cousin's Human Clay cd when it first came out and im pretty sure I still have it, I even got Weathered in my stocking on Christmas. There isnt one song I didnt like from Creed on any of their albums until Full Circle, I can listen those early albums any time though. I may not call them a favorite anymore or listen to them as often as I used to but their music is connected to alot of good past memories and they'll always be my favorite band of my early teen years.

Alter Bridge, I like these guys but I chose Creed over them because even though I am a fan now, when I was a Creed fan they were a bigger deal, and they impacted the music I listen to and my life. I still love AB songs like Metalingus(ofcourse ), Isolation and Watch Over.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Creed is far superior to Alter Bridge. Creed were one of my favorite bands and I was devastated when they split up. Then my first semester in college I heard about a band called Alter Bridge, who were the guys from Creed with a new singer. Obviously I had to check that out. Unfortunately I was disappointed in them because the singer was not as good (in my opinion) and also the fact that they just weren't as good as they were when they were Creed. They did give us Edge's entrance theme, as well as a track from the Fantastic Four soundtrack, and Blackbird which was also a decent song, but that's nowhere near enough to live up to what accomplished as Creed. Sadly we had to wait another 4 years or so for the REAL 4th cd of Creed's. They are one of the greatest bands ever and I like every single Creed song, including the new cd. That's more than I can say about Alter Bridge, who's talent I recognize but I like Creed a lot better.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I have actually just bought tickets this morning to see Alter Bridge for the 4th time, but while I admit they are the better band, I have to see I prefer Creed.

They were one of the 1st bands that I really loved when I got into music. I basically wore out my copy of the "Weathered" album and "My Sacrifice" is still one of my favourite songs. Almost all of that album is fantastic.

I was absolutely gutted when they broke up, I was asleep in bed and my brother came in and told me and I sat straight up in shock. I am still really disappointed that they never come to the UK, as I would pay almost anything to see them live. Their most famous songs like "With Arms Wide Open" and "Higher" are not favourites of mine, I much prefer "Signs", "Suddenly" and "What If", but I do like almost anything they have released.

I picked up the 1st Alter Bridge album due to all the ex-Creed members being involved, and I loved it. However, once again the singles they released- the more "Creedy" style songs are not my favourites. I like that Tremonti is given more freedom to show his talent with his solos in AB, and they have definitely matured as artists as the music is alot more varied and complex. I own all 3 of their albums and think they are all great.

Myles Kennedy is a far better singer than Scott Stapp, his range is unreal. However, as big of a fan of his as I am, I prefer Stapp's vocal style. The deeper, throaty sound is more my thing, and I think he suits Creed's sort of music very well.

I can appreciate why people hate Creed. Their religious messages can become grating for some, although I don't bother with that and just enjoy the music and riffs. The religious stuff isn't an issue for me, I appreciate the sound rather than the meaning of the lyrics.

It was a tough decision as I love both bands but because of the impact they had on me getting into rock music, my preferred style of vocallist and the fact that they were one of the bands that got me into rock music, I have to say I prefer Creed. But only just.

 

[Twiztid Rodimus]

Im going for Alterbridge, personally.

They may not have the commercial singles to speak for, like Creed, but they, with the addition of Myles Kennedy, a better vocalist in my opinion, they are a better band.

The problem, with both, is that they seem to be afraid to sat with a heavier sound. And I think that the band itself (since they are both the same without Scott or Miles) can do alot of heavy sounding music, and touch the sound every once in a while (What If, Bullets, Ties that Bind, Metalingus,Coming home)

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

Alter Bridge nick this for me.

Despite growing up with Creed and them having an impact on me in my formative years, Alter Bridge is who I listen to a lot more now.

Something that soured Creed a bit for me was Scott Stapp's attitude when he was battling with alcoholism as he seemed to be very disrespectful to fans, staff and even other musicians such as Myles Kennedy. However I'm glad that Scott's moved past that and has gone some way to re-building bridges which I applaud.

Alter Bridge, but there's not much between them. Oh and Tremonti owns, whichever band he's playing with. Obviously.

 

[Syn]

Alter Bridge. Completely

Creed was a rip off of Pearl Jam filled with faith messages. Scott tried his best to sound just like Eddie Vedder. Not a knock on the other band members themselves. I used to like Creed. When they disbanded, i stopped listening to them altogether.

Then i found out about Alter Bridge. Was jaw dropped by Kennedy's voice. Slash even went on record saying Kennedy has the best rock and roll voice out there. While the first album never really got me, except for Metalingus and Open You Eyes. The second album was incredible and Ties that Bind became a staple on every playlist.

