Official "The Last Hero" Thread (pre-release discussion)

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FlyingMonkey97
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Re: Official "The Last Hero" Thread

Post by FlyingMonkey97 »

I'm probably in the minority here, but ODR is actually my least favorite AB album. I discovered them by hearing Blackbird, but Fortress was just coming out and thats the first album I bought. It spent a month in rotation before I went back and picked up ABIII and Blackbird. I didn't get ODR for months, and once I did I didn't love it. There are some great songs but it sounds too much like Creed for me.

That being said, I love TLA, and it had the potential to be one my favorite. Leader and Poison are definitely the weakest tracks on the record in my opinion. Champion is a good song, and it provides some much needed contrast between other darker songs.

Basically, don't judge the album until you hear it. You don't need to be worried that it its sellout mainstream rock, it's anything but that.

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Ubik
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Re: Official "The Last Hero" Thread

Post by Ubik »

FlyingMonkey97 wrote:I'm probably in the minority here, but ODR is actually my least favorite AB album. I discovered them by hearing Blackbird, but Fortress was just coming out and thats the first album I bought. It spent a month in rotation before I went back and picked up ABIII and Blackbird. I didn't get ODR for months, and once I did I didn't love it. There are some great songs but it sounds too much like Creed for me.
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I can confirm we are a minority.

Now quick, make the rest of your post more ambiguous!
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Thundercats
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Re: Official "The Last Hero" Thread

Post by Thundercats »

For fuck's sake. If heavy is what people want, then they're going to be very satisfied. This album is easily heavier than Fortress. I wont go into detail, but they are releasing their more moderate songs early. I can promise you that.

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Mister Gold
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Re: Official "The Last Hero" Thread

Post by Mister Gold »

FlyingMonkey97 wrote:I'm probably in the minority here, but ODR is actually my least favorite AB album. I discovered them by hearing Blackbird, but Fortress was just coming out and thats the first album I bought. It spent a month in rotation before I went back and picked up ABIII and Blackbird. I didn't get ODR for months, and once I did I didn't love it. There are some great songs but it sounds too much like Creed for me.
We're only a minority on this website. I get the distinct impression that most AB fans as a whole aren't fond of ODR as they are the rest of their catalogue. However I'm on your side here.
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Thundercats
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Re: Official "The Last Hero" Thread

Post by Thundercats »

IMO ABIII is easily their weakest album. Every song felt too similar in pace and style, and it really wasn't heavy at all. Dark, yes. The production on that album sounded really muddy and unfocused. Their wasnt really anything memorable in terms of Mark's work either. ODR was great for what it was. Creed with a stand-in singer. Blackbird, Fortress and The Last Hero are what Alter Bridge are all about. Hard hitting riffs, amazing solos and tight rhythm section.

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AB23
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Re: Official "The Last Hero" Thread

Post by AB23 »

Thundercats wrote:]IMO ABIII is easily their weakest album. Every song felt too similar in pace and style, and it really wasn't heavy at all. Dark, yes. The production on that album sounded really muddy and unfocused. Their wasnt really anything memorable in terms of Mark's work either. ODR was great for what it was. Creed with a stand-in singer. Blackbird, Fortress and The Last Hero are what Alter Bridge are all about. Hard hitting riffs, amazing solos and tight rhythm section.
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Re: Official "The Last Hero" Thread

Post by AB23 »

Don't really understand what the push for more "heaviness" in their songs is, to be honest. Seems like they perfectly satisfied all of the heavier rock fans with the last album or two. It doesn't need to get more heavy. Being heavy =/= being progressive.
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malec
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Re: Official "The Last Hero" Thread

Post by malec »

Thundercats wrote:IMO ABIII is easily their weakest album. Every song felt too similar in pace and style, and it really wasn't heavy at all. Dark, yes. The production on that album sounded really muddy and unfocused. Their wasnt really anything memorable in terms of Mark's work either. ODR was great for what it was. Creed with a stand-in singer. Blackbird, Fortress and The Last Hero are what Alter Bridge are all about. Hard hitting riffs, amazing solos and tight rhythm section.
Couldn't agree more.

