Credo - Discography and Video (1994 - 2011)

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Credo - Discography and Video (1994 - 2011)

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Credo were once described as “The best progressive rock band you’ve never heard of.” With the the release of their third album - Against Reason - and the critical acclaim of their last two releases - studio album Rhetoric and Live CD/DVD This is What We Do - Credo are certainly changing the ‘never heard of’ bit. Now celebrating nearly 20 years recording and playing history, it seems odd to say that Credo’s recent rise has been ‘meteoric’, but they are fast becoming one of the leading lights of the European progressive rock scene. It is safe to say that Credo have now come to maturity, producing powerful, melodic and lyrically challenging rock music - on record and on stage.

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Credo - Discography and Video (1994 - 2011)

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Early Days

Credo’s earliest roots can be traced back to the mid ‘70s when Tim Birrell (guitar) and Jim Murdoch (bass) took their first steps in the music business together in Scotland. Sadly, success eluded the talented duo and their original band split up and members dispersed across the UK.

Many years later the pair decided to give it another go and recruited gifted lyricist and keyboard player Mick Stovold, followed by Paul Clark on drums. Mark Colton eventually joined the, as yet un-named, band in 1992, having been spotted charismatically fronting cult legends Casual Affair.

The band played their first live show in Aldershot in April 1992 as Ad Hoc, temporarily changing their name to Chequered Past before ditching all-comers to settle on ‘Credo’ in 1993.

Field of Vision

Credo released their debut album - Field of Vision - in 1994, to some success in the UK and Neo Prog strongholds across Europe. The whole album was recorded and mixed in four days. Despite its acknowledged shortcomings, the songs were lyrically and melodically strong and well-received live. The original intention was just to sell the album at gigs on cassette, but UK label Cyclops approached the band, signed them up and released the album on CD shortly after.

Extensive touring followed, when suddenly Mick Stovold decided to leave the band. His replacement, Mike Varty (Landmarq, Shadowland, Janison Edge, Mick Pointer’s Marillion / Script For A Jesters Tour), marked the emergence of the Credo we hear today.

Rhetoric

The band immediately set to work on a second album in 1999, but following a horrific run of bad luck, ill health and assorted disasters, few people expected the new album to see the light of day; or even to see Credo on a stage again. However, improved circumstances, a new drummer in Martin Meads and a lot of hard work and determination eventually resulted in Credo releasing their second album Rhetoric in 2005 - exactly 11 years to the day after their debut! The album was engineered and produced by Mike Varty; mixed by Mike and Karl Groom at Thin Ice Studio and released on the F2 label.

Rhetoric was exceptionally well-received, gaining universal praise, and is rightly viewed as a giant leap forward for the band from their debut CD.

What became the almost never-ending “Rhetoric On The Road” tour kicked off with the band playing their first gig in 6 years, bottom of the bill at a long-forgotten three band show in Reading. Mark's well-documented health issues in particular led to the band and their loyal following all being very nervous about the return to the stage. But the gigs really showcased the new maturity of the music, together with Credo’s traditionally blistering live presence.

The widespread acclaim and numerous plaudits for Rhetoric that followed led to a string of prestigious gigs, awards and unexpected opportunities. In particular, Credo brought the house down in the USA at ROSFEST 2008 and PROGFARM in Holland, with a short tour with Blind Ego to follow.

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Credo - Discography and Video (1994 - 2011)

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This Is What We Do

Finally, the Rhetoric Tour culminated in a fabulous show in Katowice, Poland that was released as a double live album and DVD - This is What We Do. With this release, Credo really consolidated their reputation as an exciting and powerful live act.

Against Reason

Credo’s new album - Against Reason - was released on 11 April 2011. Once again produced by Mike Varty and released on the F2 label, the album is launched with extensive live dates in the UK and abroad.

Against Reason demonstrates a more intricate feel, lyrical challenges, fuller soundscapes and powerful melodies. The lead track from the album – Staring at the Sun – has already caused a stir amongst those who have had the chance to hear it.

