TheAlterBridgeNation.com

Bringer of War - A nice old school banger 9/10

From The Sky - Simple chorus but I actually really love it with that drum beat behind it, great solo too 9/10

A Dying Machine - Excellent ideas but perhaps some overly repeated parts 7/10

Trust - Nice atmosphere, not quite feeling the bridge but I like it 7.5/10

Throw Them to the Lions - Nice thrashy riff but the rest of the song doesn't quite capture me. Kudos for that ridiculous bridge intro riff tho 6/10

Make it Hurt - I like this. Has a System of a Downish chorus, nice solo 8/10

Traipse - Lovely creepy and deep atmosphere. There's some cool harmonies and unexpected chord changes from the chorus too. Nice solo, I kind of wish it departed the structure a bit as the atmosphere feels it could extend and/or go somewhere more ethereal 8/10

The First The Last - Eh? Needs to be on a different record, doesn't feel like it goes and it's not my thing. Could be a good single if the lyrics weren't so bloody depressing 5/10

A Lot Like Sin - Nice weird verse riff. Must have been quite hard to layer a melody over it. I quite like the chorus too, nice lush harmonies, but despite the individual parts this just doesn't stand out for me 6/10

The Day When Legions Burned - I'm a complete sucker for that syncopated drum beat that often Garret does in the intro, love that thrash beat. I like this one. Doesn't overstay it's welcome. Could have done without a melodic bridge and just seen them go mental with the thrash riffs instead 7.5/10

As The Silence Becomes Me - This doesn't seem to be getting much love but there is such a gorgeous and deep atmosphere to this song that I love. Mark is pushing a lot of emotion with his singing too. Love the chorus, the harmonies, lyrics and underlying chords really move me. The bridge is brilliant. Certainly an emotional peak. 9/10

Take You With Me - Didn't like this at first but now I fucking love it. Positive lyrics, shit tons of energy and a super sing-along chorus. Dat super quick palm-muted verse riff is the biz too. Deserves to be doing better in the charts than it is, maybe 15 years ago it would have slayed 9/10

Desolation - It's so nice on this album to hear more of Tremonti's clean tone again. If it's the MT15 then it's got a very Fender Twin quality to it. Love the mellotron and Mark using his lower register is gorgeous on the first verse, especially "to start again". This is song is awesome and definitely improved by restraining itself for so long before bringing in the distortion 9/10

Found - I like it but it feels like this shouldn't have been put at the end, maybe at the beginning (if it was slightly shorter) or midway through the album. If it shows a willingness to experiment in the future I'm down for it 7.5/10

Overall. Great album, there is some proper emotional heft to it that's been missing from previous records. There are a couple of duds for me but on the whole the highlights are definitely outshining even some of the best moments on 'The Last Hero.

As always for a Tremonti or AB album it's too bloody long and would benefit from cutting out some stuff to keep it under 50 minutes but that's just how Mark works. Apart from the kick drum the production is great, even if not outstanding in any one area. It doesn't fatigue me anywhere near as much as TLH.

There are some new techniques on the solos I've not heard even if Mark decided to just go for 'classic Tremonti' (said in Alan Partridge voice) for the most part with them.

8/10 would headbang

DeadCell wrote:Thanks for all the offers guys (sarcasm) but a buddy hooked me up with the bonus tracks.

There are bonus tracks?

Yeah the Walmart version if you can figure out how to get it has Now or Never and an acoustic version of Desolation. Looks like it's out of stock on their website though and it's not in the physical stores I went to sooooo I'm settling for YT right now.

DeadCell wrote:Thanks for all the offers guys (sarcasm) but a buddy hooked me up with the bonus tracks.

What you asked is against site rules so...

Mark replied to me on Twitter!!!

I told him that for the first time in months, after the loss of my sweet girl Allie this past April, I've had a smile on my face again thanks to his music. That meant the world to me.

Tried posting a pic of his response but it's a pain on this site.

prowler5150 wrote:

scarecrow wrote:Does anyone know if this is available in Walmart stores?? The website says no.

I went to three stores today. Not only was it not in stores, but they know nothing about it. Walmart has an outside vendor handle their music and movies, and apparently they aren't always on top of new releases on release days. At two of the stores, they "looked in the back," but didn't find it. I'm hoping they'll get them in the next week or so. I figured it would be like the Best Buy exclusives - at least 4-5 per store - so I didn't order online either. Stupid Walmart...

I found one in-store today. I used the site linked below to check for stock, then called and had them hold one (but they can hold "only for an hour!"...). Not all of the stores showing stock actually had them (that they could find anyway).

https://brickseek.com/walmart-inventory ... =148706731

facelessman07 wrote:Mark replied to me on Twitter!!!

I told him that for the first time in months, after the loss of my sweet girl Allie this past April, I've had a smile on my face again thanks to his music. That meant the world to me.

Tried posting a pic of his response but it's a pain on this site.