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Re: Official "The Last Hero" Thread

Post by Thundercats »

AB23 wrote:Don't really understand what the push for more "heaviness" in their songs is, to be honest. Seems like they perfectly satisfied all of the heavier rock fans with the last album or two. It doesn't need to get more heavy. Being heavy =/= being progressive.
I didn't say it was weaker simply because it wasnt heavier. It just didnt sound very good and there wasnt much distinction between a lot of the the songs for me. The one song I love on ABIII was "Life Must Go On".. the lightest song. *please see our rules & guidelines* I love the shit out of the heavy stuff. Mark's metal tone is pure bliss for me. But I do appreciate the ballads if they are done right. *please see our rules & guidelines*.. I wish these people would settle down a bit. The one thing I wish for AB is that they dont start making music just to get airplay. We already had Creed.
Last edited by Jim on Wed Sep 21, 2016 4:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Sorry man, we aren't allowing TLH talk pre-release

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Mister Gold
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Re: Official "The Last Hero" Thread

Post by Mister Gold »

I can definitely respect the argument that AB III is the band's weakest album. It's definitely got its fair share of flaws. However its best moments (i.e. Words Darker Than Their Wings, Slip to the Void) are songs that I revisit far more often than I do with literally anything on One Day Remains. ODR might be the better album objectively, but it means next to nothing to me. AB III at least holds a personal connection to it.

Also, again, it's not just about the band getting heavier or darker for me. It's that I think the band has rather naturally developed into a metal band (i.e. Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Queensryche). Moreover they tend to shine best when dabbling with their darker songs. Hell, Lover is one of my top songs off of Fortress and it's not all that heavy. It's moody as hell and has some incredibly dark implications in its lyrics, but it's not 'heavy.'

Songs like All Ends Well or My Champion aren't bad, but they don't resonate as strongly for me as the band's darker material does.
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Micky
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Re: Official "The Last Hero" Thread

Post by Micky »

Thundercats wrote:IMO ABIII is easily their weakest album. Every song felt too similar in pace and style, and it really wasn't heavy at all. Dark, yes. The production on that album sounded really muddy and unfocused. Their wasnt really anything memorable in terms of Mark's work either. ODR was great for what it was. Creed with a stand-in singer. Blackbird, Fortress and The Last Hero are what Alter Bridge are all about. Hard hitting riffs, amazing solos and tight rhythm section.
:yeahthat

I did like ODR a lot though, but I heard it AFTER Blackbird.

Blackbird and Fortress are my favorite albums of all time. So much passion and emotion on them. I don't care what direction these guys go in artistically, I will follow them. AB III may not be their best album, but some of the songs on there really strike a nerve with me.

Whatever makes these guys happy to continue making AB music is fineeeeeee with me.
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Re: Official "The Last Hero" Thread

Post by Raven »

FlyingMonkey97 wrote:I'm probably in the minority here, but ODR is actually my least favorite AB album. I discovered them by hearing Blackbird, but Fortress was just coming out and thats the first album I bought. It spent a month in rotation before I went back and picked up ABIII and Blackbird. I didn't get ODR for months, and once I did I didn't love it. There are some great songs but it sounds too much like Creed for me.

That being said, I love TLA, and it had the potential to be one my favorite. Leader and Poison are definitely the weakest tracks on the record in my opinion. Champion is a good song, and it provides some much needed contrast between other darker songs.

Basically, don't judge the album until you hear it. You don't need to be worried that it its sellout mainstream rock, it's anything but that.

I agree with everything especially ODR being basically Creed featuring Myles Kennedy but i love Poison and think the only weak track is Champion and i still dig that

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Re: Official "The Last Hero" Thread

Post by Raven »

Thundercats wrote:
AB23 wrote:Don't really understand what the push for more "heaviness" in their songs is, to be honest. Seems like they perfectly satisfied all of the heavier rock fans with the last album or two. It doesn't need to get more heavy. Being heavy =/= being progressive.
I didn't say it was weaker simply because it wasnt heavier. It just didnt sound very good and there wasnt much distinction between a lot of the the songs for me. The one song I love on ABIII was "Life Must Go On".. the lightest song. One thing I miss about TLH is that this type of song is missing. I love the shit out of the heavy stuff. Mark's metal tone is pure bliss for me. But I do appreciate the ballads if they are done right. TLH is heavy as fuck.. I wish these people would settle down a bit. The one thing I wish for AB is that they dont start making music just to get airplay. We already had Creed.
Something about how TLH sounds
Last edited by Jim on Wed Sep 21, 2016 4:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Dude, you know the rules by now surely?

