TheAlterBridgeNation.com

Here's my rant:

It's not a perfect album. I think the beginning is a bit messy, with the weakest track of the album being the opener and The Great Beyond being the second song. Not that TGB’s a bad song, but it doesn’t really sound like the rest of the album. Where most of the album’s about subtly building towards an emotional climax, this song is the complete opposite.
I like both Blind Faith and Devil on the Wall (love the latter actually), but I think the album starts to really find its identity during Shangri La. After that I’m blown away by pretty much most of it. Maybe I’m just not too comfortable with the sad nature of the first part of the album, I don't know.

Myles has this ability to sing with slightly more energy than what the instruments are playing, and it creates this really cool vibe of anticipation. He does that a lot on this album, especially towards the end, and it’s amazing. He does this on Shangri La, Turning Stones and One Fine Day. I think these are the moments I like the most on this album. Like One Fine Day in general. There’s so much energy in Myles vocals, yet the band never gives in to that energy. It just keeps building, and Myles is always just a little bit ahead. At the end they’re probably not even at 90% of their potential “heaviness” or “looseness” (talking about full cymbals here), but because of all that building and anticipation it's still so intense.

I'm not sure if I agree with Macca that Myles released the worst songs on the album, but a song like Haunted by Design just needs to be listened in context of the album. It's so laid back and fits perfectly between Turning Stones and Mother, which are both much more climactic songs.

If I'd have to pick a top 5 right now I'd go with:

One Fine Day
Turning Stones
Ghost of Shangri La
Love Can Only Heal
Nothing But a Name

Even with the awkward beginning, I love this album. I think this is the only AB related side projects after 2010 that comes close to AB, and I think it surpasses The Last Hero for me. So yea, I'm really pleased with this album.

picked up my cd but haven't listened to it yet. looks like i might have a flu of sorts

I really like this album. Like, REALLY enjoy it. It sucks the title track is my least favorite song, but everything after is pretty great.

Midway through my second listen of the CD and loving it. I like the variety and there are lots of interesting features even in the songs I like less. Lyrics hitting me more with repeat listens, some very raw stuff here. Many more listens to come.

Also, shoutout to Napalm for packing Year of the Tiger and the live at the O2 arena set in double bubblewrap and they arrived in a snowstorm in the boonies in perfect condition.

Music Radar interview (if it's already been posted and I missed it, apologies and I'll delete)
Myles Kennedy’s top 5 tips for guitarists: “If I can do it, you can do it”
Alter Bridge frontman talks alternate tunings, multi-tasking and going solo
https://www.musicradar.com/news/myles-k ... -can-do-it

Has anyone listened to the 3 bonus track from the Best Buy edition? The great beyond, Nothing but a name and haunted by design acoustic demos

I am really enjoying the album. Highlights for me are Mother, Nothing but a Name, and The Great Beyond. But man, the lyrics of Nothing but a Name is so strong. It's also the most beautiful and honest lyrics that I have seen in a long time.

Holy cowbell I forgot he was releasing the demos as well, and I'd been thinking since release that I wanted to hear a pure acoustic version of The Great Beyond!

I feel like Kev usually mentions that he gets his from Best Buy.

agny wrote:Music Radar interview (if it's already been posted and I missed it, apologies and I'll delete)
Myles Kennedy’s top 5 tips for guitarists: “If I can do it, you can do it”
Alter Bridge frontman talks alternate tunings, multi-tasking and going solo
https://www.musicradar.com/news/myles-k ... -can-do-it

Nope hadn't seen that, cheers! Interesting to see all the tunings he used, I love his guitar work on this album.

Ubik wrote: I feel like Kev usually mentions that he gets his from Best Buy.

Oh, I did. Did I? Well, you would be right. I did pick mine up at Best Buy yesterday. Probably the last album I would be picking up at Best Buy, since I read in an article from Loudwire that Best Buy is doing away with CDs this year.

I'll probably listen to the bonus tracks sometime today and see if anything of interest comes to me to write.

Love Can Only Heal is by far the best song Myles wrote since Words Darker Than Their Wings. Pure awesomeness. Man I love that song so much, never expected I would ever feel so much excitement for one single song.

Myles voice on One Fine Day is almost Citizen Swing-like. Especially in the second verse.

Most of the album felt to me like it's the same song played again and again: words are the same, but in different order, no melody, totally random chord progressions and some songs sound rather unpleasant (maybe because of production). Also I heard "All Ends Well" outro chords progression in two or three songs and it's ridiculous.

For me, Love Can Only Heal is the best song on the record (it has nice melody, lyrics are more concentrated. vocals are tragic and has some great emotional punch) and it's a shame that it has little to do with this album. I'd like to listen the other songs from the "first" album.

