AB VI Studio/Recording Thread

[AB23]

Not a huge fan of any of the 3 relative to the rest of their catalogue. I mean, if it's compared to just regular, commercialized music I pull up on a radio station, it's fine. But I've always thought that AB excelled in 2 categories: (1) their earlier, simpler stuff, and (2) their epics. Two opposite ends of the extrema that each have different pros/cons than the other. But I believe their earlier stuff really emphasized the individual skills of each musician (it didn't just come across as a wall of sound competition where each guy tries to play louder than the other). Breathe is a beautiful example of that. So fucking simple, and Myles is singing at that lower pitch where he used to have that sick growl in his vocals. Burn it Down is, imo, the most underrated song that this band has ever recorded.

Then the more complex, epic-ier music. Obviously, Blackbird is the masterpiece. But others that reach that category in my opinion were SttV, WDTTW, Achilles, Calm the Fire, Fortress, TLH, and TSOF. Just balls to the wall, complete changes in direction, and usually topped off with an awesome bridge leading into a celebratory final chorus.

But I've said this from the beginning. The songs that this band releases early as "singles" are normally, to me, the worst songs on the album (or bottom tier). The only song in the last 4 albums that they've released early that's been a hit is Words, and that was just the 48-hour release they did as a teaser.

Not worth being upset about. But I certainly have a different feeling about this album than most others, but that's just based on a cursory glance of the song lengths and the 3 songs that have been released thus far. I have no doubt they'll be one or two that fall into the category of great.

Just for me, I can go through the entirety of the first two albums and replay every single song. That's incredible considering there really is only one "epic" between those 2 albums. But since ABIII, I've only really been able to repeat 3 or 4 songs (if that) on their albums. But that's just the way it is now. It'll be the same for this one. But those 3-4 songs that I AM able to repeat makes the whole 3-year album cycle worth it.

[AB23]

fucking unbelievable if anyone takes the time to go through that post. Kev, I know you will. That's why I got mad love for you dawg.

[PRS10Top]

Shhhhhhhhhh don't get them started with the P word again.

One could speculate from the title alone

[fix]

...
Then the more complex, epic-ier music. Obviously, Blackbird is the masterpiece. But others that reach that category in my opinion were SttV, WDTTW, Achilles, Calm the Fire, Fortress, TLH, and TSOF. Just balls to the wall, complete changes in direction, and usually topped off with an awesome bridge leading into a celebratory final chorus.

All top-10 songs for me haha.

Do like the songs, but - obviously - nothing the level of those songs yet.

[TheEndisHere]

Dude why the fuck are there Stapp fanboys in here lmao.

Still bearing a grudge 15 years later.

[sugarandcyanide]

I like "Pay No Mind" the most out of the three. "Wouldn't You Rather" is safe/single/radio material. Lyrically, "Take The Crown" is boring to me and so is the chorus melody.

[gbruin]

fucking unbelievable if anyone takes the time to go through that post. Kev, I know you will. That's why I got mad love for you dawg.

What Monty writes, we all will read.

[Marshall]

NOW: Alter Bridge - Live at STAR FM 87.9 Maximum Rock!
(kitchen concert)

They will play 3 - 5 songs acoustically.

Link:
https://berlin.starfm.de/player/berlin/

[Mr. Slash]

NOW: Alter Bridge - Live at STAR FM 87.9 Maximum Rock!
(kitchen concert)

They will play 3 - 5 songs acoustically.

Link:
https://berlin.starfm.de/player/berlin/

When exactly?

Edit: Ah, apparently is was not streamed. But they just finished and the people who attended this kitchen concert gave a few statements about how great it was and how likeable Mark and Myles are.

[John3977]

Yeah no , im an old Creed fan myself but Myles has him covered

In the range department, but that's it. Go ahead people, ridicule my intelligence.

Wouldn't You Rather > Take the Crown > Pay No Mind.

Everything but the chorus is solid. The chorus is a throw-away. I think the outro is Mark, but maybe that's wishful thinking (as I wish he'd do more blues).

Also, I have a weird pet peeve about using "right now" - it's only present tense while saying it and then it immediately becomes past tense so it always sounds weird to me.

Myles has him covered in all facets : rolls eyes . Stapp aint touching M4 Myles or early AB Myles he is sounding better now but not Myles good

Gotta be honest trying to compare today’s Scott Stapp to Myles is like comparing a prime cut of beef to chicken feed. Scott voice is so shot he is auto tuned to high hell. Lyrically the guy has written zero songs that are relevant since 2004’s Great divide. Scott’s voice of old 90’s was great but it’s not even comparable to Myles. I was a huge Creed and Scott guy but he lost it a long time ago. If there ever was a new Creed album lyrically and vocally it wouldn’t come close to the old days. Myles is amazing.

