Alter Bridge / Tremonti

@LooseCannon

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I've listened to the new song 'Pay No Mind' once. Should I review the song already in the form of "initial thoughts" with an arbitrary rating out of ten for the sole purpose of getting in there before anyone else?
 
I absolutely adore the new song. It's fresh and sounds unlike anything AB have done before. I'm really looking forward to the new album now! :dancinggeek:
 
Well, well, well... Look what we have here. :applause:

As many people here know, I quite like Alter Bridge. While I would obviously agree that they are far better than Creed, I think that such a statement is too simplistic. First of all, Creed was created by a bunch of guys in their late teens. You can't compare the skills of a 19-year-old to those of a 30-year-old experienced musician and songwriter. Second, the way Creed's songs were written had nothing to do with the way AB compose and arrange their songs. Thirdly, Creed had a very different target audience than AB have these days. Having said all that, I wish that Creed didn't get mentioned every time AB were discussed. I personally believe Stapp is a sick man and has been sick for ages and it's s shame that Mark, Brian and Nox Vidmate VLC Flip still have to work hard to sever ties with him. There will be no Creed reunion anymore, that's a given.

Now, on to AB. I love all 4 albums as well and I think they are very different from each other. However, my favourite album is Fortress, purely because of the quality of compositions. What I like most about the band is that they keep challenging themselves and keep improving and experimenting. Nevertheless, I find One Day Remains a very honest and intimate album, showing the most vulnerable side of the band. Since Myles was almost not involved in the writing process and most of the songs were written by Mark for Creed, One Day Remains is a form of transition to the new era for AB. On the one hand, it stated that this way a very new thing for everybody, mostly lyrically (Down to My Last, Shed My Skin, One Day Remains, etc.), while on the other - it really bridged the gap between the two bands, mostly musically.

Things were very different as soon as Myles joined in the songwriting process and took over the lyric duty. Their songs became richer, fuller and more complex, so Blackbird is objectively the better album, not to mention the better sound that his guitar added. However, the title track is not among my favourite AB songs. I mean I love it, but I just love 12 or 15 other songs more. With AB III they took yet another direction, which may not have been as effective as Blackbird was, but I thoroughly enjoy it.

Oh dear, I'll have to cut this short... As for Tremonti's solo band, I love All I Was and his second album has been playing on my laptop and my phone non-stop for the past couple of days. Some really cool stuff there, but it might take a while to grow and become what All I Was is to me.

Finally, I've seen Alter Bridge live once and will be seeing Myles (with Slash) for the second time in two weeks.

it's predominantly metal bands. I wouldn't have a problem with AB becoming even more metal, worked for Fortress :)
 
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So, I haven't heard anything by the band so far (well, I know Creed and I definitely don't hate it as much as everybody and their brother seem to nowadays, but I guess that doesn't count) (and to be truly honest, I think I used to mistake AB for Audioslave on occasion), but considering the buzz the band has around here, I feel obligated to try them out at least once.

Considering

I love all 4 albums as well and I think they are very different from each other. However, my favourite album is Fortress, purely because of the quality of compositions.

And Fortress is the best AB album, of course.

I guess I should start with Fortress, right? I already like the cover, so that's a start...
 
Fortress or Blackbird. Start with either, but give both of them a spin.

Although they are different, they showcase different aspects of the band's songwriting. Let me put it this way - Blackbird sets the signature sound for Alter Bridge. Fortress brings it to another level.
 
I saw that earlier and to be honest, I would prefer them to go back to the old ways of songwriting. I can't believe that a song like In The Deep got approved by the entire band. B-side at best. Smh.
 
I feel like we should wait until the rest of the album is revealed since we could have some absolutely amazing tracks in there. Personally a mix between the two would likely be the ideal way to make an album.
 
I started with Fortress - I need to concentrate more and give it another listen, but I sense something really cool here. I'll post more when I have more to say. But no, this doesn't sound too much like Creed :D I wasn't paying attention enough, so although I noticed and liked certain songs, I don't know which these are (and I'm too lazy to click-through now), but I'll post these favourites after the next relisten.

Out of the bands I "discovered" these past two weeks or so... I like AB slightly more than Tool, but slightly less than Deftones.
*takes cover*

EDIT: Okay, I'm re-listening right now and

- I immediately liked the first three songs, each one more than the previous. Like Cry of Achilles has one cool riff and rather nice chorus, Addicted to Pain was much more memorable and lively and Bleed It Dry was like... face-melting. That chorus is awesome!
- I predictably didn't like Lover that much - just your general power ballad, okay but...
- The Uninvited and Peace Is Broken I don't remember even after the second listen (immediately afterwards). They were fine when they were on, but so far haven't had that lasting power for me.
- now Calm the Fire is much better. Liked the weird intro and the rising pre-chorus. A very uplifting chorus.

I have to stop now, 'cause I'm getting up early tomorrow, but it was very nice to finish the day with the first half of Fortress.
 
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I don't understand the need to release four songs to promote the album. That's a fairly substantial proportion of most albums and it feels like overkill to give away that much for free. I'd prefer there to be no more than two releases before the album to keep the mystery surrounding it.
 
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