 

[dcarson108]

Myles Kennedy is one of, if not the best, male vocalist out there today. Scott Stapp, on top of being one of the biggest douchebags in the world, cannot sing live. He has a decent recording voice, but his live stuff his hard on the ears. And who here knew Mark Tremonti could play the guitar as well as he does? Alter Bridge allowed him to break out of the simplistic Creed riffs and what not. While Alter Bridge will never sell the way Creed did, I cannot say Creed is better. More marketable maybe, but nothing about their music is better.

 

[Alex]

You know musically I like Creed, they're very good, however I can't get into Scott Stapp's singing. I have tried several different times to like him but I just can't.

I prefer Alter Bridge because they're heavier and Myles Kennedy just has a great voice and his influences (Robert Plant, Jeff Buckley etc) shine through and it shows how much versaitility the guy has.

 

[Avrusha92]

Honestly, I would have to say Alter Bridge because of their musical freedom.
Creed was sticking to one style, and Tremonti (who imo is VERY TALENTED) was very limited and couldnt show his skills.

When Alter Bridge was formed, Tremonti was taking lessons from Michael Angelo Batio to improve his skills,
and Alter Bridge allowed him to show off his guitar skills, rather than be all about the singer (CREED <--)

Myles doesnt have that typical Alternative Rock voice like Scott Stapp (who sounds like hes constipated) but he does have a very nasal-like voice
which can be a bit annoying, but look at Axl Rose, he had a very screechy voice but his vocal ranges were great.
Axl can hit very high notes, and stretch those long high notes, and I find that great about him.

Myles > Scott as a singer, Tremonti (AB) > Tremonti (CREED).

You can also tell that Tremonti improved a lot with AB, because when Creed's latest album Full Circle came out,
you can hear the improvement in Tremonti's playing.

Creed is the more popular band, because they did start off first and they also had major hits including:
Higher, One Last Breath, My Sacrifice, With Arms Wide Open, and What If (imo one of their best) and
its really a shame that Alter Bridge will NEVER be the more popular band, it will always be under-rated
because its in Creed's shadow, but WE MUST CHANGE THAT.

I feel the reason AB is under-rated is because when u look at the 70's 80's and 90's, lead singers would leave
their original bands and form a newer and better bands, both bands would stay pretty popular because in that
era majority of the people enjoyed hearing what the new band could do, and those were the eras of that certain music.

Creed was pretty lucky because of that certain decade, that people were into Rock,
and Alternative Rock (Green Day, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam), People were tuning into them, and gave them a chance.

Nowadays, Alter Bridge isnt too lucky, because lets face it.. the percentage of die hard rock fans have decreased,
and music is taken over by pretty boy pop stars, and such... which is a FAIL.

I could go on and on and on...

Edit: Oh and listen to Blackbird and Broken Wings.. the intro music is just BEAUTIFUL!

 

[Dr. Stinger A. Zoidberg]

Alter Bridge, Alter Bridge, Alter Bridge.

If you go and listen to all three studio albums they've released so far, you'll see that they're always trying something new. As Diablo said, Creed really only stuck to one thing. However, Alter Bridge is always experimenting. Each album has it's own unique sound. While One Day Remains did have a little bit of Creed's sound in it, it was still a good album that produced some good songs. Blackbird came after, and it focused more on Myles Kennedy's interesting voice. Their newest album AB III is the best out of all of them. This time, they've combined everything they were doing in their last two albums. It focuses on Myles' voice, and Mark Tremonti's outstanding guitar playing. I'd also like to add that Mark Tremonti is definitely a better guitarist with Alter Bridge. He's been able to have more freedom with his guitar parts, and he has shined. With Creed, Tremonti was just your average guitarist. But with Alter Bridge, Tremonti is outstanding. Kennedy's voice also brings something new and different to the rock scene. His voice is so unique compared to other voices, it just makes the songs even better. Creed has absolutely nothing on Alter Bridge.

 

[lenguy]

I've always preferred Creed. I've tried time and time again to get into Alter Bridge but I just feel they lack a certain something. Granted I was never a big fan a either band but I just found Creed better to listen to. I only like maybe 2 or 3 songs from Alter Bridge and I feel the band tries to hard to live up too the success that was Creed but can't seem to get there. I don't know, as I've pointed out, not a big fan of either band but I can tolerate listening to Creed more often.