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psycosquirrel789
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Re: Official "The Last Hero" Thread

Post by psycosquirrel789 »

Shocked they chose SMAL when that Poison chorus is one of their best.

benjoAB
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Re: Official "The Last Hero" Thread

Post by benjoAB »

Raven wrote:
Thundercats wrote:
AB23 wrote:Don't really understand what the push for more "heaviness" in their songs is, to be honest. Seems like they perfectly satisfied all of the heavier rock fans with the last album or two. It doesn't need to get more heavy. Being heavy =/= being progressive.
I didn't say it was weaker simply because it wasnt heavier. It just didnt sound very good and there wasnt much distinction between a lot of the the songs for me. The one song I love on ABIII was "Life Must Go On".. the lightest song. One thing I miss about TLH is that this type of song is missing. I love the shit out of the heavy stuff. Mark's metal tone is pure bliss for me. But I do appreciate the ballads if they are done right. TLH is heavy as fuck.. I wish these people would settle down a bit. The one thing I wish for AB is that they dont start making music just to get airplay. We already had Creed.
Something about how TLH sounds
How do you know what the album sounds like?? LP?
Last edited by Jim on Wed Sep 21, 2016 4:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Sssshh he doesn't

Raven
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Re: Official "The Last Hero" Thread

Post by Raven »

benjoAB wrote:
Raven wrote:
Thundercats wrote:
AB23 wrote:Don't really understand what the push for more "heaviness" in their songs is, to be honest. Seems like they perfectly satisfied all of the heavier rock fans with the last album or two. It doesn't need to get more heavy. Being heavy =/= being progressive.
I didn't say it was weaker simply because it wasnt heavier. It just didnt sound very good and there wasnt much distinction between a lot of the the songs for me. The one song I love on ABIII was "Life Must Go On".. the lightest song. One thing I miss about TLH is that this type of song is missing. I love the shit out of the heavy stuff. Mark's metal tone is pure bliss for me. But I do appreciate the ballads if they are done right. TLH is heavy as fuck.. I wish these people would settle down a bit. The one thing I wish for AB is that they dont start making music just to get airplay. We already had Creed.
Something about how TLH sounds

How do you know what the album sounds like?? LP?




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FlyingMonkey97
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Re: Official "The Last Hero" Thread

Post by FlyingMonkey97 »

Raven wrote:
FlyingMonkey97 wrote:I'm probably in the minority here, but ODR is actually my least favorite AB album. I discovered them by hearing Blackbird, but Fortress was just coming out and thats the first album I bought. It spent a month in rotation before I went back and picked up ABIII and Blackbird. I didn't get ODR for months, and once I did I didn't love it. There are some great songs but it sounds too much like Creed for me.

That being said, I love TLA, and it had the potential to be one my favorite. Leader and Poison are definitely the weakest tracks on the record in my opinion. Champion is a good song, and it provides some much needed contrast between other darker songs.

Basically, don't judge the album until you hear it. You don't need to be worried that it its sellout mainstream rock, it's anything but that.

I agree with everything especially ODR being basically Creed featuring Myles Kennedy but i love Poison and think the only weak track is Champion and i still dig that
I will admit that poison is growing on me, but it definitely seemed like filler the first time I heard it. The chorus is catchy and the solo is pretty sick which helps it out. I can't say I love My Champion, but I do really enjoy it and it doesn't seem like a weak track at all.

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Re: Official "The Last Hero" Thread

Post by abw1987 »

gbruin wrote:On the amazing side though, one of the hockey rinks where my son played was playing My Champion on ht arena PA during stoppages in play during the first period. I found the audio guy and told him how fantastic that was, so he played it in parts of the 2nd and 3rd periods, too.
That is so cool! I would never in a million years expect to run into an Alter Bridge fan out in the world. It's happened to me once or twice, and each time was equally delightful, but it still seems like we're so few and far between.
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Re: Official "The Last Hero" Thread

Post by dFhimz »

abw1987 wrote:
gbruin wrote:On the amazing side though, one of the hockey rinks where my son played was playing My Champion on ht arena PA during stoppages in play during the first period. I found the audio guy and told him how fantastic that was, so he played it in parts of the 2nd and 3rd periods, too.
That is so cool! I would never in a million years expect to run into an Alter Bridge fan out in the world. It's happened to me once or twice, and each time was equally delightful, but it still seems like we're so few and far between.
I once thought I was going to meet an AB fan out in real life. I was on a bus and faintly heard One Day Remains playing and it was driving me crazy trying to figure out where it was coming from. I just wanted to salute the cool person listening to it. I eventually pulled out my phone from my pocket and realized it somehow turned on in my pocket.......
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Re: Official "The Last Hero" Thread

Post by AB4Lyfe »

100 pages, and the album hasn't even been officially released yet. Good job, everyone!
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