My Own Prison

My Own Prison is the debut studio album by American rock band Creed, released in 1997. The album was issued independently by the band's record label, Blue Collar Records, on April 14, 1997, and re-released by Wind-up Records on August 26, 1997. Band manager Jeff Hanson matched Creed with producer John Kurzweg, and My Own Prison was recorded for $6,000, funded by Hanson. Creed began recording music and released the album on their own, distributing it to radio stations in Florida. The band later got a record deal with Wind-up.

At the time of My Own Prison's publication, Creed were compared to several bands, including Soundgarden (especially the Badmotorfinger era), Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Hootie & the Blowfish, Tool, and Metallica. Influenced by heavy metal and 1970s stadium rock, My Own Prison's music has been described as grunge, post-grunge, and "slightly heavy metal, slightly alternative". The album's lyrics cover topics such as emerging adulthood, self-identity, Christianity and faith, sinning, suicide, unity, struggling to prosper in life, pro-life, and race relations in America. Vocalist Scott Stapp and guitarist Mark Tremonti said their early adulthood inspired lyrics to the title track and "Torn". Stapp was inspired by music by U2 (particularly The Joshua Tree), Led Zeppelin, and the Doors. Tremonti, who brought heavy metal elements into Creed's music, credits influences such as the thrash metal bands Metallica, Slayer, Exodus, and Forbidden.

Creed released four singles from the album: the title track, "Torn", "What's This Life For", and "One". Despite only peaking at number 22 on the Billboard 200, strong radio airplay propelled My Own Prison to become a commercial success. All singles aired on rock radio in the United States and, with the exception of "One", had music videos broadcast on MTV. My Own Prison was eventually certified sextuple Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and by 2009, sold over 6,000,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The album received mixed reviews, which complimented its guitar riffs and music but criticized its similarity to 1990s grunge bands.