Behind closed doors...

[Jaded Rescue]

This isn't a post about our old forum. Haha.

What this is about is a weird feeling I've been getting since AB III was released.

Does anyone ever get the feeling that there is more going on behind closed doors than we know of? Like how when AB III was released, the band said something like "We got to do whatever we wanted on this record... artistic freedom... etc etc..." but we never got anything really out of the ordinary other than Slip to the Void, perhaps. I just feel like there may be more going on with the record label, or Elvis, or someone influencing the band in some way, and it's really frustrating. I keep thinking back to that live clip that surfaced before AB III when Mark was playing around with his new custom phaser pedal. He was playing some light chords and Myles was just going to town behind him, improvising. Then he slipped into the riff that became Home and it sounded so smooth, aquatic, free.

But I felt none of that on AB III. The only song where I felt that there was some real soul and fun was Never Born to Follow, and that was a b-side. I suppose I shouldn't have expected "fun", considering the subject matter of Myles' writing on the album, but as much as I still love AB III, it simultaneously holds a stale feeling for some reason, and that stale feeling showed up pretty quickly after it was released. ODR still holds up so well for me, and Blackbird always seems so fresh.

I guess I just get frustrated with the band doing this whole "Let's put a song together like a puzzle!" thing. Whatever happened to painting one cohesive masterpiece on canvas?

Sorry for the book, just expressing some fears for AB IV I guess. Who knows, maybe it'll be AB IV: A New Hope. </rant>

[anguyen92]

I guess I just get frustrated with the band doing this whole "Let's put a song together like a puzzle!" thing. Whatever happened to painting one cohesive masterpiece on canvas?

I think Myles working with Slash, and Creed reforming, pretty much put an end to all of that where it is so hard to try to invest half a year doing nothing but writing and creating from scratch. (especially, with the music industry nowadays focus more on touring to make revenue).

These last month and a half or so is pretty much, as you said it, put the pieces of ideas that has been complied together for the last few years and make adjustments on it. Though, maybe, they have a couple of songs that they created from scratch from these writing sessions (as oppose from ideas that came up while on tour or whatevs).

Don't worry, though, I am sure these guys will not let us down. This album should sound as authentic and creative as it can be from these guys.

There will be eventually a period where they have the time to do anything they want for as long as they need without any deadlines, because I do not see Creed or Slash lasting longer.

[Jaded Rescue]

I don't see Creed lasting much longer at all, but I don't know about Slash. The whole band seems pretty intent on continuing. Don't know how Myles feels.

[AllC392Was]

- I honestly Don't like Myles With Slash because it seems like Slash is taking all the time away from AB.

- Tremonti was extremely successful with his solo album (B side was a single for Gods sake). Mark would so much rather do his solo stuff than play Higher/Arms wide Open/ ect.

- ODR and BB were amazing albums each song had its own feel and each song had a different meaning.
and not to rag on AB3 because I liked Most of the songs but it was so disorganized and I didn't get the same feeling... except for Masterpieces like Slip to the Void, WDTTW, and for me Isolation was awesome personally

[AB4Lyfe]

I don't really feel like there's anything really going on behind closed doors because look at the musician's different works. Creed, Mayfield Four, ODR, BB, Apocalyptic Love, and All I Was. Those works all have a bunch of similarities and these are what the artists are accustomed to playing. After all of their long histories playing a certain kind of music, there's not necessarily a lot we can expect variety wise.

[Macca]

Came here for tits

[Decay]

- I honestly Don't like Myles With Slash because it seems like Slash is taking all the time away from AB.

- Tremonti was extremely successful with his solo album (B side was a single for Gods sake). Mark would so much rather do his solo stuff than play Higher/Arms wide Open/ ect.

- ODR and BB were amazing albums each song had its own feel and each song had a different meaning.
and not to rag on AB3 because I liked Most of the songs but it was so disorganized and I didn't get the same feeling... except for Masterpieces like Slip to the Void, WDTTW, and for me Isolation was awesome personally

- Slash ain't taking any time away from AB, the guys are cool with it, otherwise they'd tell him how they felt about it.

- Yes, I agree what you said about Mark and I'd rather see Tremonti Project than Creed. Creed's time has passed.

