Creed - Human Clay [2LP Colored UK Import]

Human Clay is the album that turned Creed from post-grunge contenders into one of the biggest rock bands on the planet, pressed here as a limited colored double LP.

Released in 1999, the Tallahassee band's second album reunited them with producer John Kurzweg and rode a wave of rock radio dominance. Scott Stapp's booming baritone and Mark Tremonti's thick, heavy riffs defined a sound that filled arenas at the turn of the millennium, earnest and big-hearted in an era that prized irony. Love it or roll your eyes at it, few rock records of the time connected with so many listeners so quickly.

"Higher," the lead single, is a song about lucid dreaming that climbs to a chorus built for stadium singalongs. "With Arms Wide Open," written as Stapp prepared to become a father, became the band's signature ballad, swelling from a gentle verse into a huge, emotional peak. "What If" brings the snarl, its heavier groove proving the band could hit hard, and "Are You Ready?" opens the album with a confident, chugging bang.

Revisited now, Human Clay is a vivid time capsule of late-90s rock radio. On colored double vinyl, it's a big, sincere record that still carries real weight, especially turned up loud.