Crumbso wrote: ↑Sun Nov 15, 2020 8:39 pm
You know, I was thinking about WTS and how I think it seems like, now all the dust has settled, it's a tad bit underrated in the catalogue. I almost feel it would have gotten a much better response if the singles chosen weren't the filler songs. Imagine if Walking on the Sky or Forever Falling were released as the first singles? It would have made a much better impression. Songs like Take the Crown and In the Deep are pretty much filler songs.... I'd probably even push that criticism at Pay no Mind as well.
As usual, this is an album that would have been amazing if they shortened the running order a bit to 40 - 50 minutes. If you eliminate the above three songs + Tear Us Apart then you get an absolutely cracking 43 minute album with very few weak points.
People have said that my low opinion of Walk The Sky may be hindered because I haven't heard the best songs. I somewhat doubt that. Here's my track-by-track review, as best as I can without having listened to the whole album.
One Life - Okay opener song, but they could have easily thrown this one out and put Wouldn't You Rather to open the album.
Wouldn't You Rather - Not deserving to be the second spot (compare it to Come To Life, Isolation, Addicted To Pain, and The Writing On The Wall). Used to like it a lot, but I'm getting kinda bored with it. Definitely don't like the studio version, so I've been listening to the live version from Walk The Sky 2.0 instead.
In The Deep - That annoying tuning! In fact, pretty much the whole song sounds creepy except for the intro solo (played by Myles, I believe).
Godspeed - Wasn't a fan on first listen, but it grew on me after the second listen, so I put it on my playlist. Third time I heard it was shortly before I said goodbye forever to a friend, so the emotional response kind of made me like the song more.
Native Son - Still my favorite on the album. One of the first Alter Bridge songs I heard, and it lives up to their old catalogue.
Take The Crown - I heard only about half of it before skipping it. It didn't leave enough of an impression on me to keep listening or to remember anything from it.
Indoctrination - Another creepy intro. The chorus is okay, but overall it has too much of an atmospheric vibe, which I don't like. That's as far as I remember since I only heard it once, which was a while ago. Oh, that's right, why did they plagiarize themselves? The solo sounds almost exactly like The Writing On The Wall, which is an awesome solo, but it's not fair to completely plagiarize themselves.
The Bitter End - Haven't heard it.
Pay No Mind - That synth in the intro kills me. I can't listen to the studio version because all of a sudden it has that bang, and then the synth comes in. The rest of the song is okay, but again, it didn't leave a lasting impression on me.
Forever Falling - Everybody on this forum was telling me I should listen to this song. So I finally did, and I didn't think it was anything special.
Clear Horizon - With this song I see the real problem with this album as you said, with the singles being those that deserved to be filler songs, and vice versa. It's a really cool song, but different. It might take a while to grow on me, but it's promising.
Walking On The Sky - This one is weird. Not the kind of weird like Lover, for example, which I didn't like enough to listen to it again. I'd probably like it better if the chorus was different. The verse has some ballady feel which I like.
Tear Us Apart - Haven't heard it.
Dying Light - This is by no means the "most epic [they've] done since Blackbird". The chord progression in the chorus is strange. Compared to their other last track epics Fortress and The Last Hero, there's nothing heavy about it. Compared to another last track epic Words Darker Than Their Wings, it's not nearly as good vocally. The production on the studio version is also really annoying, but the fingerstyle clean of the live version also sounds weird. Not something I want to be listening to.
Last Rites - Heavy music, but the vocal melody is definitely their worst. People say it gives some Alice In Chains vibes, and I agree, but I think that's a bad thing.
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My opinions of the rest of the albums might also be hindered because I haven't heard all the songs.
1. Fortress - I may be biased in favor of this album since I've heard all but one song, but except for Bleed It Dry (as much as I've heard of it), Lover, and Farther Than The Sun, it's consistently good. Addicted To Pain is my favorite Alter Bridge song of all time, and Cry Of Achilles, The Uninvited, All Ends Well, and Fortress are some of my other favorites.
2. The Last Hero - It's more about the individual songs than the album. Has some killer songs such as Crows On A Wire, The Writing On The Wall, The Last Hero, and Cradle To The Grave. Show Me A Leader also cool. I'm not really feeling Poison In Your Veins, and The Other Side is my least favorite Alter Bridge song of all time. I've heard good things about This Side Of Fate and Island Of Fools, and bad things about My Champion and Losing Patience. We'll see how I feel about those.
3. Blackbird - Not exactly the classic that people regard it as. Still has some awesome songs such as Watch Over You, Come To Life, Ties That Bind, and White Knuckles. Before Tomorrow Comes and Brand New Start are okay as well. Rise Today is too much of a "radio baby", Buried Alive is nothing special, and I honestly am bored from listening to the song Blackbird so many times. One element of note on this album is that the guitar tone is not as heavy as on their other albums. It's especially obvious on White Knuckles.
3. One Day Remains - I couldn't really break the tie between this and Blackbird. Very highly polarized album. There's the awesome songs, and then there's the songs I really dislike. Open Your Eyes, Metalingus, In Loving Memory, Down To My Last, Shed My Skin, and The End Is Here are amazing. Find The Real isn't really memorable. I dislike One Day Remains mostly because of the guitar riff. Broken Wings was the first Alter Bridge song I heard, and it wasn't a good first impression. Luckily Watch Over You was my second impression.
5. AB III - The concept album strategy was not a good idea. If I ignore that part, I really like Isolation, Slip To The Void, I Know It Hurts, and Words Darker Than Their Wings. Wonderful Life is okay. All Hope Is Gone reminds me of Broken Wings, Coeur D' Alene is the same kind of boring as Buried Alive, I never found anything special with Life Must Go On, Ghost Of Days Gone By gets old after a while, and I don't like Still Remains. I have yet to listen to most of the album.
6. Walk The Sky