- I disagree on AB III, the album was a bit rushed, it had a different, darker subject matter, but still it was a masterpiece like ODR and BB. The only thing that sucks about AB III is its name.

[Decay]

Came here for tits

You have a wrong website, my friend.

[AllC392Was]

- I honestly Don't like Myles With Slash because it seems like Slash is taking all the time away from AB.

- Tremonti was extremely successful with his solo album (B side was a single for Gods sake). Mark would so much rather do his solo stuff than play Higher/Arms wide Open/ ect.

- ODR and BB were amazing albums each song had its own feel and each song had a different meaning.
and not to rag on AB3 because I liked Most of the songs but it was so disorganized and I didn't get the same feeling... except for Masterpieces like Slip to the Void, WDTTW, and for me Isolation was awesome personally

- Slash ain't taking any time away from AB, the guys are cool with it, otherwise they'd tell him how they felt about it.

- Yes, I agree what you said about Mark and I'd rather see Tremonti Project than Creed. Creed's time has passed.

- I disagree on AB III, the album was a bit rushed, it had a different, darker subject matter, but still it was a masterpiece like ODR and BB. The only thing that sucks about AB III is its name.

yeah your right about the Slash thing. It's just the selfish side of me that wants Myles only with AB and his solo stuff.

But with AB3 it was an amazing album and I listen to it more than the other albums but to me if they kept it at Tracks 1-2-3-4-5-7-8-10-12-14. I would consider it the best album so far but BB is the best album in my opinion.
Don't kill me on an opinion though I love all of them

[Dolo]

I keep thinking back to that live clip that surfaced before AB III when Mark was playing around with his new custom phaser pedal. He was playing some light chords and Myles was just going to town behind him, improvising. Then he slipped into the riff that became Home and it sounded so smooth, aquatic, free.

Is that footage available anywhere?

[Ubik]

[youtube]http://youtu.be/gvr5guCowMU[/youtube]

[Dolo]

[youtube]http://youtu.be/gvr5guCowMU[/youtube]

Ohh yeah, I've seen this one some time ago. It sounds like nice improvisation.

[vmt7007]

It's just the selfish side of me that wants Myles only with AB and his solo stuff.

That's understandable.

On the flip side, isn't it nice to finally see Myles getting the respect and notoriety he so richly deserves?

The Slash platform has increased Myles visibility 10 fold, as well as IMO changing the way people see him. Having the guitar icon of a generation fawning all over you in the media like Slash does when talking about Myles is not exactly bad for a guys career.

Everyone who knew AB knew Myles had a great voice, but it was when the general public saw him belting out the GNR songs w/ Slash that I think it finally clicked with a broader audience just how good he was. He doesn't have the rasp, but he hits all those big notes Axl did, and sometimes it takes a reference point like that for people to really get it.

I think you hit the nail on the head with Mark.

He had a very strong solo debut. With Wolfgang in the mix officially, he has every reason to treat his solo band as an extremely viable option going forward. I am not sure what hsi expectations were when he started out, but the potential is certainly there to take the next step with that project. There is a ton of talent in that band.

I will close by pointing out to any side project worry warts that having that outlet will actually keep AB together in the long run.

Musicians naturally have different interests and so forth that don't fit within the traditional band sound. Having those solo project outlets let them get that stuff out there in a way being strictly AB doesn't. Over the long haul that is the kind of thing that tears bands apart, and their are countless examples of it.

The way it is now, AB feels fresh to them when they get together for it. If they did nothing but AB, it would lose that feel over time.

They have a great happy medium going though where they are able to pursue their creative objectives in AB while also having that outlet to do stuff that wouldn't be right for it. That is actually the key to band happiness IMO.

[Timotheus]

This isn't a post about our old forum. Haha.

What this is about is a weird feeling I've been getting since AB III was released.

Does anyone ever get the feeling that there is more going on behind closed doors than we know of? Like how when AB III was released, the band said something like "We got to do whatever we wanted on this record... artistic freedom... etc etc..." but we never got anything really out of the ordinary other than Slip to the Void, perhaps. I just feel like there may be more going on with the record label, or Elvis, or someone influencing the band in some way, and it's really frustrating. I keep thinking back to that live clip that surfaced before AB III when Mark was playing around with his new custom phaser pedal. He was playing some light chords and Myles was just going to town behind him, improvising. Then he slipped into the riff that became Home and it sounded so smooth, aquatic, free.

