Review Summary: Alter Bridge ditch the Creed influence and create one of the best rock albums of the modern era.
After One Day Remains, Alter Bridge was written off by many as another Creed. Not just because of the 3 former members making up the group, but also largely because of the unwise decision to release
Open Your Eyes, a song similar to the previous band, as their first single, thus being pigeon-holed as another typical “post-grunge” band, just with a better singer than Creed. While the record was not without its flaws, Mark Tremonti got some chances to show off his technical ability with shredding solos and bring his metal influences to his playing, and singer Myles Kennedy (formerly of the Mayfield Four) got to show off his impressive pipes; his 4-octave range is truly an impressive feature. After One Day Remains, Alter Bridge left their former label Wind-Up Records to make an album for the fans.
Thus Blackbird was born. Here on their sophomore album Alter Bridge rectifies every mistake that was made in the last album. The Creed influence is gone. The over-abundance of slow tracks is gone. Myles Kennedy is fully integrated as a second guitarist this time, giving Mark room to let loose his solos and driving riffs. Tremonti’s solos are frequent but still diverse. He never repeats himself here, and his very impressive solos all fit the style of the song that they are featured in, never does he resort to tasteless shredding. Most importantly, Blackbird is a much heavier album than One Day Remains, yet also more accessible (which is not a bad thing at all). This album succeeds on both fronts; the heavy and the soft. The heavier side remains dominant, but Alter Bridge is more than competent when the tempo drops.
The heavy side is obviously the main draw here. Opener
Ties That Bind gets right to business with a quick building 20 second intro, leading into a punishing fast-paced metal riff by Tremonti. Myles comes in with Mark still playing the riff and manages to hold his own; the combination of these two powerhouses manages to make this song headbangable and catchy at the same time. Tremonti ends the song with an excellent solo that ends the song as magnificently as it began.
Come to Life is a bit slower but Tremonti doesn’t drop the energy, with a heavy and groovy riff, as well as a nice shredding solo in the middle. Here Tremonti also assists with vocals in the chorus, and he proves to be a competent vocalist, his voice mixed with Kennedy sounds quite nice. Later
White Knuckles appears as the next to last track on the album to give a nice heavy kick near the end. It’s the equivalent to
Metalingus from the debut. Tremonti kicks out one more speedy metal riff, and negates a solo this time in place of a more traditional riffy hard rock breakdown in the bridge (which nonetheless is very impressive). As great as this song sounds on record, it just feels like it was designed as a fist-pumping anthem for the big stadiums. Myles feels very at ease here as he sings “Hold on for your life, because only the strong survive”, lyrics that could very easily be applied to the band’s struggle to remain relevant in the music industry. These tracks among others provide a satisfying amount of heaviness to the album.
There are a few more radio-friendly songs on here, the most obvious being the back-to-back mid-tempo singles
Before Tomorrow Comes and
Rise Today. They are safe single choices, which by no means makes them weak.
Before Tomorrow Comes contains one of Kennedy’s best vocal and lyrical performances on the record, with a message about helping out your fellow man that never once feels preachy. Kennedy conveys an earnest sentiment as he sings the simple but powerful lyrics of
“So don’t let it be… before tomorrow comes, before you turn away
Take the hand in need, before tomorrow comes, you could change everything…”
Tremonti’s background vocals are again successfully utilized here, and although his playing is mostly subdued, it’s anything but lazy.
Rise Today is at the same mid-tempo pace as
Before Tomorrow Comes, with a simple, repetitive chorus, and similar themes, but it’s still a winner, and it’s slightly heavier. Tremonti also gets to show off a bit more here. He sneaks in a bit of southern influence during the bridge, and the closing solo is fantastic as well.
The title track is truly the most impressive feat here. Rolling in at 8 minutes,
Blackbird does what an epic is designed to do, be epic. Myles Kennedy wrote this track about a friend who passed away, and he does it justice with his most impassioned vocal performance on the album, using the metaphor of a bird taking flight to represent death, with effective lyrical imagery:
“Let the wind carry you home, blackbird fly away, may you never be broken again...”
Tremonti’s playing here is nothing less than spectacular; from the mood-setting clean riff in the subdued verses to the heavy chorus. The bridge builds up to a spectacular minute-and-a-half double guitar solo, Kennedy provides a melodic solo in the first half, then it transitions seamlessly into Tremonti’s solo, which he provides very tastefully. When he plays fast here it is anything but mindless shredding, the bursts of speed in the solo are placed well, and provide the perfect climax that the song had been building up to. This is one of the best and most emotional guitar solos I have ever heard. In this powerful song, when combined with the lyrics, the solo truly sounds like a bird taking flight. After the intensity of the last chorus fades out, the song comes full circle by dropping back to the clean opening riff before fading out for the last time.
While that may be impossible to top, Alter Bridge provide another highlight with
Watch Over You, a ballad that does the complete opposite of Blackbird, staying mellow and being minimalistic on the instrumental side, with most of the song mainly consisting of a simple acoustic guitar. Kennedy gets the spotlight here, and he proves to be just as effective when providing a much more restrained performance. His voice is very soothing here, and the vulnerability he displays is moving, particularly because of the meaning of the song, according to the band it’s about wanting to help someone overcome an addiction but not being able to, and having to walk away. So despite its pop radio-friendly qualities, it still packs a serious punch.
Alter Bridge have successfully covered both sides of the spectrum here on Blackbird. Drummer Scott Phillips provides a good backbone and occasionally steps up his game (White Knuckles). Brian Marshall's bass work is solid if not ever really standing out.
The only complaints I have with this album are very minor quibbles. The weakest link here on this album is
Break Me Down, and it could have been taken off of the album so as to go straight from the sensitive
Watch Over You to the metal assault of
White Knuckles. However, it is still a good song, it just feels like the only song on this album where Alter Bridge doesn’t quite go the extra mile as far as effort, and it just possibly might be one too many mid-tempo songs. Also, the opening riff for
Wayward One is suspiciously similar to the superior bluesy track
Brand New Start, perhaps the only time on here where Alter Bridge copy themselves. That is truly the only criticism I can give here, as this is a near-perfectly constructed hard rock album.
Alter Bridge have proved their doubters wrong here, writing a hard rock album that was truly made to be the best for their fans and no one else, getting virtually no publicity for it. Quitting Wind-Up Records was for the best, as they get to be unique and showcase their talent without trying to water down their sound at all. This album is a personal favorite of mine, and I believe it truly shows what up-and-coming rock bands should aspire to be like; if not in sound, at least in the passion that is displayed here. Blackbird is truly one of the best rock albums of the modern era.
