Editing Creed (band) (section)

===''Human Clay'' and Marshall's departure (1999–2000)===
With money made from ''My Own Prison'', the band started to write for their second album, ''[[Human Clay]]''. The album's first single, "[[Higher (Creed song)|Higher]]", spent a record-breaking 17 weeks on the top of the rock radio charts.<ref name="allmusic.com" /><ref name="higher">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/miscellaneous-retail-retail-stores-not/4642080-1.html |title=Creed Goes "higher' In The Record Books |first=Mark |last= Marone |magazine=Billboard |date= January 21, 2000 |access-date=February 28, 2013 |archive-date=August 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110824163510/http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/miscellaneous-retail-retail-stores-not/4642080-1.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2009, "Higher" was ranked as the 95th greatest hard rock song of all time by [[VH1]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://stereogum.com/43591/vh1s_100_greatest_hard_rock_songs/list/ |title=VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs |date=January 5, 2009 |publisher=| website= Stereogum.com |access-date= February 28, 2013 |archive-date=July 17, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120717180122/http://stereogum.com/43591/vh1s_100_greatest_hard_rock_songs/list/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The album was released in 1999, when ''My Own Prison'' was still doing reasonably well.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://new.music.yahoo.com/creed/biography/ |title=Creed Biography |first=Steve |last=Huey |publisher=[[Yahoo! Music]]}}</ref> However, ''Human Clay'' was an instant and overwhelming success debuting at No.&nbsp;1 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] and selling over ten million copies over the next two years, allowing it to become one of the few rock albums to be [[RIAA certification|certified diamond]] by the [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]].<ref name="allmusic.com" /> The album was the band's first to hit No.&nbsp;1 in the U.S., where it debuted with first week sales of 315,000, and stayed on top for two weeks.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1427609/19991013/creed_3_.jhtml |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120630061410/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1427609/19991013/creed_3_.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 30, 2012 |title=Creed Remains On Top As Live Makes Big Chart Debut |date=October 13, 1999 |publisher=MTV |first=Robert|last=Mancini}}</ref> After the release of "Higher" and then the album in late 1999, three follow-up singles were released in 2000: "[[What If (Creed song)|What If]]", "[[With Arms Wide Open]]", and "Are You Ready?". The first three singles topped radio charts, giving Creed a total of seven chart-topping singles.<ref name="allmusic.com" /> The band would later go on to win a [[Grammy Award]] for "With Arms Wide Open" for [[Grammy Award for Best Rock Song|Best Rock Song]] in 2001.<ref name="grammy">{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/bands/g/news_feature_grammy01/grammy01frame.html |title=2001 Grammy Winners |publisher=MTV |access-date= February 4, 2011 |archive-date=November 6, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106162455/http://www.mtv.com/bands/g/news_feature_grammy01/grammy01frame.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Reviews for ''Human Clay'' were largely positive. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from [[AllMusic]] said that the record "does make it clear that there is an audience for post-grunge hard rock, as long as it's delivered without pretension and as long as it meets the audience's desire for straight-ahead, hard-hitting music."<ref name="AM">{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/human-clay-r429719/review |title=Human Clay&nbsp;– Creed |website=AllMusic | first=Stephen Thomas | last= Erlewine |access-date= February 28, 2013 |archive-date= March 15, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110315101308/http://www.allmusic.com/album/human-clay-r429719/review |url-status=live }}</ref> The lyrical content of ''Human Clay'' is a slight departure from that of ''My Own Prison'', touching on subjects such as fatherhood ("With Arms Wide Open") and [[lucid dream]]ing ("Higher"), as well as darker, more violent themes such as [[sexual abuse]] ("Wash Away Those Years") and [[hostility]] ("What If").<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.passionbreedsfollowers.com/media/print/areviews/gtm.shtml |title=Creed&nbsp;– Human Clay |publisher= Passion Breeds Followers |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715050840/http://www.passionbreedsfollowers.com/media/print/areviews/gtm.shtml |archive-date=July 15, 2011 }}</ref>

In March 2000, an authorized home video about Creed was announced on the band's website, but never released.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.creednet.com/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000302000906/http://www.creednet.com/ | archive-date=March 2, 2000 | title=The official website of Creed}}</ref> During the summer of 2000, bassist Brian Marshall began a spiral into [[alcoholism]]. The band had a meeting with management to discuss Marshall's future. Stapp and Tremonti supported the idea of Marshall going to rehab and attempted to talk Marshall into going, but he refused. Initially, the public thought Marshall was let go because he criticized [[Pearl Jam]] frontman [[Eddie Vedder]] in a radio interview with [[KNDD]] in June 2000, claiming that Scott Stapp was a better songwriter, and criticized Pearl Jam's recent albums for "having songs without [[Hook (music)|hooks]]."<ref>{{cite web|first1=David|last1=Basham|title=Creed Bassist Disses Pearl Jam in Radio Interview| url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1427593/creed-bassist-disses-pearl-jam-in-radio-interview/| publisher= | website = MTV.com |date=June 19, 2000|access-date=December 1, 2014|archive-date=November 8, 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141108135241/http://www.mtv.com/news/1427593/creed-bassist-disses-pearl-jam-in-radio-interview/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Stapp later distanced the rest of the band from Marshall's comments and stated, "Yes, we get tired of the PJ question, but there is no excuse for the arrogance and stupidity [of Marshall]. I ask you all not to judge Creed as a band, because the statements made were not the band's feelings, they were Brian's. I'm sorry if Brian offended anyone, and he has already apologized for his comments."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uk.real.com/music/genre/Christian_Rock/articles/375445/-related-articles-page-5/|title=Christian Rock - Christian/Gospel - Music |website= uk.real.com |date=March 2, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100302212304/http://uk.real.com/music/genre/Christian_Rock/articles/375445/-related-articles-page-5/|access-date=August 21, 2021|archive-date=March 2, 2010}}</ref> Tremonti and Stapp were concerned for Marshall and their collective friendships, but soon after the controversy, Marshall formed a new band called Grand Luxx with his old Mattox Creed bandmates.<ref name="allmusic.com" /> Stapp stated that Marshall's leaving was his choice and was unrelated to the Pearl Jam comments.<ref name="scott stapp interview mtv">{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/bands/s/stapp_scott/news_feature_080904/index2.jhtml |title=Scott Stapp Breaks His Silence |first=Joe |last=D'Angelo |website=MTV.com |date= August 9, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040814024301/http://www.mtv.com/bands/s/stapp_scott/news_feature_080904/index2.jhtml |archive-date=August 14, 2004 }}</ref> [[Brett Hestla]], from the band [[Virgos Merlot]], replaced Marshall as a touring member of Creed.