Alter Bridge
Being an opening act is thankless work. Operating on the theory of "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger," life on the road sucks. Bad food, bad accomadations and riding in a broken down bus leased by the record company that leaks exhaust fumes into the coach. The pay-off is the few moments when you take the stage to impress the headliner's disinterested audience. Few, if any came to see the opening act, and opener is really only there to whet the audience's appetite. The hope is a few will be impressed as the lowly group plows toward that elusive headliner status. While the crowd facing the stage is important, vocalist Myles Kennedy discovered the headliner is an important audience too.
After selling 30 million albums, guitarist Mark Tremonti and vocalist Scott Sapp had a falling out. So Tremonti partnered with fellow Creed member Scott Phillips. After a couple fruitful jam sessions they made the call former Creed bassist Brian Marshall (he left prior to the group's last album). Soon he was onboard. Obviously, with the basics taken care of, the band needed a vocalist. But who?
Back in Creed's glory days the Mayfield Four, with Myles Kennedy, opened for them. Memorable performances made Kennedy the final piece of the puzzle.
Alter Bridge, a name taken from an actual bridge in Tremonti's native Detroit, became the band's moniker. The bridge was viewed as a boundary to the children in surrounding neighborhoods. To go beyond the bridge was to venture into uncharted territory. In '04, the group released "One Day Remains."
Some band members have trouble escaping the past. And Tremonti, Phillips, and Marshall got caught up in theirs . Wind Up Records, the group's label, began putting pressure on the three musicians to reform Creed with Sapp. Creed was huge so you can't blame the label for trying. But it was something the trio just didn't want to do. Besides, such an effort would put Alter Bridge into a deep (and likely permanent) shade. Still, the label kept at it.
As that was going on, Alter Bridge recorded their sophomore studio album, "Blackbird." "If anything sounded like Creed, we nixed it from this record," said Tremonti. "We want to step away from it and become a band on our own."
Having had enough of being pressured, Alter Bridge left Wind Up for Universal Republic Records. "Blackbird" dropped in October, '07, and the single "Rise Today" became the official theme song for World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) Unforgiven 2007.
With the exception of the lean, mean title track, Alter Bridge treads the line between post-Grunge and Hard Rock on "One Day Remains." Combining thick, turgid guitar, overlaid with wailing vocals, Alter Bridge has enough brut force to make an impression. However, the album relies heavily on ballads ("Open Your Eyes," "Burn It Down" and the acoustic "Broken Wings").
"Blackbird" opens with the 'take no prisoners' "Ties That Bind." That's followed by the equally driven "Come To Life." Having proven that they can still deliver the dark drone, Alter Bridge abruptly changes course. Once again they back off a bit, mostly for the better, on "Brand New Start," "Before Tomorrow Comes" and "Break Me Down." There are subtle arrangements and more emphasis on melody. The acoustic "Watch Over You" is actually very emotive and captivating while Kennedy gets to show off his impressive vocal prowess. The only real complaint is the pointless atmospheric dirge that passes for the title track. But that's a forgivable misstep on an album that contains the intense "Rise Today" and the soft-to-loud "Wayward One."