The Official Alter Bridge Thread v. PAWNS & KINGS

[mikeyd23]

I don't know if I even want to give this more than one listen, because this sounds incredibly stock and unmemorable, at least up to Crows on a Wire where I'm at now (well, save for Show Me a Leader). Even if I'm in for a good finish to the album it won't be enough to save the whole. The Last Hero seems like a far cry from the not-so-sparse highlights of Fortress.

I think the back half of the album has more highlights for me, basically starting with Cradle to the Grave. That song, This Side of Fate, Crows on a Wire, Island of Fools, and the title track might push the back half of the album to be stronger than the front half.

[kaos2900]

Just finished my first full listen. The first half is stronger for now but the second half is loaded with the more complex songs that tend to grow with more listens. Only song not grabbing me is Twilight.

[mikeyd23]

Just finished my first full listen. The first half is stronger for now but the second half is loaded with the more complex songs that tend to grow with more listens. Only song not grabbing me is Twilight.

The second half definitely was a grower for me, I listened to this album a bunch over the weekend and some of those songs grew on me after 5 or 6 listens. I agree Twilight is probably my least favorite on the back half of the album.

[Basekick]

Just finished my first full listen. The first half is stronger for now but the second half is loaded with the more complex songs that tend to grow with more listens. Only song not grabbing me is Twilight.

It's interesting. I love this album to death now after four/five listens while I thought there were a lot of "more of the same" tracks initially. After hearing them more I hear a lot more of the distinct qualities of each song that were hidden by the in-your-face production and it has made me love more songs than I expected.

For example, I brushed aside Twilight on the original spin of the album, but now I love it. It has a different mood than the rest of the album without being the standard "ballad" track we've heard before. It's a great song and a needed change of pace.

Regarding TLH as a whole, my biggest gripe is a common sentiment - the mix just isn't very good. Not enough dynamics, Tremonti's guitar doesn't stick out like in Fortress, Myles' voice doesn't cut like before...it's all too mashed together into one blast of sound. It doesn't help the general feel of the dynamics of the songs as well, which actually have them given the song writing but the production makes it seem like the songs are dialed up to 9 for the entire song, then gets pushed to 10 or down to 7 at times. It doesn't give enough room for the songs to breathe.

But the songs themselves are freakin' amazing. I'm on page with the general "Top 5" of The Other Side, Cradle to the Grave, This Side of Fate, Island of Fools, and The Last Hero, but even the other tunes are killer as well. Show Me A Leader is a strong opener with a pair of great solos (that intro is amazing!), The Writing On The Wall has a sick bridge, Twilight has a great feel, Crows on a Wire is more than heavy-to-be-heavy, and so on.

But hot damn, that riff to The Other Side, the bends during the chorus of Island of Fools, the gorgeous verse and changes in Cradle to the Grave, and MY GOD I love This Side of Fate. The looooong Bridge is incredible with one of my favorite solos on any AB record...it's just such a fun song. Reminds me a little of the changes from Devin Townsend, which is a great compliment.

I'm more of a fan of Prog Metal than I am of Mainstream Hard Rock, which means I've enjoyed the transition the band made with Fortress and TLH. I think I give Fortress a slight nod still as that record blew me away from the very first listen - sounds a lot better too - but TLH is right behind as my second favorite AB record.

For reference:

Fortress
The Last Hero
ABIII
Blackbird
One Day Remains

God damn I love this band.

For the hell of it, here's my song ranking of the album (subject to change of course):

This Side of Fate
The Other Side
Cradle To The Grave
Island of Fools
The Last Hero
Last Of Our Kind
Show Me A Leader
Twilight
Crows On A Wire
The Writing On The Wall
You Will Be Remembered
Losing Patience
Poison In Your Veins
My Champion

[kaos2900]

I don't know if this will top Fortress which is a top 10 album of all time for me, but after FIVE amazing releases Alter Bridge has moved up to number 3 on my list of favorite bands.

[wolfking]

I'm really liking this album.  I don't think it will top Fortress but it's quite killer indeed.

[mikeyd23]

I really like the moments the band stretches themselves in new ways on this record. The bridge section of This Side Of Fate comes to mind. The mood of The Other Side. Even the title track has some unique characteristics that I haven't heard from the band before. They did this while still providing some good, straight up rockers like Crows On A Wire, The Writing on the Wall and the amazing Island of Fools.