That's awesome, dude! Glad he could help bring some joy back into your life!

So, I decided to go to my local Best Buy to see if they have A Dying Machine in stock. They didn't. They told me that the album is only available via shipping. They had Trivium's The Sin and the Sentence, Year of the Tiger, Sons of Apollo's Psychotic Symphony, but not A Dying Machine. Looks like it's back to what can I spend $25.00 on at Walmart to get free shipping for A Dying Machine.

On a side note, I found Skillet's Comatose, one of my favorite albums of all time, for $6.00. Bought that as a consolation prize.

anguyen92 wrote:So, I decided to go to my local Best Buy to see if they have A Dying Machine in stock. They didn't. They told me that the album is only available via shipping. They had Trivium's The Sin and the Sentence, Year of the Tiger, Sons of Apollo's Psychotic Symphony, but not A Dying Machine. Looks like it's back to what can I spend $25.00 on at Walmart to get free shipping for A Dying Machine.

On a side note, I found Skillet's Comatose, one of my favorite albums of all time, for $6.00. Bought that as a consolation prize.

I found 3 at a Walmart near me. They’re not under T with all the other CD’s, they’re on the end cap.

Yeah, but that requires me to drive to a non-neighborhood market Walmart and hope that it is there, and I'm not doing that in June SoCal weather on a Saturday.

Btw, I really like the high ending note, Mark ends with in "Trust"

So much variety on this record. Vocals, riffs, melody, lyrics, atmosphere... its all top notch. This is a highlight of his career. 10/10 for me.

Wow. I'm in shock. This album imo is a far departure from anything Mark's been a part of before.

1) The guitar parts definitely incorporate techniques and style that we've not heard from Mark before on any record he's been a part of. This says to me he's pushing himself and getting outside of the box. And I love it.

2) Vocally he's pushing too; this part may be more obvious. I love that he added some falsetto, long held out high notes, more range and different tones for his voice.

3) I love that he has incorporated a story and is writing from that perspective. I think it opened up all kinds of creativity and possibilities that were never options before.

4. Melodically imo this album is stunning. Its less like his previous Tremonti albums, you don't have quite as many chugging, thrashing mosh pit songs. But every song, even the heavy ones, seem to have great, fresh, captivating melodies. We've got a lot more songs in a major key on this album (which is a bit different for Mark). But they're not 'my champion' cookie cutter style major songs either. They are fresh and unique and offer something totally different. To me they seem more interesting.

I could say so much more and maybe will but for now I'll just say I love it and I won't be skipping any songs as I relisten to it over and over again.

Highlights: From The Sky, Make It Hurt, Traipse, The First The Last, As The Silence Becomes Me, Desolation

prowler5150 wrote:

prowler5150 wrote:

scarecrow wrote:Does anyone know if this is available in Walmart stores?? The website says no.

I went to three stores today. Not only was it not in stores, but they know nothing about it. Walmart has an outside vendor handle their music and movies, and apparently they aren't always on top of new releases on release days. At two of the stores, they "looked in the back," but didn't find it. I'm hoping they'll get them in the next week or so. I figured it would be like the Best Buy exclusives - at least 4-5 per store - so I didn't order online either. Stupid Walmart...

I found one in-store today. I used the site linked below to check for stock, then called and had them hold one (but they can hold "only for an hour!"...). Not all of the stores showing stock actually had them (that they could find anyway).

https://brickseek.com/walmart-inventory ... =148706731

Thanks. This was actually totally accurate for me. One store in the Milwaukee area had them in stock (Greendale).

Now I have two copies of the album but whatever.

This is so much better than The Last Hero I wonder if a soft reboot for Alter Bridge isn't in order. Maybe shake up the writing process?

I know we were all expecting something different from Found...but I really dig that track for what it is. I like the experimentation.

Found is cool as hell. Reminds me of John Carpenter's Lost Themes albums.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YZ60mQA4Q8

I've said many positive things about the album so far, now let's get a few gripes out of the way:

1. Having a hard time getting into From The Sky. Nothing but "woahs" for the chorus is no bueno for me, and the main riff can't quite save it because although it's good, it sounds too much like My Last mistake to me.
2. Trust is a snoozer. Amazing vocal performance of course (*fist bumps Mr. Slash in agreement*), but the song itself is just very generic.
3. The Day When Legions Burned follows a strange recipe: Take one part So You're Afraid, combine in a bowl with one part Once Dead. Mix vigorously until contents have spilled all over the floor. Top with a sweet solo and enjoy!

WaywardOne wrote:Having a hard time getting into From The Sky. Nothing but "woahs" for the chorus is no bueno for me, and the main riff can't quite save it because although it's good, it sounds too much like My Last mistake to me.

Definitely my least favorite after one listen.

Mr. Slash wrote:Btw, I really like the high ending note, Mark ends with in "Trust"

Absolutely.

I would LOVE to hear more of this on future albums.

Something like this would've fit well on "The First the Last."