ALTER BRIDGE
AB III Review by: ~ Mo
On the day of its North American release, November 9, 2010, "AB III" - the appropriately named 3rd album from Alter Bridge - is the #1 Rock Album on iTunes! No surprise here! For anyone that does not know about or has not heard Alter Bridge, now is the time to learn more about this incredible band. With guitarist Mark Tremonti's powerhouse guitar style, the melodic tunes, meaningful lyrics, the talents of drummer Scott "Flip" Phillips and bassist Brian Marshall, and the incomparable vocals of Myles Kennedy, "AB III" is an important rock record, further confirming what I have known for 6 years - Alter Bridge is a band
that deserves recognition and is destined for great things...bittersweet perhaps to my fellow die-hard AB fans - you see we enjoy seeing them at small clubs and venues, but at some point we will have to share them with large arena crowds - trust me...that day will come.
The "AB III" track listing:
Slip To The Void
Isolation
Ghost Of Days Gone By
All Hope Is Gone
Still Remains
Make It Right
Wonderful Life
I Know It Hurts
Show Me A Sign
Fallout
Breathe Again
Coeur d'Alene
Life Must Go On
Words Darker Than Their Wings
Bonus tracks (US edition):
Zero (killer bass lines by Marshall)
Home
Bonus tracks (Japanese edition):
For What May Never Come
Some stand-outs:
Isolation (the album's first single), featuring a guitar solo by Kennedy - great drumming there Flip!...the most reminiscent of AB songs of the past IMHO
Ghosts Of Days Gone By - upbeat at first, then takes a surprising dark turn (love it)!
Wonderful Life - the ballad - beeeeautiful!
Make It Right - closing solo...nice!
Words Darker Than Their Wings - an epic tune (a la "Blackbird") with a dual lead vocal featuring Tremonti
Coeur d' Alene - guitar driven and fantastic...fast becoming one of my favorite tracks on AB III!
As always, Kennedy soars vocally - hitting notes that defy belief (particularly on Words Darker Than Their Wings)...the guy just amazes me. The band's first record with Roadrunner Records, "AB III" is being released in North America through the band's own label, Alter Bridge Recordings, with Capitol (EMI) handling distribution. The very talented Michael "Elvis" Baskette also produced "Blackbird" for Alter Bridge, and has engineered another stellar record. Most of AB III's lyrics belong to Kennedy, with the band listing all songs on the record as written by Alter Bridge. Check out Alter Bridge's 2 previous studio albums "One Day Remains" (2004)...a transition from CREED (for Tremonti, Phillips and Marshall) followed by "Blackbird" (2007)...pressing on...and then "AB III" (2010) - heavier, darker and clearly demonstrating the progression of Alter Bridge. In a clip from "The Making of AB III", Tremonti comments that "This record is even more an artistic expression without any constraints" - true that! It is said that anything worth having is worth waiting for. That being said...I give you "AB III"! Good on you boys - it's been 3 years, and definitely worth the wait! "AB III" - in stores now. Available on itunes and amazon.com
www.alterbridge.com
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