2011 looks set to be a very exciting year for the band therefore and, once again, Credo are expecting to surprise, with a challenging and powerful 3rd album, a greater confidence and a cracking new live set.

Credo official website

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Credo - Discography and Video (1994 - 2011)

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Credo - Discography and Video (1994 - 2011)

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I looked for this album for a long time. Not that I was expecting much from it. According to band members, it was never intended to be released on CD and it was supposed to be only a cassette recording to sell at their pub gigs!! (remember, it was 1994) I bet a reviewer here who bashed Field Of Vision unmercifully didnґt know that. Anyway, I had all this upfront knowledge when I got the CD and I was ready to meet a badly recorded, done by a yet-not-mature band. But, in some ways, I was surprised by the good quality of it.
Ok, originality was something far from being achieved here. Credo was still one of several new bands trying to emulate their recently deceased heroes of Marillion (well, at least thatґs the way I thought Marillion was after Fish has left them): for exemple, the beginning of the second track, Good Boy, sounded strikingly familiar, too much like a mix of Market Square Heroes and Garden Party riffing, although the song itself is quite good. And the songwriting of this CD is probably the one aspect that surprised me the most, with songs being very well cut and performed. It is clear that the band had a lot to learn yet, but the all basic elements were there already. Unlike other reviews here, I think the tunes are very promising, with at least a couple of gems: Sweet Scarlet Whisper and A Kindness. Both are excellent songs, very well arranged and passionate delivered.

The performances and the overall sound are superior than I had expected considering the bandґs meager resources at the time. Singer Mark Colton has a nice voice that works very well with the style while bassist Jim Murdoch was already a fine player. Guitarrist Tim Burrel also showed great skill, even if he was still suffering a kind of "Steve Rothery syndrome" on several cuts. Actually the only department that the band was lacking a better player was at the keyboards. Not that Mik Stovold was bad, no, but it is clear the band needed a more accomplished and agressive player for this function (eventually they would, when the excellent Mike Varty arrived a little later). The production and mixing are adequate for the time.

Conclusion: while not nearly as good as their latter work, Field Of Vision clearly portrays a promising band in the right way. Although few songs here are really outstanding, none is crap. Iґm glad Credo went on to release such excellent records as Rhetoric and Against Reason. This one may be seen as a blueprint of those. The real rating should be 2.5 but I decided to round up to 3 to compensate the unfairness of some of the earlier reviews.

by Tarcisio Moura, progarchives

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Credo - Discography and Video (1994 - 2011)

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This one is really interesting for fans of the old school of neo. First of all I must say it took me a long time to get this CD. I read the favourable reviews, but then I saw many others on bands that I found they did not add much to the musical scene, at least to me. so I was not in a hurry anyway. When I finally decided to get this CD I was not expecting much. Boy, was I wrong! Wonderful melodies, superb musicanship and a very fine lead singer. Yes, the music is very much in the neo prog vein of old Fish era Marillion, but they do have a personality and they sound fresh and exciting all the way through the entire CD.
I'm really surprised they are not as well known as they should be. If you have any doubts just listen to a track like The Letter: this highly emotional song alone is worth the price of the CD! Its slowly built up with fine guitar lines and wonderful symphonic keybords help to add the tension implied in the lyrics as the story unfolds to make a terrific melodical explosion at the end. It gives me goose bumps everytime I hear it. and there's 8 more winners to make this one of the finest neo prog albums of the new millenium. NO fillers here. I really hope this band release new stuff like that in the near future. Highly recommended indeed!

by Tarcisio Moura , Progarchives

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Credo - Discography and Video (1994 - 2011)

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Credo - Discography and Video (1994 - 2011)

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Prolusion. CREDO is a UK band with a short discography but a long history and a prolonged dramatic experience. After a literally Chequered Past, they ended up choosing Credo as their moniker in the early ‘90s, sometime after Mark Colton joined the band. Their debut album "Field of Vision" was issued in 1994, and then 11 years went by, more than half of those lost due to vocalist Colton fighting a serious, life-threatening condition, before their sophomore production "Rhetoric" was issued in 2005. "This Is What We Do" is their first ever official video, released on DVD by the Polish label Metal Mind in 2009.

