The Little Things in "Cauterize"

[Mr. Slash]

Sometimes I feel like Providence is the song that Mark and Myles tried to create with Fortress.

[Timotheus]

Thank god they didn't rush that one.

[mockingbird]

Providence was obviously meant for Alter Bridge in the first place, 100% sure about that.
On topic, the line "You live your final days along with your fear" from Another Heart is just damn.

[Andy92]

I remember one interview where Mark said the idea for Providence came to be when Elvis said he wanted to find this band's "Blackbird." It's a good song, but you can kinda tell it was a bit forced. Finger-picked intro sounds like a hybrid of Blackbird and Away In Silence.

[DCooper727]

The bridge of Dark Trip is probably the most progressive thing Mark has ever done. The whole bridge before the solo sounds like it could be part of a TesseracT song (especially because of the high harmony in the vocals and the bass). Definitely my favorite.

Hell yes dude. I didn't make the Tesseract connection until you mentioned it, but you're right, it does sound like them.

[Ubik]

I remember one interview where Mark said the idea for Providence came to be when Elvis said he wanted to find this band's "Blackbird." It's a good song, but you can kinda tell it was a bit forced. Finger-picked intro sounds like a hybrid of Blackbird and Away In Silence.

Yeah it follows the Blackbird formula throughout really, right until the end where it has the big distortion sustain fade into the clean fingerpicking and a little forlorn guitar in the background. I love it for what it is though, just not up there with the likes of Blackbird and Fortress. Dark Trip is their most impressive song to date, immersive in the way of the best Alter Bridge songs as well as being distinctly Tremonti.

[Timotheus]

How to write an epic:

-6/8
-Big chorus
-Slightly longer bridge
-Epic guitar solo

[Ubik]

You actually need at least two guitar solos for it to be a proper Epic, Mark skimped a bit there.

[slasherbridge]

After listening to Dark Trip a few more times, I realized that if someone told me that Myles played the solo on it, I would believe them. Mark played a few really bluesy phrases in that solo that I would normally expect to hear from Myles.

[RoelSmoel]

The bridge of Dark Trip is probably the most progressive thing Mark has ever done. The whole bridge before the solo sounds like it could be part of a TesseracT song (especially because of the high harmony in the vocals and the bass). Definitely my favorite.

Wolfie and Eric are fans of Tesseract. That explains something, probably.

[RuRo]

Cauterize:
- The brief appearance of the intro riff in the last repeated chorus ("Pure again")
- What I believe to be the bass in the outro (I am awful at distinguishing between bass playing clean high notes and guitar. If not the bass then the lower lick)

Dark Trip:
- "How could you ever deny I cared? I loved." A great song, still not completely convinced by the chorus of it but lyrically and emotionally this song is Mark's highlight on the album.

Another Heart:
- The bridge / solo riff before the solo comes in.

Fall Again:
- Mark's vocals in the bridge

Tie The Noose:
- Return to the riff after the solo.

Sympathy:
- Drums during the verse

[Mr. Slash]

Am I the only one who thinks that the chorus of Another Heart is fucking ballsy? The first times I listened to it, I thought this song was pretty average but it really grows on me. By now it's probably one of my favs, especially if you listen to the whole album. This song gives such a nice mood and dynamic change.

Something negative: I kinda dislike the fingerpicking riff of Dark Trip. To me it sounds kinda uninspired and unfitting to the song. dunno really what bugs me about it. probably that I get the impression that Mark "played it safe" on that song. Still love the rest of the song.

[Dolo]

Something negative: I kinda dislike the fingerpicking riff of Dark Trip. To me it sounds kinda uninspired and unfitting to the song. dunno really what bugs me about it. probably that I get the impression that Mark "played it safe" on that song. Still love the rest of the song.

To be honest, for me this riff is the foundation of the whole piece, especially when mixed with the higher harmony in the bridge just before the solo kicks in. May not be Mark's best riff ever but in the context of the whole song it sounds very fitting.

[mockingbird]

It's not from cauterize but I didn't want to start an all-new topic on it. In Brains, just before the bridge starts you hear a guitar make a slide, but it seems like it's a fretless guitar or something, can be heard here and it's a really soothing sound. Does anyone know what he did there?

[SHEAKENBAKEN]

It's not from cauterize but I didn't want to start an all-new topic on it. In Brains, just before the bridge starts you hear a guitar make a slide, but it seems like it's a fretless guitar or something, can be heard here and it's a really soothing sound. Does anyone know what he did there?

I'm not sure what sound you're referring to but I think that's his voice.

[mockingbird]

It's not, after that "yeeeeh" there's a guitar playing some notes and sliding into some bloomy note or something. Listen from 02:58, you hear him say "yeeeh", then you hear a guitar which slides into that bloomy note and then "All you want is more..."

[SHEAKENBAKEN]

It's not, after that "yeeeeh" there's a guitar playing some notes and sliding into some bloomy note or something. Listen from 02:58, you hear him say "yeeeh", then you hear a guitar which slides into that bloomy note and then "All you want is more..."

The sound right before that line sounds totally like Marks vocals to me so I'm not convinced it's guitar. Can someone else please weigh in? What sound is mockingbird referring to? What I hear at the 3:04 mark is a mixed-in take of Mark vocalizing under the rest of the music or something.

[Fish Tacos]

I can hear it quite clearly, it just sounds like a slide to me. My guess is that it sounds a little weird because as Eric naturally went to do something else with the backing guitar work, Elvis put a sustain on it.

[austinjhnsn]

I hear exactly what you're talking about, kinda just sounds like a bend to me but it might be a slide or something, not sure.

[mockingbird]

It's way too huge to be a bend and it's too smooth for it to pass frets, so maybe a bottleneck slide was used or maybe even a fretless?