Blackbird

by

Alter Bridge

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Okay, so it's now official. Creed is dead, and Alter Bridge is here to stay.

Back in the summer of 2004, when AB's major-label debut "One Day Remains" was released, a lot of folks wrote these guys off as Creed clones or wannabes, merely because 3/4 of the band is made up of ex-members of Creed. And while some Creed-like sounds were present on that disc, on the whole it was fresh and exciting music from a completely different band. Guitarist Mark Tremonti was permitted to play in a fashion he never had before during his Creed days and the rhythm section, comprised of drummer Scott Phillips and bassist Brian Marshall (who actually left Creed before their 2001 release "Weathered"), really showed off its A-game. However, the true ace in the hole for these guys was new frontman Myles Kennedy, of Mayfield Four fame. With vocal range and passion that Scott Stapp couldn't match on his best day, Kennedy slowly emerged as a voice to be reckoned with in modern rock. The band had a few semi-successful singles in the form of "Open Your Eyes," "Find The Real," and "Broken Wings" (as well as WWE wrestler Edge using "Metalingus" as his entrance theme), but on the whole it seemed as if they couldn't escape from Creed's shadow. And although One Day Remains was certified Gold, the band's future didn't look too bright, as they remained unheard from for the better part of nearly three years.

Enter their Universal-Republic debut, just released today: Blackbird.

How does it sound? Well, to be perfectly honest, *much* better than the debut. These guys have clearly matured a great deal musically. Gone are almost any traces of the Creed sound that "remained." (No pun intended.) I suspect that a lot of that has to do with the fact that frontman Kennedy actually participated in the songwriting this time around, whereas the songs on One Day Remains were almost all Tremonti's work. And speaking of Mark, damn...how about those solos on this disc?! The man continues to push his own creative boundaries and make Alter Bridge's second release rock even harder than the first. Having only had this album for about four hours, I haven't had a significant opportunity to listen to it enough for it to sink in, but so far I like, no, *love* what I hear. Thus far, my favorite tracks are "Come To Life," single "Rise Today," "White Knuckles," and of course the epic, near eight-minute long title track dedicated to the memory of a friend of the band.

On a side note, the copy of Blackbird that I purchased from Wal-Mart included not any bonus track(s) but rather a bonus DVD, featuring interviews with Kennedy, Tremonti, and Phillips (and to a *much* lesser extent Marshall) about the songs and creation of the new album.

Take heed, rock fans. With Blackbird, this reviewer feels that Alter Bridge will finally get the respect they deserve.