I have listened to this album about five times already back to back. From what I'm reading I must be in the minority because this album hit me pretty hard. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I lost my dad at a young age even though I wasn't anywhere close to as young as Myles was, and the circumstances were not the same but Myles has always had an ability to write lyrics that I seem to be able to connect to. I can relate to an enormous amount of the feelings and emotions that he has expressed on this album because I feel like I lost my dad before I really got a chance to enjoy things with him as a young man. I think it was incredibly courageous over Myles to share such personal emotions and such a personal part of his life so publicly like he has done. To put something so personal out there to be subjected to criticism is something that I really admire him for.

During the few times that I've listened to the album so far there's been a few moments in certain songs that I've almost been brought to tears, such as the line in Devil on the Wall where he says "If there's a god why did he take my father's soul"

I have a nagging feeling that I can't get rid of, every time I hear the very beginning of love can only heal I can swear that I have heard that part in a movie as background music during a moment of despair, I feel like I want to slam my head against a wall because I can almost picture what movie I remember it from, but I can't.

The bridge of Blind Faith is the most stunning moment of the record. Theres something really special about the way he builds the tension in his voice and the music comes through like a wave at the perfect time. Its so satisfying.

All right, now that I had more time to gather my thoughts together and a couple of more plays of those songs.

I don't necessarily think this is the case, like it is sometimes (all right, most of the time) for AB, where the singles are the worst songs of the album. Love Can Only Heal had a great build-up to the ending solo and Haunted by Design had this nice acoustic vibe and I enjoyed the solo that had the banjo in the background. I can understand people not liking Devil on the Wall due to the country vibe, but I feel that it is still a fun sounding energetic song.

Anyway, The Great Beyond is a great epic track, but I do think if he did more of those in this album sorta defeats the purpose of what Myles what going for in this album. He can save those kinds of vibes in the next AB album...... if he wants, I won't oppose it. I do agree with Timo that The Ghost of Shangri La onwards really captured the vibe of what I expected him to do with this type of album. Also, the more I hear it, the more I am really enjoying Mother and the lyrics where the mother is being the hero of this story of doing what she can to survive and overcome for the sake of her kids in light of this tragedy.

Songbird and One Fine Day are great songs to end the album on a great positive note where the lyrics have the tone of looking forward to what to come in the future (a huge 180 in comparison to the ending of Fortress and The Last Hero where the title tracks, as great and epic as they are, ends on a downer note with a lot of doubt and uncertainty and deterioration in those lyrics).

I think if there were two AB songs I would say had a similar vibe to this album in terms of lyrics. It would be certainly Never Say Die and All Ends Well. Anyhow, this is a great album and I know 2018 is shaping out to be a great year for me in terms of new music with a lot of my favorite bands coming out with new stuff, but I don't see any other album captivate me as much as Year of the Tiger.

Well done, Myles. The wait was worth it. Let's just hope it does not take another 9 years to get another solo album out.

I was not with high expectations after the first 3 singles. Which are the weaker songs of the album for me.
Although Haunted by design is a good song, and it sounds better when listen to the full album.
After a couple of listen, it is starting to grow on me. I'm enjoying it. It's simple and good.

I expected to hear more melancholic songs like Love can only heal, due to the album's theme.
But it's the opposite, the arrangements and the melodies send a good vibe.
It's good to sit down and listen. Myles's voice is impeccable.

The highlights for me are:
The great beyond (sounds epic)
Blind faith
Mother
Nothing but a name
Love can only heal (the best of the album)

This is a really beautiful album, as much for how all the parts come together and create an entire picture even more than the songs themselves.

I normally overdose on any released single from AB or Tremonti because they are such good stand-alone rockers. But after listening to the the first single a bunch after its release, I felt like the theme of the album was going to be a really important aspect to these songs as a whole. I liked YOTT okay, and I certainly expected Myles to be really far away from typical AB or even Slash sort of material, but it seemed to me a lot of the song's impact would be in context to the songs/story that followed, so I pulled way back on listening to the subsequent singles and I hadn't listened to Love Can Only Heal at all, despite the well deserved praise I read here.

It worked out perfectly for me. None of my preorders arrived early (wtf?!?!) so I didn't get to experience the album until Thurs after midnight when the iTunes download became available, but I'm glad I waited to get the whole story. With a couple exceptions, none of these songs is near my wheelhouse, but when they are put together as intertwined, evolving, and building parts in a deep tragic emotional beautiful journey of life, it becomes something far beyond the sum of its parts. I may not listen to individual songs too often (Love Can Only Heal, Mother, and Songbird are exceptions) but I will block out 51 minutes and let myself get swept away by the whole thing whenever I can.

One thing I noticed that's missing from this album cycle is every album prior seems to have a Lyric Thread, Media Review Thread, and Member Review Thread, and this album got none of those!

P.S - I was like When Mark called Myles his soul brother in support of the album release

SHEAKENBAKEN wrote:
P.S - I was like When Mark called Myles his soul brother in support of the album release

Well, Mark calls basically everyone a brother.

Mr. Slash wrote:

SHEAKENBAKEN wrote:
P.S - I was like When Mark called Myles his soul brother in support of the album release

Well, Mark calls basically everyone a brother.

But a soul brother though?