Editing Weathered (section)

==Music and lyrics==
Stapp describes the album as "two records in one" and "a very extreme record", as it features some of Creed's heaviest songs such as the opening track and second single "[[Bullets (Creed song)|Bullets]]", as well as some of the band's most uplifting numbers including their hit lead single "My Sacrifice", and the album's closing track "Lullaby".<ref name=Eliscu/> Manager Jeff Hanson described the album as Creed's version of ''[[The Joshua Tree]]'', feeling it would be the record that would set the band apart and have the epic scope and impact of the classic [[U2]] album.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mtv.com/news/1444927/creed-taking-things-higher-on-third-album/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220108022301/https://www.mtv.com/news/1444927/creed-taking-things-higher-on-third-album/|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 8, 2022|title=Creed Taking Things Higher On Third Album|last=Hiatt|first=Brian|date=July 3, 2001|publisher=MTV|access-date=January 7, 2022}}</ref> With bassist Brian Marshall no longer in the band, Tremonti played bass guitar for all the songs on the album in his absence. Tremonti and the band's approach to the album's musical style came with the intent of creating meaningful songs that would move people, rather than the more upbeat, popular rock music scene at the time. He credits the bands moody, somber, and darker sound, in contrast to other popular contemporary rock acts of the time such as [[Third Eye Blind]], [[Semisonic]], and [[Marcy Playground]] as a contributing factor for the band's success early in their careers.<ref name=Spin/>

The album opens with "Bullets", an anthemic and forceful heavy metal track that features some of Tremonti's fastest and most aggressive guitar work for Creed. Stapp wrote the lyrics about what he felt were unjust criticisms that the band had received throughout their careers from critics and the press. In the song, Stapp asks of them to "At least look at me when you shoot a bullet through my head!", inferring that if someone has something negative to say about them to do it to their faces.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://slate.com/culture/2009/10/creed-is-totally-underrated.html|title=Creed Is Good|last=Weiner|first=Jonah|date=October 21, 2009|work=Slate|access-date=March 28, 2021}}</ref>

"Bullets" is followed by another one of the album's heavier tracks, "Freedom Fighter". It is the band's shortest song ever recorded, clocking in at only 2:36. In between the first and second verse of the song, a muffled voice can be heard reciting the lyrics from the [[Bridge (music)|bridge]] section of "Wash Away Those Years", from the ''Human Clay'' album.

The album's third track, the eight-minute epic entitled "Who's Got My Back?", is the band's longest song ever recorded and one of their most experimental tracks. The song was written by Stapp, who was inspired to reconnect with his own Cherokee roots and heritage on the track. The song opens with a Bo Taylor's Cherokee Indian prayer, that according to Stapp, was "so moving to me. It literally brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it.""<ref name=Eliscu/><ref name=Billboardstaff/>

The band continues to explore dark themes on track five of the album with their hit single "[[One Last Breath (Creed song)|One Last Breath]]", a song which Mark Tremonti cites as one of his favourite guitar lines and musical compositions for Creed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/mark-tremonti-creed-alter-bridge|title=Mark Tremonti (Creed, Alter Bridge)|last=Derrough|first=Leslie|date=September 17, 2015|website=songfacts.com|publisher=Songfacts|access-date=March 9, 2021}}</ref> According to Stapp, the song is about someone crying out for help, realizing the mistakes they've made in their past, and your friends being there for you to lean on. Stapp also expresses sentiments about how in the minds of "normal, well-adjusted" people, any thoughts of moving beyond this life are not real, and how these surreal thoughts are just flashes-in-the-pan and they would never act upon them.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1453918/new-creed-video-looks-like-salvador-dali-meets-star-wars/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020040358/http://www.mtv.com/news/1453918/new-creed-video-looks-like-salvador-dali-meets-star-wars/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 20, 2016|title=New Creed Video Looks Like Salvador Dali Meets 'Star Wars'|last=Wiederhorn|first=John|date=May 10, 2002|publisher=MTV|access-date=March 9, 2021}}</ref>

Track six, "My Sacrifice", sees the band segue into its uplifting numbers on the second half of ''Weathered''. Lyrically, the song explores Stapp's own personal struggles with battling substance abuse, addiction and alcoholism and him coming to terms with his inability to stay sober despite his best efforts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kerrang.com/features/how-we-wrote-my-sacrifice-by-creeds-scott-stapp/|title=Creed's Scott Stapp On How They Wrote My Sacrifice|last=Pearlman|first=Mischa|date=December 6, 2019|website=www.kerrang.com|publisher=Kerrang!|access-date=March 10, 2021}}</ref> Musically, the song has a far more positive and uplifting sound comparable to the band's previous hit single "[[Higher (Creed song)|Higher]]".

"[[Weathered (song)|Weathered]]", the album's title track and final single, was written by Stapp about his feelings of sadness, bleakness and the pressures that came with living the rock star lifestyle while simultaneous having to conceal his rapidly deteriorating and unraveling mental state at the time from those around him.<ref name=Brannigan/>

{{Blockquote|"Yeah, and I think you could see that clearly in the Weathered album. The title and the lyrics on that record absolutely relate to that - "I'm rusted and weathered, barely holding together, I'm covered with skin that peels and it just won't heal" - that was me sharing my heart and soul. I guess I'd learned how to flip the switch when I had to." — Stapp<ref name=Brannigan/>}}

The final two tracks, "[[Don't Stop Dancing]]" and "Lullaby", close out the album on a soft note. "Don't Stop Dancing", the album's fourth single, is a [[Sentimental ballad|power ballad]] where Stapp lyrically expresses feelings of invisibility and insignificance in the world. The song features Stapp's sister Aimee Stapp on backing vocals during the bridge and the Tallahassee Boys' Choir singing a background chorus. The album's closing track, "Lullaby", is one of Creed's softest numbers. It is an acoustic duet track featuring only Tremonti on guitar and Stapp on vocals, making it the band's only song not to feature drums or bass guitar. Musically the song is a soothing piece similar to that of an actual [[lullaby]], while lyrically the song sees Stapp telling the listener to "Just give love to all".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2002-02-15-0202150006-story.html|title=A creed for the masses|last=Kot|first=Greg|date=February 15, 2002|website=www.chicagotribune.com|publisher=Chicago Tribune|access-date=October 16, 2021}}</ref>