Now I never got into Alter Bridge straight off the bat. I think it was the whole ‘they were in Creed’ thing that put me off. I only like a few Creed songs, like ‘Bullets’, so I wasn’t that interested.
It wasn’t until a friend saw them perform at Download a few years back and text me saying “Just watched Alter Bridge. It’s them that do Edge’s entrance music”. For the non-wrestling fans out there, Edge is/was a WWE superstar, and it turns out that his entrance music at the time (still might be for all I know) was Alter Bridge’s ‘Metalingus’. And I liked that song.
So, me being me, just went to a shop the next day and bought myself a copy of ‘One Day Remains’. Got in the car and put it on, skipping straight to the aforementioned track. Loved it. So I listened to the whole C.D., loved that too. Went to see ‘em live and they impressed me. Bought ‘Blackbird’ and loved that. Seen ‘em a few more times since and they’re such a good live act. So it’s hardly surprising I got myself a copy of new album ‘AB III’.
Alter Bridge - AB III
So yeah, I like Alter Bridge. They’re a decent band who can pull out the fast, heavy riffs and still make it melodic, then throw some great clean vocals over the top that just adds to the music so very well. Then they can whip some slower heavy songs and acoustic tunes into the mix and some ‘lighters-in-the-air’ numbers to.
Mark Tremonti is a fantastic guitarist. I’ve watched him thrash the nuts off his guitar and not break a sweat. I’ve read in Total Guitar about how methodical his playing is, and heard some of the showy lead playing (Check out ‘Ahavo Rabo Taco Salad’ if you can) that he can do. And Myles Kennedy is a definite fave vocalist in my books. Always thought he was pretty awesome, but he really sealed the deal when he came over as Slash’s touring singer. I was chuffed to bits to catch the show in Manchester and witness Myles putting Axl to shame on some GN’R classics. Well, just singing the songs without walking off in a strop is putting Axl to shame, but Myles sang everything spot on.
Soooooooo, ‘ABIII’ is yet another great Alter Bridge album, packed full of big riffs, smooth lead playing, catchy vocals and great sing along moments. Each song as a familiarity about it. They’re definitely Alter Bridge tunes. They’re the sort of song you can hear once and the next time you hear it you feel like you’ve listened to it a hundred times before, like it’s one of their classic tunes. You just feel like you know it.
I like that in a song. One you’re instantly singing like you already knew it. For example, I found myself watching the mighty Skindred at Hammerfest performing an acoustic version of ‘Trouble’ at the Jagermeister truck/stage thing. We were all singing along “Trouble’s what you want… then you’re gonna get it!” like it was a firm fave Skindred tune and we’d heard it before. We even did the usual “that’s an ace tune, love that one, gotta stick that on when we get back”. So we got back to our Chalet (how very metal \m/) and proceeded to scour the ipod for the song. I only had Skindred’s first album ‘Bablylon’ at the time and we checked it to no avail. My mate was adamant he had a copy. Alas, no, we’d never actually heard it before! But, it’s the sign of a good song. We were singing it for the remainder of the festival and watched Skindred play the full version later that night. Ace tune. Aaaaanyway, once again I digress….
I’m sitting here with the track ‘I Know It Hurts’ on. It’s another classic Alter Bridge in-car sing along song. Quite fast, catchy chorus and fitting lead guitar. I can see I’m gonna enjoy this CD. On my own, in the car, where the world can’t hear me sing! “We all fall sometimes, you’re not the first, but I know it hurts….”
There are some good, punchy songs to get your teeth into, like ‘Isolation’ and ‘Still Remains’, which have some nice metal guitar triplet chuggy moments in, big riffs and big choruses. Or if you prefer a slower tempo, yet still powerful sounding song, check out ‘All Hope Is Gone’. There are other great songs on here like the melodic melancholy of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ or ‘Ghost Of Days Gone By’ where you’ll get slow clean verses building up into heavy, epic choruses.
A stand out track for me is ‘’Words Darker Than Their Wings’, which is a mix of everything. Clean intro, big guitars and a great dual lead vocal from Kennedy and Tremonti. Never heard him sing before. He’s got a pretty good voice. This is one of those epic Alter Bridge tunes like ‘Blackbird’ was and I loved that song.
Yep, i love this album. So if you’re into Alter Bridge’s style, then I’d say get yourself a copy. It’s like Stone Sour, but all singing and no shouting, and a bit heavier musically. Or like Creed but much heavier and with a much better singer. Defo worth a punt!
Due to my own stupidity and lack of money, I missed watching Alter Bridge on their current UK tour, just a few days ago. Gutted. I was told they were pretty damn good though. Ah well, Next time, Gadget…. Next time!!!
Hmm, they’ve got a DVD out too. Didn’t know that! Consider it on my Christmas list. Here’s a snippet of Myles performing an acoustic version of “Watch Over You” from said DVD. Enjoy!
Stories & Views From Inside The Pit 