[Marshall]

NOW: Alter Bridge - Live at STAR FM 87.9 Maximum Rock!
(kitchen concert)

They will play 3 - 5 songs acoustically.

Link:
https://berlin.starfm.de/player/berlin/

When exactly?

Edit: Ah, apparently is was not streamed. But they just finished and the people who attended this kitchen concert gave a few statements about how great it was and how likeable Mark and Myles are.

You will find a tiny bit in the stories of @starfmberlin (Instagram)

[AngusWolfe]

After only one listen of Take the Crown, I think the chorus does let it down slightly. I like the direction they're going in terms of music but we're still waiting for it to be pulled off 100%, imo. I'd still rank Pay No Mind ahead of it, but I could see that changing after a few more listens.

As much as I'm on board with the synth stuff, I did sit there and think how cool it would have been to have actual strings on this track, especially after the RAH shows.




RE: production, I think it's no coincidence that their live shows don't have the best sound quality either, especially since Mark dropped the Twins and IMO since Myles dropped the Mesa Mark IV. Everyone involves "okay"'s it, or Elvis would have stopped working with them or the band will have moved on when it comes to the studio. I don't think there is any one person to blame, it takes a lot of people to make a record and a live show.

[RevenantGB]

NOW: Alter Bridge - Live at STAR FM 87.9 Maximum Rock!
(kitchen concert)

They will play 3 - 5 songs acoustically.

Link:
https://berlin.starfm.de/player/berlin/

When exactly?

Edit: Ah, apparently is was not streamed. But they just finished and the people who attended this kitchen concert gave a few statements about how great it was and how likeable Mark and Myles are.

You will find a tiny bit in the stories of @starfmberlin (Instagram)

Oooo now that's got me excited, they played Ghost of Days Gone By acoustically

[TheEndisHere]

Yeah no , im an old Creed fan myself but Myles has him covered

In the range department, but that's it. Go ahead people, ridicule my intelligence.

Wouldn't You Rather > Take the Crown > Pay No Mind.

Everything but the chorus is solid. The chorus is a throw-away. I think the outro is Mark, but maybe that's wishful thinking (as I wish he'd do more blues).

Also, I have a weird pet peeve about using "right now" - it's only present tense while saying it and then it immediately becomes past tense so it always sounds weird to me.

Myles has him covered in all facets : rolls eyes . Stapp aint touching M4 Myles or early AB Myles he is sounding better now but not Myles good

Gotta be honest trying to compare today’s Scott Stapp to Myles is like comparing a prime cut of beef to chicken feed. Scott voice is so shot he is auto tuned to high hell. Lyrically the guy has written zero songs that are relevant since 2004’s Great divide. Scott’s voice of old 90’s was great but it’s not even comparable to Myles. I was a huge Creed and Scott guy but he lost it a long time ago. If there ever was a new Creed album lyrically and vocally it wouldn’t come close to the old days. Myles is amazing.

Myles is by far greater but I think Stapp's recent work in AoA and his most recent solo stuff is pretty decent. Red Clouds is probably Stapp's best song not with Creed but that song would be better with a Tremonti instead of a Tremonti wannabe

[John3977]

Yeah no , im an old Creed fan myself but Myles has him covered

In the range department, but that's it. Go ahead people, ridicule my intelligence.

Wouldn't You Rather > Take the Crown > Pay No Mind.

Everything but the chorus is solid. The chorus is a throw-away. I think the outro is Mark, but maybe that's wishful thinking (as I wish he'd do more blues).

Also, I have a weird pet peeve about using "right now" - it's only present tense while saying it and then it immediately becomes past tense so it always sounds weird to me.

Myles has him covered in all facets : rolls eyes . Stapp aint touching M4 Myles or early AB Myles he is sounding better now but not Myles good

Gotta be honest trying to compare today’s Scott Stapp to Myles is like comparing a prime cut of beef to chicken feed. Scott voice is so shot he is auto tuned to high hell. Lyrically the guy has written zero songs that are relevant since 2004’s Great divide. Scott’s voice of old 90’s was great but it’s not even comparable to Myles. I was a huge Creed and Scott guy but he lost it a long time ago. If there ever was a new Creed album lyrically and vocally it wouldn’t come close to the old days. Myles is amazing.

