Alter Bridge vs Creed/Slash/Tremonti/Projected

[Them Bones]

Agreed that Creed ain't as great as it used to be, but the fact that Stapp has only been getting better as Creeds been touring more n more shows that this band can be really great again. No one can deny the fact that Creed had great songs early on in their career. all the tags of being derivative and knock-offs were simply opinions of people overlooking the band's music. Tremonti had this signature sound, which only seems to have diluted over the years.He knows how to shred on a guitar now, but he can't write songs like he used to.Stapp has always been a great lyricist and did have a great voice which again was overlooked by a lot of people. Brian's bass was always so groovy and profound. I can barely hear him on AB or the latest Creed record. Songs like Higher and My sacrifice were just not the best representatives of the band and people aren't even familiar with a lot of their songs. There have been times when I've played songs like Are You Ready, Bound and Tied, or beautiful or Torn to a lotta Creed haters, and they have only left in shock and awe of what they have been missing on. I'd only want Creed to be dropped if the guys involved in the band are not as passionate about it as they once were and aren't even trying to be. Alter Bridge and Creed could co exist provided they figure out a way to give each of these projects enough time and dedication or they'll only be putting out substandard albums like ABIII and Full Circle in future.

[ThravRande]

I disagree with the "ABIII is substandard" I don't get why people are always bashing it. ABIII is my favorite AB album

[RuRo]

Choice c) Band could break up under production pressure and desire to work on other things and not reunite for many years - not what I want or would choose in a poll but what I've experienced with a number of favorite bands.

That's a good point, one of the reasons I don't think we can speculate too much about whether they should do this or that. If they didn't have other outlets and worked Alter Bridge much more they might get more likely to want to leave to try new things. On the other hand, maybe Myles constantly playing with Slash might tempt him to leave Alter Bridge and focus on that, where as if he didn't have it he'd be more committed. There's no way for us to know, really.

Even if I would prefer to see less side projects and other stuff (particularly Myles and Slash), it's not because I think it causes Alter Bridge to put out "substandard" albums. As far as I'm concerned Alter Bridge have had an upward trend in the quality of their albums. The only reason I'd prefer to see them without the side projects is because it would mean we could easily get an Alter Bridge album every two years, and it'd give me a bit more peace of mind about the state of their future (although they still seem to be committed to it and consider it to be their main priority as it is).

[agny]

I'm not going to worry about Alter Bridge as long as the guys keep talking about getting back together for their next album, have fun playing together, hanging out together, and even try to connect at festivals and now touring their side projects together.

I took on a new different work contract recently and although it's a lot of hours added to my week, it's gotten me charged up about all my work projects. There are only a certain number of weeks in a year, but it's not as simple as a zero sum game. Sometimes being more busy makes you more productive and engaged. I'm not even in a creative field - I would think for creative types it's even more helpful to be exposed to new things.

I think the next AB may take a while but will be charged up and refreshed as Myles has totally run with being a frontman (maybe they can have Ian or Frank or someone else play more rhythm guitar live?) and Mark has turned a lot of song parts he's liked for years into his solo project so will have more of a clean slate.
Edit to add, also Mark will have a lot more experience with both recorded and live vocals.

[Them Bones]

I disagree with the "ABIII is substandard" I don't get why people are always bashing it. ABIII is my favorite AB album

I am not bashing the album. Just that the guys have written better music and have made better albums before ABIII or Full Circle, in my opinion atleast.

[ThravRande]

To each their own, I suppose.

[AB23]

they can do other projects... they just have to be good.

[joey78]

I am not bashing the album. Just that the guys have written better music and have made better albums before ABIII or Full Circle, in my opinion atleast.

Full Cirle came in 2009 and ABIII in 2010.

So why were their records prior to 2009 so much better ? Too many distractions.

I watched the Wembley DVD and to me they look like a band that is just going through the motions.