Analysis. Metal Mind has been pretty active when it comes to producing and releasing live DVDs by artists active in various aspects of progressive rock the last few years and has established a pretty professional set-up when it comes to recording, producing and releasing these titles. They seem to have specialized in creating DVDs with artists a bit below the radar, with few or no past video releases. As usual with all DVDs I've come across so far from the label, the technical quality is about as good as one can expect for a title starring an act outside of the mainstream market – the picture quality is good; color balance, picture sharpness and resolution all adequate or better. There's good variety to the live footage taken at Katowice as well, where overhead shots of the stage and audience are mixed effectively with shots of the band and the individual musicians and with some select focus sequences where we get to see the musicians performing on their instruments in detail. The sound quality comes across as very good; as far as I can tell the audio part of this production could be issued as a standalone live CD without much, if any, additional work. For a band with only two studio efforts to their name, the DVD contains surprisingly extensive material. The main event itself, the concert, clocks in at just over 107 minutes. The band performs all the tracks from their second album, a medley from their first album and one new composition, an unnamed track from an album planned for future release. And with 80 or so minutes of bonus material, it's an impressively long release considering the band's discography. As for the concert, the band itself isn't all that inspiring to look at in general. The instrumentalists are pretty stationary and perhaps apart from the drummer none of the guys look even remotely like anything you would expect a rock musician to be like. There's no action as such, no thrills and no frills - the music is the most important thing here, and although not an exciting sight the band are quality live performers. The exception to the above, and also quite literally the big asset of Credo as a live unit, is frontman and vocalist Mark Colton. In the early stages of the concert he seems a bit unsure of the audience and chooses to goof around with his teammates in addition to showcasing an amazing presence - his body language and facial expressions when conveying the strong stories the band's compositions convey are fascinating and moving. This is a guy who seems to pour his heart and soul into his performance from start to finish and it's difficult not to be moved by his performance. And when goofing around on stage with his bandmates, the band comes across as a warm and caring unit, with smiles, looks and actions telling the tale of a band that truly enjoys each other's presence. As the concert moves on, the audience starts to get involved as well, thankfully well documented on the video. And the way that frontman Colton feeds off the audience response is a joy to witness. Not long after the positive audience reaction starts to grow he's got them all in the palm of his hand, and when the show is over Credo is given a standing, jubilant ovation from the crowd at Katowice Theater: Hard to describe in words alone, but certainly worthwhile witnessing. For those unfamiliar with this band, you may want to know something about the music as well. In short, we're dealing with an outfit exploring a style of music pretty similar to Fish-era Marillion. Atmospheric guitars and keyboard layers with references to the symphonic side of vintage art rock is the name of the game, with slightly more versatile guitar explorations than other acts pursuing this style of music. The band specializes in lyrics dealing with real life issues, from the trench warfare of World War 1 to girlfriends with a desire to become active in the porn industry, which may be the one aspect of their output that to some degree separates them from similar artists. They are good at what they do though, but arguably a better live act than a studio act due to the stage presence of Mark Colton first and foremost.

