The return of Grammy-winning songwriter, CREED frontman and platinum-certified solo artist Scott Stapp is underway. As new single "Purpose For Pain" gains traction, Scott today revealed the July 19 release date, the meaningful cover art, and the track listing for his first album in six years, "The Space Between The Shadows" (Napalm Records). The announcement coincides with the album's pre-order where fans will be gifted two instant grat tracks — "Purpose For Pain" and "Name" — with two more to come, "Face Of The Sun" (May 31) and "Gone Too Soon" (July 12). "The Space Between The Shadows" is powered by Stapp's introspective lyrics and his pitch perfect delivery that has consistently brought anthems of gratitude and optimism to music's darker side. Lead single "Purpose For Pain" is now one of the most added at rock radio in the U.S. Internationally, it has stormed playlists like Spotify's Rock Hard list, and been bolstered by its video. In it, we see the underlying contributors of, and the fight against, addiction and depression through the eyes of a child who escapes an abusive home, begins a solitary journey, tries to avoid chemical "solutions" for his pain, finds a battered-but-still-standing safe place where he wages an intense personal fight, and finally finds his way to an elevated, clear view of the all the possibilities ahead. "This album comes at a time where I have empathy, instead of anger, for what the 'boy' in the video went through," Stapp says. "My heart will always ache for him but as a man who's had successes, failures, four children, and a lot of support, I now identify with the boy in the last frame who sees infinite possibilities on the horizon and he finally trusts that he never really walks alone. The album cover is related to that concept — a boy journeys within and emerges a man with stories to tell and lessons to share." The second instant-grat track, "Name", is a chill-inducing promise to Scott's children. Available today via the album pre-order, the song has already been heard by select fans during radio visits where each performance is met with pin-drop silence and standing ovations for lyrics like: "I am a son without a father. He gave his name and walked away. I am a man, now a father. And I swear my son will never know that pain. I was a child, I was abandoned. Too young to fight to have a say. Oh God what seemed so heavy handed. Made me the man I am today. It's so hard to forgive. Even harder to forget." "Name" also gives the album its title, as Stapp vows to make his hard-learned lessons count: "I will...I will... be the space between the shadows. I will...I will... be the light inside the sorrow." "The Space Between The Shadows" was co-produced by Scott Stevens and Marti Frederiksen, with additional production on "Purpose For Pain" by Kevin "Thrasher" Gruft. The album was recorded at Sienna Studios and Poppy Studios in Nashville, Tennessee and The Cabin in Los Angeles. It was mixed by Chris Baseford and mastered by Howie Weinberg and features ten original songs and two original bonus tracks. Track listing: 01. World I Used To Know 02. Name 03. Purpose For Pain 04. Heaven In Me 05. Survivor 06. Wake Up Call 07. Face Of The Sun 08. Red Clouds 09. Gone Too Soon 10. Ready To Love 11. Last Hallelujah (bonus track) 12. Mary Crying (bonus track) Stapp is known as frontman for CREED (over 50 million albums sold worldwide), and for his work as a solo artist who released the platinum-certified "The Great Divide" (2005) and "Proof Of Life" (2013), which featured his first solo Billboard No. 1, "Slow Suicide". Stapp went through a highly publicized, drug-inflamed meltdown in 2014, after which he entered into an intensive rehab program. Stapp also lost custody of his three children during this period, while also missing a court hearing and allegedly threatening to kill President Obama. Stapp is now sober and in intensive therapy. He takes medication for bipolar disorder — a condition that causes unexpected shifts in mood, energy and activity levels — works through a 12-step program, and meets with a sponsor, saying, "Nothing is more important than my sobriety." Scott will embark on a cross-country summer tour in late June.
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