Alter Bridge
Blackbird

THE REVIEW

In 2004, from the corpse of Creed, two legs and a heart detach, finding in the voice of the Mayfield Four singer the means to continue producing music under the name of Alter Bridge.

On one hand, Mark Tremonti knows how to play his guitar, and he also knows how to put all his riffs and his technique at the service of the hard rock body with grunge derivatives of the band, and his two solos in the song that gives the album its name are treasures to be guarded and are considered among the greatest in rock history, although this is highly and, at the same time, unnecessarily debatable. Similarly, the singer Myles Kennedy has a remarkable voice, capable of attacking, caressing, and soaring between notes depending on the moment, particularly succeeding in stadium-scented semi-ballads like "Brand New Start" or "Before Tomorrow Comes," but also in heavier moments like "Ties That Bind" or "Come To Life."

In every track, the wall of sound is always kept high by the rhythm section, even when the introductions are entrusted to the acoustic guitars and, as long as the inspiration holds, the listener races alongside them, up to the eight dramatic minutes of the title track, which in its whirlwind of moods creates a climax after which it seems there can be nothing more. Perhaps also for this reason, the last five tracks appear as yet another faded and repetitive filler of an album that could have been twenty minutes shorter. Thus, from the wreck of the much-feared side B, only "Wayward One" is salvaged, capable of recovering points with its leaden and rarefied pace and, finally, with changes in atmosphere worthy of the first part.

If Myles Kennedy's voice gives this "Blackbird," and its sea of hard riffs, bewitching soulful inlays born from the experience with the previous band (at least "Fallout" from the Mayfield Four should be revisited), the lyrics only partially withstand the comparison with the musical plots. This is because, in the end, the Yankee theme of enduring life, "making it" on one's own, and rebirth after yet another fall largely permeates the tracklist, sweetening the palate and impoverishing the palette of colors.