Conclusion. As the first live DVD from this band and in fact their first live release in any format, this production should be highly interesting for any fans of the band, especially as this excursion is of good quality. Having had the good fortune of witnessing Credo live myself, at ROSfest in 2008, I'll have to admit that I have seen the band more entertaining than what's presented here, but as far as performance goes this concert is a better one overall. A recommended purchase for fans and anyone with an interest in becoming more familiar with this act and those intrigued by frontmen with large stage presence should have an interest in this venture too, due to Credo's vocalist Mark Colton.

by Olav M Bjornsen, progressor

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Credo - Discography and Video (1994 - 2011)

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Credo - Discography and Video (1994 - 2011)

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Credo - Discography and Video (1994 - 2011)

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Credo - Discography and Video (1994 - 2011)

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Credo - Discography and Video (1994 - 2011)

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Credo - Discography and Video (1994 - 2011)

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Every so often a new album comes along which reassures us that it is still possible for a band to come up with material which is of the quality we enjoyed all those years ago when prog was in its heyday. These days, with the word prog no longer being a dirty word, many bands are finding it convenient to add prog to their CV's, pulling the name in directions for which it was never intended. It seems though Credo are intent on creating music for which the epithet progressive rock was truly meant.

By any standard, "Against reason" is a mighty album. Released some 6 years after the acclaimed "Rhetoric", and only the band's third full album since their formation almost 20 years ago, "Against reason" boasts an unchanged line up. The highly talented (and indeed sought after) keyboards player Mike Varity (also of Landmarq, Shadowland and Janison Edge) takes charge of production, with the band collectively sharing the writing credits throughout.

With just eight tracks, and a running time of around 70 minutes, it is immediately apparent that the tracks here have been carefully nurtured to their full fruition. The band play to their strengths throughout; Mark Colton's vocals are perfectly suited to what we can conveniently label neo-prog; Mike Varity either lays down the lush swathes of sound on which the tracks are founded or flies off on one of his wonderful solos and Tim Birrell is surely one of the finest lead guitarists currently recording. Not just in terms of dexterity, but in the perfect lead guitar sound he has developed. The band is rounded off by the powerhouse of Jim Murdoch on bass and drummer Martin Meads.

The album opens with the 10 minute "Staring At The Sun" (this song can be heard on the band's website), an environmentally friendly number which hits the ground running with an attention grabbing synth burst introducing the album's most anthemic track. "Cardinal sin" ventures into sensitive and emotive areas, exploring the trauma suffered by victims when bringing the guilty to justice. Birrell's lead guitar solo captures the emotions of the song beautifully, while Colton's vocals expose the full drama of the lyrics.

"Intimate strangers" is a softer portrayal of the breakdown of a relationship. The track features the voices of band in full harmony, before concluding with a fine instrumental section. The title track is the only completely instrumental track on the album. A relatively brief piece, it offers a relaxed interlude between the heavier numbers which surround it.

"Insane" takes on the weighty topic of what people will do, especially in terms of violence, in the name of religion. Understandably, this is probably also the heaviest track musically too, Colton beseeching "Insane, are we insane?". "Reason to Live" is the shortest track on the album, and thus acts as a second respite among its weighty peers. The song is a reflective harmony piece with atmospheric floating synths.

"Conspiracy (MCF)" deals with the dearth of truth and conspiracy theories in modern society in a "Jesus he knows me" (Genesis) sort of way. Indeed there is a bit of a Genesis feel to the track in the Banks like synth breaks too. The album closes with what for me is the best of the bunch. "Ghosts of yesterday" reminds me in passing of the earlier days of Arena, and in particular "Solomon". Lyrically the song looks at the human impact of political decisions, in particular those relating to traditional industries. Like "Solomon", this 13+ minute epic is performed at a regal pace (dictated by the ticking clock which opens the song). Beginning as a quasi-acoustic number, the track builds through strong melodies and repeated refrains in classic neo-prog style. Birrell's lead guitar never sounded better, but the whole band are in their element here. As the piece reaches its crescendo in a melting pot of soaring guitars, sways of synths and repeating refrains, we are lifted ever higher by the majesty of the music.

In all, a truly excellent set, which sees Credo maturing into one of the finest of the bands we refer to as neo-prog. Hopefully "Against reason" will find the global success it warrants.

"Is it reasonable?" proclaims the graffiti on the back of the accompanying booklet. Yes, it is entirely reasonable.

by Easy Livin, progarchives