Nation music’s unapologetic outlaw is again, and he’s not holding something again. Creed Fisher‘s newest album, Between Heaven and Hell, launched on October seventeenth, proves as soon as once more that he’s not right here to observe developments as he discusses in certainly one of his songs, “Nation Music”, however reasonably he’s right here to talk his reality. From the opening monitor, it’s clear this document marks a turning level for Creed. It’s a uncooked reflection of a person strolling the road between grit and charm. With every music, Fisher provides a deep dive into the contradictions, convictions, and confessions of a person who has sincerely lived each lyric he writes and he isn’t fascinated with enjoying by anybody else’s guidelines.
If Outlaw Affect Vol. 2 was a love letter to the legends who paved his manner, Between Heaven and Hell is Creed Fisher‘s declaration of each precisely who he’s and what he’s not.
The album kicks off with the title monitor, “Between Heaven and Hell”, a gritty mission assertion wrapped in metal guitar and soul-searching lyrics. “Skinny line between sin and salvation, my soul I swore I’d by no means promote,” he sings. Fisher isn’t asking for redemption however he’s not fairly giving in to damnation both. This opening monitor units the tone for an album rooted in contradictions, and all of the extra compelling due to them.
Then comes “Heaven Don’t Need Me”, a positive to be fan favourite within the making. It’s bought a bluesy piano boogie that’s infectious and a refrain that hits like a punchline: “Heaven don’t need me, and the satan ain’t achieved.” It’s a backhanded gospel for the rebels and everybody caught in life’s grey areas.
“The Actual Deal” throws swagger into overdrive. Fisher bites again on the doubters with “I by no means kissed ass for a greenback, now I’m rollin’ in greenback payments.”It’s a defiant anthem for anybody who’s needed to battle for his or her place on the desk with out promoting their soul to get there.
With “Satan In Boots”, Creed doubles down on that outlaw persona, warning: “I gained’t begin a battle, however I ain’t gonna lose one.” There’s menace in his voice, but additionally a proud reminder that being harmful doesn’t imply being heartless. Nevertheless, he does tell us that simply trigger he doesn’t begin fights doesn’t imply he’s ever going to again down and lose one.
Creed will get reflective and confrontational with “It Don’t Sound Like Nation”, calling out fashionable nation radio for drifting too removed from its roots. “The sh* they play today, it don’t sound the identical,”* he sings, paying homage to icons like Keith Whitley, George Jones, and Johnny Money. It’s a continuation of his 2024 covers album, Outlaw Affect Vol. 2, the place he introduced basic nation again to the forefront overlaying these influential artists from the previous.
That theme carries superbly into “Nation Music”, a piano-driven ballad drenched in nostalgia and heartbreak for a style that’s misplaced its manner. “There ain’t no pop in my nation,” Fisher declares, as metal strings swell behind him. It’s a quiet however highly effective promise to remain true to the actual stuff, one thing that all of us owe Fisher an amazing quantity of respect for.
Whereas the album packs loads of punch, a few of its strongest moments come when Fisher lets down his guard. “With out Me Right here” is a heartbreaking masterpiece, the form of tearjerker we hardly ever hear in fashionable outlaw nation. It’s an admission of failure and remorse, wrapped in a haunting piano melody whereas he sings, “In spite of everything this time, it appears you’re doing fantastic… with out me right here.” It’s not simply unhappy but additionally self-aware. On occasion all of us have second the place we have now to swallow our delight and admit to ourselves that we’d simply be the issue and Creed Fisher did this merely superbly.
On “An Outdated Outlaw Like Me”, he tells a lover she will be able to’t tame him and he or she shouldn’t attempt. “You might by no means love an previous outlaw like me,” he sings, totally accepting the worth of the trail he’s chosen.
He lightens the temper with “Wooden Smoke,” a feel-good weekend anthem about bonfires, buddies, and elevating hell underneath the celebrities. Then, in “Hold These Wheels Rollin’,” Fisher turns right into a road-weary romantic, portray a vivid image of lengthy drives, prayers from dwelling, and the second his boots lastly hit the entrance porch once more.
By the point we attain “Feelin’ Higher,” Fisher is reflecting on a near-derailment of identification and sanity. “Feelin’ higher now that I’m again on the street,” he confesses. This isn’t only a return to the street for Fisher, it’s a rebirth. And he makes it clear that this album isn’t only a assortment of songs, it’s remedy, testimony, and transformation. He takes us on a journey like no different, one monitor at a time.
“I Drink Like George Jones” is a wink and a warning, admitting that he’s not altering anytime quickly and he doesn’t plan to. And the closing monitor, “This Facet of Heaven”, brings all of it again dwelling, with a sobering take a look at actual life, actual struggles, and the peace discovered in the course of the chaos.
With Between Heaven and Hell out now, Creed Fisher isn’t slowing down. He’s taking the present on the street this fall with a nationwide tour.
Whether or not you’re listening for his robust man, “Satan In Boots”, or his susceptible aching “With out Me Right here”, there’s something for everyone on this album and we’re already anxious to listen to these boot-stomping hits and whiskey-soaked ballads dwell and in motion with the form of vitality that solely Creed can ship to a present.
You should definitely purchase your tickets now earlier than they promote out for an evening Between Heaven and Hell that you just gained’t overlook (or should you’re like Creed and also you Drink Like George Jones you won’t keep in mind).
– Written by Caroline Bowling
