Poll: What type of song do you want to be the lead single for AB VI?

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What type of song do you want to be the lead single on AB VI?

Heavy banger (ex. