Creed were one of rock radio's biggest bands at the end of the '90s, but their meteoric rise came to a halt in 2004 when the group split up after three hit albums. In a new chat with Net Positive With Jon Crist (viewed below), Creed frontman Scott Stapp reflects on the split, taking the blame for the band's eventual divide.

Though Creed had some major radio hits, by the early 2000s there was a backlash that came with their popularity. But Stapp says he doesn't think that caused a panic within the group, telling Crist (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."

Stapp then alluded to the lifestyle that was thrust upon them with their fame. "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,'" recalled the singer. "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."

The singer elaborated, "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," he added. "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."

After the band wrapped up support of their Weathered album, it was nearly a year before they revealed the split, with guitarist Mark Tremonti citing the tensions within the band for their breakup. Stapp would go on to start a solo career, while Tremonti and drummer Scott Phillips welcomed back bassist Brian Marshall who had exited Creed in 2000 as part of their new band Alter Bridge with Myles Kennedy.

Stapp had previously delved further into his issues around the time of the group's split, telling Huffington Post in 2016, “My life was headed for superstardom; all of my rock ‘n roll dreams were coming true. And I remember waking up one day and feeling, ‘Something’s wrong with me.’ Just a heaviness. I had no energy. I didn’t want to get out of bed... That’s when the drinking and the pills came into the equation."

“I would just stay on my tour bus alone, kind of just cut everybody off,” he continued. “[It] really led to the breakup of the band.”

Eventually, the tensions soothed and Creed reunited for a tour and the 2009 Full Circle reunion album, but another lengthy hiatus followed in 2013 with both Alter Bridge and Tremonti's self-titled band taking up much of the guitarist's time.

Just last month, Tremonti revealed that he does feel another Creed reunion will happen "at some point," adding to Audio Ink Radio, "Creed was such a popular band back in the day, it would be a shame to not do something with it. I know there's still tons of fans out there that would appreciate it, so it's just a matter of timing."

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