But I felt none of that on AB III. The only song where I felt that there was some real soul and fun was Never Born to Follow, and that was a b-side. I suppose I shouldn't have expected "fun", considering the subject matter of Myles' writing on the album, but as much as I still love AB III, it simultaneously holds a stale feeling for some reason, and that stale feeling showed up pretty quickly after it was released. ODR still holds up so well for me, and Blackbird always seems so fresh.

I guess I just get frustrated with the band doing this whole "Let's put a song together like a puzzle!" thing. Whatever happened to painting one cohesive masterpiece on canvas?

Sorry for the book, just expressing some fears for AB IV I guess. Who knows, maybe it'll be AB IV: A New Hope. </rant>

For me listening to Blackbird/ODR was a total different experience from ABIII. When I got into Alter Bridge in 2007 my musical knowledge sucked and I wasn't into as many different genres as I am today. Alter Bridge really was the band that triggered my obsession with music. I was blown away by everything they did. I didn't know about scales and time signatures back then.. I didn't care that the songs had simple structures. I didn't knew and care about the mix, about production and stuff like that. Elvis was that funny dude in the Blackbird documentary who made Before Tomorrow Comes sound awesome. I had no idea what he did in general.
Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti were Gods amongst men and everything they touched was gold Even when I listen to Blackbird and One Day Remains today, I still put those albums on a pedestal, even if it's out of nostalgia. I think no Alter Bridge album will ever top those albums for me, because of this reason.

I was really disapointed with ABIII at first when it came out, because I was expecting so much from it. I really thought it was going to be the best thing I'd ever heard. It didn't really help that it was supposed to be this kind of progressive and artistic album. I was very into progressive bands like King Crimson, Porcupine Tree and Tool back then, so the album kinda failed there for me. It took some time for me to love the album as much as I love it now.

For ABIV, the experience will be different once again. I've become so aware of the human side of this band. I've seen so many video's and interviews online, I've met all of them a few times, I've seen them do things I didn't really like.
So this time, I'm trying to be as open-minded as possible. I'm not really expecting this album to be very different from their other releases. I'm also not expecting to be blown away (still hoping though! ) Worst case scenario: I don't like the album (which I'm sure won't happen). I'd probably be a bit disappointed, but who cares? There are tons of other bands out there that are releasing awesome music.

[Dolo]

When I got into Alter Bridge in 2007 my musical knowledge sucked and I wasn't into as many different genres as I am today. Alter Bridge really was the band that triggered my obsession with music. I was blown away by everything they did. I didn't know about scales and time signatures back then.. I didn't care that the songs had simple structures. I didn't knew and care about the mix, about production and stuff like that. Elvis was that funny dude in the Blackbird documentary who made Before Tomorrow Comes sound awesome. I had no idea what he did in general.
Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti were Gods amongst men and everything they touched was gold

I feel like as if I was hearing myself But I have a slightly different opinion as far as ABIII is concerned. I remember that I was kinda away from AB music after Creed had returned, and when I heard ABIII I was literally blown away, constantly listening to it for 3 months in a row. After some time I realised thaat is not as good as BB. Hopefully, ABIV will push them into some fresh direction, proving that these guys are not burned out already.

[AB23]

what? there are no bbws here the thread name is deceiving

[AllC392Was]

It's just the selfish side of me that wants Myles only with AB and his solo stuff.

That's understandable.

On the flip side, isn't it nice to finally see Myles getting the respect and notoriety he so richly deserves?

The Slash platform has increased Myles visibility 10 fold, as well as IMO changing the way people see him. Having the guitar icon of a generation fawning all over you in the media like Slash does when talking about Myles is not exactly bad for a guys career.

Everyone who knew AB knew Myles had a great voice, but it was when the general public saw him belting out the GNR songs w/ Slash that I think it finally clicked with a broader audience just how good he was. He doesn't have the rasp, but he hits all those big notes Axl did, and sometimes it takes a reference point like that for people to really get it.

I think you hit the nail on the head with Mark.

He had a very strong solo debut. With Wolfgang in the mix officially, he has every reason to treat his solo band as an extremely viable option going forward. I am not sure what hsi expectations were when he started out, but the potential is certainly there to take the next step with that project. There is a ton of talent in that band.

