Review Summary: A band manages to progress successfully after a critically acclaimed sophomore album
Have you ever worried that your favorite band might not show any progress after a critically acclaimed and/or commercially successful album? That their next record would sound more or less like their previous one? Or that their development might result in an awful sound that doesn’t fit the band at all? Then I have some good news for you: You may stop worrying about Alter Bridge right now.
You will notice it right from the very first track
“Slip to the void”. The vocals are creepy, the singer is almost just whispering and only a mysterious melody accompanies him. Suddenly, drums, bass and heavily distorted guitars come into the song and “AB III” immediately reveals its style Alternative/Progressive Rock. Right at the beginning of the heavy part – the albums key lines:
“You were once led to believe,
You were young and so naïve
And now no longer”
The whole album is a loose concept album about struggling with faith and one of those tracks about this struggle is
“Show me a sign”. Lyrically, it describes the situation right after you realize your faith doesn’t exist and all you have ever believed in is just one big lie. Overall, the song is heavy, melancholic, yet dynamic. In addition, the change between chorus and verse in the vocals and instrumental section during verse, chorus and bridge support the songs content even more. Compared to their previous efforts, musical and lyrical content are more adapted to each other. Generally, the sound is darker and more melancholic. Most notably, the lyrics aren’t as straight forward as in their first 2 albums. More metaphors, more rather unusual verse structures, a more reflective mood and a lot of unanswered questions. So if you enjoy “listening” between the lines, you will definitely get into that album quite well, but don’t worry: They are not too complicated after all.
“Fallout” comes in a similar manner, but with a melodic outro guitar solo as climax of the song. Topics such as (s) loss (
“Wonderful Life”), isolation (obviously
“Isolation”) and mortality (
“Ghost of days gone by”) are also dealt with during the album.
Above all, the chemistry in the band has improved even more, especially with Kennedy playing more lead guitar on this album and Tremonti singing a few, but really well-placed, backing vocals. All in all, both of them are still best at their more “natural” instrument (lead vocals and lead guitar respectively). Besides, the textures, and sometimes even solos and melodies, played by Kennedy often create a new kind of dynamic and diversity. His style is more bluesy, slow and emotional than Tremonti’s fast, technical and clean way of playing the six-string instrument. Generally speaking, both instruments and singer present well-elaborated melodies very clearly, which is not necessarily common for rock music. Apart from the two guitars, which obviously are the key instruments on this album, bass and drums provide a more than just solid basis. They don’t get drowned by the guitar and vocals, they still manage to come through well enough. Most notably, Alter Bridge have altered their song structures. While on a lot of their previous albums all songs ended with a chorus, a few songs end for example with a reprise of the bridge part. As a result, the album develops more excitement and always grabs your full attention. Especially, the lead vocals deserve your attention over and over again.
Of course this album has a downside too. In spite of the album’s more complex and dark song, a few rather lighthearted / cheery. Normally, a positive and simple song can be excellent, if catchy or placed correctly in the track order, but this is not the case here. In fact, it has the opposite effect. Those tracks are real mood killers; they completely destroy the atmosphere at some point. In my opinion, Alter Bridge wanted to have some more positive songs, which are supposed to symbolize the end of the struggle with faith (
“Breathe Again”). Just imagine big stones in a river. They don’t stop the river from flowing, but they slow it down.
The albums final song
“Words darker than their wings” is no doubt one of the most outstanding songs Alter Bridge have ever done and the climax of this album. It is about a conversation between the atheist (Kennedy) and the believer (Tremonti) after Kennedy has stopped to believe, which according to Kennedy and Tremonti took place prior to the recording of the album. The call-and-response during the first half of the song creates a lot of tension, which is immediately picked up by a dynamic and heavy chorus. Due to the unity between the two at the end, which is demonstrated by an identical verse, the song proves to be a masterpiece of modern progressive rock. Additionally, the song does not end with a typical guitar solo, but with a falsetto by Kennedy.
All in all, Alter Bridge came up with an excellent record, which really shows their artistic progress after ” Blackbird” and “One Day Remains”. Almost everything has improved, although we all miss a real masterpiece like the title track of their previous effort. Luckily, they didn’t even try and created something different, yet similar enough to make them recognizable. Apart from a few unfitting songs, the album really leaves a positive mark on me and is suitable for more casual and “experienced” listeners.
4/5
Recommended Tracks:
“Slip to the void”
“Fallout”
“Show me a sign”
“Words darker than their wings”