Myles is by far greater but I think Stapp's recent work in AoA and his most recent solo stuff is pretty decent. Red Clouds is probably Stapp's best song not with Creed but that song would be better with a Tremonti instead of a Tremonti wannabe

I agree red cloud is a really good song. I like it but I just don’t care for how overly edited his recordings have become. It almost sounds nothing like him. I wish he would ditch whoever the band he has been working with and go back to the guys he worked with on The Great Divide. I feel like Scott somehow forgot how to write. The lyrics and mood of the Great Divide trumps most of his recent stuff. I did like some of the songs from AoA but even those songs he seems to repeat the same themes and words you have heard on his old songs. The guy used to have a knack for bringing it when it came to writing lyrics. Not so much anymore. His whole recent album just seemed so different and overproduced. The Autotune thing annoys the hell out of me. I prefer his raspy voice of old.

[MuffinMcFluffin]

fucking unbelievable if anyone takes the time to go through that post. Kev, I know you will. That's why I got mad love for you dawg.

You think that's a long post? My, have standards lowered tremendously.

I believe their earlier stuff really emphasized the individual skills of each musician (it didn't just come across as a wall of sound competition where each guy tries to play louder than the other). Breathe is a beautiful example of that. So fucking simple, and Myles is singing at that lower pitch where he used to have that sick growl in his vocals. Burn it Down is, imo, the most underrated song that this band has ever recorded.

QFT, but I'm not a big fan of Burn It Down... on that note, almost everyone else here really is. That said, it can't be that unrated, at least not in AB fan circles.

Just for me, I can go through the entirety of the first two albums and replay every single song. That's incredible considering there really is only one "epic" between those 2 albums. But since ABIII, I've only really been able to repeat 3 or 4 songs (if that) on their albums. But that's just the way it is now. It'll be the same for this one. But those 3-4 songs that I AM able to repeat makes the whole 3-year album cycle worth it.

I'm kind of hoping that the singles fall in that lower tier trend that you speak of, and there is another "Words" on this album. I know there aren't any 6+ minute epics, but they still might have something up their sleeves that we haven't heard yet. Many here (including myself and what you said earlier in the post) have stated in the past that they always have better songs on their records than their singles, again as you also presume. I won't take these singles as an indicator of the quality of the other songs, although we will probably be able to get theme, tone, and direction.

As I've said a couple of times before though, I'm going to give this album a full front-and-back listen and hear these songs for the first time (I did hear WYR twice though). I'm going to play it through my home theater setup, sit in middle position, lay back on my couch, close my eyes, and take it all in. I won't know songs by name or order, and give it my subjective initial reaction as a full-fledged piece of art. I hope to be amazed.

[Blackbirddd]

[Ubik]

Love it. Myles does some bluesy noodling, MT goes straight for the gallops. Even something for the Creed fans in there.

Surprised Myles didn't go for Jeff's Tele though, maybe it's too iconic for him.

[rjiparsons]

Many here (including myself and what you said earlier in the post) have stated in the past that they always have better songs on their records than their singles, again as you also presume. I won't take these singles as an indicator of the quality of the other songs, although we will probably be able to get theme, tone, and direction.

As I've said a couple of times before though, I'm going to give this album a full front-and-back listen and hear these songs for the first time (I did hear WYR twice though). I'm going to play it through my home theater setup, sit in middle position, lay back on my couch, close my eyes, and take it all in. I won't know songs by name or order, and give it my subjective initial reaction as a full-fledged piece of art. I hope to be amazed.

Agree 100%. The pre album release songs are always going to be the "worst" of the album, bar the occasional exception. They aren't going to give out the best of the album prior to release, otherwise there is no enticing fans or new listeners to seek out the album. The 3 tracks released so far, in my opinion, are perfect teasers for what is to come Oct 18th. They may not be the best songs AB have created stylistically and musically, but they are not bad songs. They show the talents of the band perfectly, and leave you wanting more...which is what they want. I think people are expecting every song to be gold, which as stated before, only ODR and Blackbird have really achieved that, but this isn't to say that that the following albums have not been great. I'm not fortunate to have an amazing theatre set up to listen to the album but I will have a similar release day routine of sitting down, with a drink, popping my headphones in, listening to the album song by song, without looking at the track length, or getting bogged down by it only being a 3-4min song or whatever, and let my eardrums be caressed by Myles's soothing tones, Mark's gritty riffs, Brian's epic groove's and Flip's thrashing fills.

[TheEndisHere]

The problem with not releasing the best tracks as singles is that singles are what most people will be exposed to. I think part of the reason AB doesn't get the status they rightly deserve is that so many of the most amazing tracks aren't the ones promoted before an album comes out. Imagine if Blackbird and White Knuckles were the singles from Blackbird instead of Rise Today