I will close by pointing out to any side project worry warts that having that outlet will actually keep AB together in the long run.

Musicians naturally have different interests and so forth that don't fit within the traditional band sound. Having those solo project outlets let them get that stuff out there in a way being strictly AB doesn't. Over the long haul that is the kind of thing that tears bands apart, and their are countless examples of it.

The way it is now, AB feels fresh to them when they get together for it. If they did nothing but AB, it would lose that feel over time.

They have a great happy medium going though where they are able to pursue their creative objectives in AB while also having that outlet to do stuff that wouldn't be right for it. That is actually the key to band happiness IMO.

I am so proud of Myles. He deserves everything and more at this point of his career, He's had a solo album done for many years and still hasn't been released because he puts others ahead of himself.

In a perfect world I would want Mark and Myles to be with AB and when they aren't they would be doing Solo stuff. Again Myles has helped give AB publicity with Slash and has toured in Stadiums and Coliseums which have to be an amazing feeling for him.

With Mark I'm sure for the fans sake he is going to tour again with Creed but I think we all know he would much rather do Solo stuff. All I was is an extremely good album and 1-14 of the songs that they recorded were the top of the top. I think he has a chance to be an Arena headlining guy in 5-8 years if they continue being successful ( prob exaggerating there )

[prslover]

Its simple,
Elvis is trying to produce singles while the band is not.
What you get is a record with a commercial sound (too commercial IMO) due to the Elvis factor,
but has the quality songwriting and riffs that we know the guys deliver everytime.

[TenaciousBe]

It's just the selfish side of me that wants Myles only with AB and his solo stuff.

That's understandable.

On the flip side, isn't it nice to finally see Myles getting the respect and notoriety he so richly deserves?

The Slash platform has increased Myles visibility 10 fold, as well as IMO changing the way people see him. Having the guitar icon of a generation fawning all over you in the media like Slash does when talking about Myles is not exactly bad for a guys career.

Everyone who knew AB knew Myles had a great voice, but it was when the general public saw him belting out the GNR songs w/ Slash that I think it finally clicked with a broader audience just how good he was. He doesn't have the rasp, but he hits all those big notes Axl did, and sometimes it takes a reference point like that for people to really get it.

I think you hit the nail on the head with Mark.

He had a very strong solo debut. With Wolfgang in the mix officially, he has every reason to treat his solo band as an extremely viable option going forward. I am not sure what hsi expectations were when he started out, but the potential is certainly there to take the next step with that project. There is a ton of talent in that band.

I will close by pointing out to any side project worry warts that having that outlet will actually keep AB together in the long run.

Musicians naturally have different interests and so forth that don't fit within the traditional band sound. Having those solo project outlets let them get that stuff out there in a way being strictly AB doesn't. Over the long haul that is the kind of thing that tears bands apart, and their are countless examples of it.

The way it is now, AB feels fresh to them when they get together for it. If they did nothing but AB, it would lose that feel over time.

They have a great happy medium going though where they are able to pursue their creative objectives in AB while also having that outlet to do stuff that wouldn't be right for it. That is actually the key to band happiness IMO.

This is absolutely, nail-on-the-head how I feel about the situation. And on top of keeping AB fresh, it also affords us, as fans, exponentially more music - in just the past year or so alone, we've gotten Apocalyptic Love, All I Was, and Human (Projected's album with Flip). If AB would have just gone through the ABIII motions and then gone back into it, we'd only have 1 album instead of 3. Plus, the other outlets let the guys get their "fringe" ideas out into other bands, and lets them all reconvene with a more pure AB sound for AB4.

[VigilantSteve]

Its simple,
Elvis is trying to produce singles while the band is not.
What you get is a record with a commercial sound (too commercial IMO) due to the Elvis factor,
but has the quality songwriting and riffs that we know the guys deliver everytime.

I really just don't understand why people think this way. If the band wanted something different than what was being done by Elvis then we wouldn't have a 3rd album in a row being produced by him, 4th if we include Tremonti's solo album...not to mention he was also involved with Projected's CD as well. I'd be more inclined to believe, and it makes more sense, that they keep using Elvis because he produces the album the way that they want the album to be produced. There's nothing tying them specifically to Elvis as a producer otherwise.