[sylvan]

I haven't had a lot of time to listen cuz I only have it in Apple music at my house. I'm still waiting on my pre-order which will apparently be here this week. Once I get it on my iPod I'll have some good alone time with it. But, I did check out "Breathe" on YouTube, and it was COOL to hear. I can hear the ODR-era sound in Myles' voice and Mark's tone (which I miss IMMENSELY), but I can see why it was cut. It simply wouldn't fit anywhere in that album. It sounds nothing like the other ODR tracks. I wouldn't even know where to put it, or what it could have replaced on the album.

[fadetoblackdude7]

I'm really liking this album.  I don't think it will top Fortress but it's quite killer indeed.

Same here. I'm still digesting it, but this album definitely has some of their best moments.

[wolfking]

I really like the moments the band stretches themselves in new ways on this record. The bridge section of This Side Of Fate comes to mind. The mood of The Other Side. Even the title track has some unique characteristics that I haven't heard from the band before. They did this while still providing some good, straight up rockers like Crows On A Wire, The Writing on the Wall and the amazing Island of Fools.

I think this too.  It has your staple AB songs but has some really different and unique, new stuff like the ones you mentioned.  Loving this album to be honest.

One of my favs that I don't see mentioned that much is Writing On the Wall.  AB by numbers but brilliantly done.  And Mark's solo is immense on this one.

[mikeyd23]

One of my favs that I don't see mentioned that much is Writing On the Wall.  AB by numbers but brilliantly done.  And Mark's solo is immense on this one.

Great call wolf. Writing On the Wall is growing on me, quickly becoming a favorite. Great riffs throughout, awesome chorus melody, great groove. Its a great example of AB using the "AB formula" and producing excellent results.

[fadetoblackdude7]

One of my favs that I don't see mentioned that much is Writing On the Wall.  AB by numbers but brilliantly done.  And Mark's solo is immense on this one.

Great call wolf. Writing On the Wall is growing on me, quickly becoming a favorite. Great riffs throughout, awesome chorus melody, great groove. Its a great example of AB using the "AB formula" and producing excellent results.

As of right now, The Writing On The Wall is one of my least favorites on the album. The chorus is too uninspired to me.

[mikeyd23]

The solo on Writing On the Wall is actually Myles.

Speaking of which, his solos are gems on this record, his playing is sick.

[devieira73]

The solo on Writing On the Wall is actually Myles.

Speaking of which, his solos are gems on this record, his playing is sick.

I bought the album at google play and I don't have the liner notes. Who made each solo is there? Thanks!

[devieira73]

By the way, AMAZING album and, sorry folks, I LOVE My Champion!

[mikeyd23]

The solo on Writing On the Wall is actually Myles.

Speaking of which, his solos are gems on this record, his playing is sick.

I bought the album at google play and I don't have the liner notes. Who made each solo is there? Thanks!

I'm basing this off of nothing but my ear, here's how I hear it.

Myles solos:
Show Me A Leader (first solo at the beginning of the song)
Writing On the Wall
This Side of Fate (first solo)
Crows On A Wire
Island Of Fools (first solo)
The Last Hero (first solo)

Mark basically plays all the other solos on the album.

Controversial opinion: I think I like Myles' solos better than Mark's on this record.

[devieira73]

Thanks for the info

[PixelDream]

Myles' solos are a highlight for me too on this album. They were great on Fortress too, but now there are some more and also in a few different styles. Very musical player, I dig his feel.

[wolfking]

The solo on Writing On the Wall is actually Myles.

Speaking of which, his solos are gems on this record, his playing is sick.

I thought this might have been the case, but thought the rundown at the end of the solo sounded too advanced, but happy to be proven wrong, great stuff.  So much on this album to discover, I fucking love it.  Myles solo on Island of Fools was instantly recognizable and just excellent.

I love My Champion too, just magic, possibly my fav at the moment.

[mikeyd23]

Myles' solos are a highlight for me too on this album. They were great on Fortress too, but now there are some more and also in a few different styles. Very musical player, I dig his feel.

Yup, I agree. He took a different approach for this record with his solos. He composed them ahead of time before laying them down in the studio. Previously he had improvised a lot of his solos in the studio on the spot. I saw an interview where he discussed being able to come up with some more detailed, technical stuff in certain spots since he pre-planned everything ahead of time.

[axeman90210]

Definitely need to give this a few more listens (which is proving difficult as my ears have been entirely hijacked by Thank you Scientist), but my initial reaction is that it's definitely a solid album but also definitely a step below Fortress for me. Love the riffage in Crows On A Wire

[wolfking]

Myles' solos are a highlight for me too on this album. They were great on Fortress too, but now there are some more and also in a few different styles. Very musical player, I dig his feel.

Yup, I agree. He took a different approach for this record with his solos. He composed them ahead of time before laying them down in the studio. Previously he had improvised a lot of his solos in the studio on the spot. I saw an interview where he discussed being able to come up with some more detailed, technical stuff in certain spots since he pre-planned everything ahead of time.

