How does one even begin to talk about a band with as interesting a story as Alter Bridge? That is the hardest question. Honestly, this is the band I think I’d most want a biopic on. This is a band that was born from the ashes of a disgraced icon (Creed), reformed to success despite label expectations, made the ballsy decision to buy out of not just one, but two contracts when they felt they were being underserved. This is a band that is about to release their eighth album after 22 years together with the exact same lineup, a lineup which contains some of the most hard-working men in music.
But if I were to get into that story now, this review would be ten pages long before even beginning to delve into this new album.
My experience with Alter Bridge started from being a Creed fan. When I was only 3, With Arms Wide Open played a huge part in my love of music when I gave my father a copy of the single for Father’s Day. While it was his gift, I’m the one that wore it out. I owned all the band’s albums and bought as many of the singles as I could find. But being as I was only five when Creed originally disbanded, it took me a long time to catch up to Alter Bridge. I have vague memories of downloading Open Your Eyes from Limewire, only for the track to have someone’s phone occasionally ring and take me out of the mood. It really wasn’t until ABIII that I gave the band the time they deserved. Don’t worry, I’ve since bought every album physically! My first album as a fan was Fortress, and I’ve been with them ever since. I met the band in 2017 at their stop in Fremantle on The Last Hero tour, and played my signed PRS Tremonti SE as my main guitar for many years after that.
When Silent Divide was released as the first single from the album, I was right back onboard for the ride of a new Alter Bridge release. I thought it was pretty good, though it had felt a lot like Last Rites, a bonus track from Walk the Sky. When What Lies Within dropped, my expectations simmered a little. This was beginning to feel a lot like what some would refer to as a ‘contract album’.
But boy, was I ever wrong!
While the singles have felt a little ‘business as usual’ for the band, their eighth album (the eponymously titled Alter Bridge) is anything but. This is an album that masterfully plays with the expected sound of Alter Bridge and delivers an album that’s still so worth experiencing. Silent Divide is the perfect lead-in track for the album, hitting you with a wave of familiarity from albums like The Last Hero and Pawns & Kings. This perfectly sets the listener up for a track like Rue the Day which immediately drops into the darker, heavier vibes, serving up one of the best bridges on the album before an absolute face-melter of a Tremonti solo. I actually want to pause here and say that I’m so glad there are more solos again on this album, as Walk the Sky and Pawns & Kings both felt a little underserved in that regard. When you have guitar heroes like Mark Tremonti and Myles Kennedy in your band, why cut down on the shred?
With Power Down, the listener is treated to more of the typical Alter Bridge fare. While it’s easy to think I’ve dismissed it that way, Alter Bridge have always been one of those bands where even the most typical songs give you something worth hearing. Hooky guitar riffs, choruses that are easy to sing along with, killer solos. It’s all here, but between tracks like Rue the Day and Trust in Me, this feels much more like a callback. I would say the same about What Lies Withinand Playing Aces. These songs are still very good and easily fit alongside the post-Fortress highlights, but for me, these are tracks that don’t push the envelope as much as others on the album. But, these are the songs that will prove to be anthems in the live setting, and I certainly look forward to hearing them receive that treatment.
Disregarded is one of the heaviest tracks on the album, running in a direction that feels similar to almost a Gojira or even Deftones track. It is sadly the shortest track on the album, barely missing that four-minute mark by a single second. This is a song that very quickly took my ear and, despite its short length, ends up as one of my favourites. I think this might be one of my favourite choruses on the album, and easily one of my favourite bridges. I also really like a strong breakdown where Brian Marshall is front and centre! This is a mid-tempo banger and one that I feel will turn into an epic live feature.
Trust in Me and Tested and Able form a bit of a dyad to me. The former is a song which absolutely should have been a single in my opinion, as it almost feels like a career defining track. There’s a refined grit to the riff, Scott Phillips’ drumming is crushing, and the melody is infectious. But Trust in Me delivers a great twist. While Myles takes the verses, Mark Tremonti assumes full lead of the chorus. The bridge also features a singalong moment that I look forward to witnessing live. Tested and Able features the inverse. Tremonti leads the verses while Kennedy takes the choruses. One of my absolute favourite moments on any song is the twist into the major tonality for the bridge of Tested and Able. Both songs are honestly perfect manifestations of what Alter Bridge has proven they do best. Heavy, but poppy in equal measure. These are both strong highlights of the album for me.
For fans of songs like Watch Over You and Wonderful Life, the self-titled album features another great Alter Bridgeballad in the form of Hang By a Thread, which feels to me like a cross between the Alter Bridge tunes and some of Myles Kennedy’s solo works. This one does feel like a perfect callback to some of those older styles but also feels like a very welcome change at this point of pace in the album’s flow, marking the only track I couldn’t call heavy.
If, like me, you’re a fan of the more cinematic songs like Clear Horizon from Walk the Sky, Scales Are Falling will likely be a big highlight for you. I’d define this as the mini-epic of the new album, taking many twists and turns throughout its almost six-minute run time. The clean, melodic bridge around the 3-minute mark reminds me of Sound Awake era Karnivool, especially songs like Deadman. This is a song that I already know I’m going to be coming back to a lot. It has all the trappings of an epic Alter Bridge track like Cry of Achilles or the aforementioned Clear Horizon. I love it.
And to say all of this is a prelude to Alter Bridge’s latest masterpiece, Slave to Master, doesn’t feel like an understatement. This nine-minute monster is one that I feel needed to be the ending to the album, as it perfectly encapsulates all that comes before it and still leaves the listener wanting more. These verses burn with the ferocity of tracks like Power Down, while the chorus bends remind me of the Disregarded riff. Then everything twists. The first bridge is utterly progressive in its leadup, only for the finale to smash you with a refined clean sound that sends a shiver down my core. And my god, the extended solos that send it home. This is truly one of the best songs Alter Bridge has written to date for me.
Alter Bridge is an album that proves a band can keep innovating, even twenty plus years into their career, and one that I feel is absolutely perfect as their self-titled release. This really hits perfectly as a highlight reel for a band that still feels like they’re just getting started. I have enjoyed every part of this album from the first heavy slide into Silent Divide until the very last note, which still feels like there’s more to the story of Slave to Master.
While I personally can’t put this above Fortress or ABIII, albums which started my journey with this band, I think it’s safe to say Alter Bridge battles Blackbird for my number 3 ranked album from the band. There are so many great moments to highlight that I can’t choose a true favourite. This is an album that is guaranteed to blow the listener away, cover to cover.
Silent Divide 5:04
Rue The Day 4:46
Power Down 4:08
Trust In Me 4:45
Disregarded 3:56
Tested and Able 4:32
What Lies Within 5:07
Hang By A Thread 4:12
Scales Are Falling 5:53
Playing Aces 4:04
What Are You Waiting For 4:59
Slave To Master 9:03
Myles Kennedy: Lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Mark Tremonti: Lead guitar, backing vocals
Brian Marshall: Bass guitar
Scott Phillips: Drums, percussion
