Heavier rock from the United States all starts to sound like soundtrack fodder for the Resident Evil movies at a point. Scott Stapp is no exception. Higher Power sounds relatively plain, heavy on the percussion and centred around finding its titular deity for guidance through the storm of life. But lead Creed man Stapp is here to face off against the struggles he faces, denouncing them in a fiery and instrumentally loud fashion. Most of these religious-themed records find themselves at odds with demons and failing to meet the lofty bar set by the almighty, but not Stapp. He finds himself with comfort through God and makes it clear on the title track opener, which comes and goes with all the same use as mid-2000s wrestling video game music.
So too for follow-up Deadman’s Trigger, a tonally similar track, almost too similar. Its instrumentals feel indifferent. The guitar work and steady stream of uplifting-like heavy rock begins to tire quickly. Plenty of spiritually charged efforts, leaning into those desires of healing pain and painting oneself as salvageable from the horrors of the real world. Stapp, for all his conviction to the higher powers, has little commitment to a sound which marks much interest. The likes of When Love Is Not Enough sound like half-baked Chris Cornell songs if the Soundgarden frontman had offered up songs of finding a way back to the warm embrace of the big man upstairs through stagnant guitar riffs. Higher Power sacrifices itself at the same altar of uninteresting religious rock. Theme is not the problem, but how it is delivered.
Stapp has not moved his sound or his writings on from the great overhaul of the 2000s, and it can be heard on Dorothy-featuring If These Walls Could Talk. Rabid chatter with yourself is presented as a deep conversation with the Lord fitted with an acoustic guitar and batting against those who expect the old self before religious comfort is found. It all makes sense on paper and feels deeply personal for Stapp, but the dated tone and lacklustre instrumentals prevent any sense of truthful connection. Sudden spurts of acoustic feel inevitable for this. It comes. Give it time. You’re Not Alone offering the mellow assurances of a man touched by faith and dialling his instrumental explosions to talk through it. Stapp’s bouts of optimism are difficult to feel all too moved by but once he enlists this stripped-back approach, and lets his gravelly voice course through without competition, he does find a way to hit out better.
Even then, these are the generic flutters of a man possessed by positivity. Dancing in the Rain should be clearer proof of that despite the weather warning in place. Float through the poor times and reap the rewards of a life well lived. Something like that. Stapp is just filling in time before another Creed reunion. Higher Power is inoffensive and light, and neither word should apply to an album where its creator has found inspiration from the divine. Instead, it feels very stock and standard, with empty Aerosmith-like riffs towards the end to show a change in tone which has affected Stapp’s life. Good on him. But his surplus to already excessive requirements makes it difficult to show much faith.
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