It definitely shows too.  His solos are certainly more memorable than Mark's IMO.

[devieira73]

Good to know, Wolfking, that you like that much My Champion too! I don't know if it's my fave from the album, but it's on top 5 for sure. It's a natural born great big hit single that I guess it will never make it, but who knows?

I'm a new AB fan and anybody here knows what happened to the Live DVD/Blu-Ray/CD release of "Alter Bridge: Live In Milan" ( I guess it would be from Fortress tour). Thanks!

Official trailer of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzEGbuwLnDY

[Anguyen92]

I'm a new AB fan and anybody here knows what happened to the Live DVD/Blu-Ray/CD release of "Alter Bridge: Live In Milan" ( I guess it would be from Fortress tour). Thanks!

Official trailer of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzEGbuwLnDY

Well, this is a little complicated to talk about.  I think during an interview Mark stated that that whole process was all one big convoluted mess.  Long story short, it seemed that the band was not too happy about the quality of how the final product turned out and they had a falling out with the production company that did the DVD (DC3, who had done the previous two live AB concert release), especially over a box set that did not deliver on time or was of a poor quality.

I'm still bummed out that the trailer was released and the video stated it was going to out in late June 2014 and nothing happened.  All I can say is that who knows if the footage would make the light of day eventually.

[TheLordOfTheStrings]

So far, I'm not much of a fan of this album which is a super let down cause AB is one of my favorite bands. I feel like they screwed up on the vocal production. Too many layers of Myles. ODR and BB (even AB III) were more stripped back, mainly just Myles (with the occasional Myles harmony) with Mark doing most of the harmonies. But on this album we have what sounds like 5 of Myles singing the same line at once at times which makes his voice come across as very whiney. Quite unfortunate. Musically the album is awesome, but the vocals are too layered for my taste, which doesn't work with Myles's voice. He's not Claudio from Coheed.

[wolfking]

The more I listen to this, the more I'm starting to think it could top Fortress.

[devieira73]

I'm a new AB fan and anybody here knows what happened to the Live DVD/Blu-Ray/CD release of "Alter Bridge: Live In Milan" ( I guess it would be from Fortress tour). Thanks!

Official trailer of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzEGbuwLnDY

Well, this is a little complicated to talk about.  I think during an interview Mark stated that that whole process was all one big convoluted mess.  Long story short, it seemed that the band was not too happy about the quality of how the final product turned out and they had a falling out with the production company that did the DVD (DC3, who had done the previous two live AB concert release), especially over a box set that did not deliver on time or was of a poor quality.

I'm still bummed out that the trailer was released and the video stated it was going to out in late June 2014 and nothing happened.  All I can say is that who knows if the footage would make the light of day eventually.

Sad to know... Let's hope this tour AB makes a DVD with a lot of Fortress songs to compensate it. Thanks again!

[fadetoblackdude7]

The more I listen to this, the more I'm starting to think it could top Fortress.

Same here. Fortress still sits on top, but I'm liking this one more and more with each listen

[mikeyd23]

Yeah, the thing with an album like this that has a lot of layers, it tends to grow on ya. The more you listen the more you discover.

Also - devieira73 have you watched the Alter Bridge Live in Amsterdam DVD? It's soooooo good.

[devieira73]

No yet . I'm more familiar with Fortress and now with TLH , so I was looking for a more recent tour. But I'll check Live in Amsterdam, just to see them live. Thanks for the recomendation!

[mikeyd23]

No yet . I'm more familiar with Fortress and now with TLH , so I was looking for a more recent tour. But I'll check Live in Amsterdam, just to see them live. Thanks for the recomendation!

Live in Amsterdam was filmed on the Blackbird tour, so it only includes songs from the first two albums, but the band performance and production of the DVD are great. A lot of people consider that tour to be AB's peak in regards to live performances. That being said the Fortress tour was a return to form for them live and they have been sounding great recently as well.

[Accelerando]

The separation with DC3 is absolutely a good thing. Nothing but broken promises. Both Live From Amsterdam and Live At Wembley were released late. No 3D release of Wembley, theatrical or blu-ray. I hope whoever does the next Alter Bridge concert films will get the job DONE

[wolfking]

Can't stop listening to this album!! 

[fadetoblackdude7]

Here's how I'd classify their discography:

Great:
Fortress
The Last Hero

Awesome:
Blackbird
One Day Remains

Good:
AB III

[Scorpion]

Rankings:

1. Fortress
2. Blackbird
3. The Last Hero
4. ABIII
5. One Day Remains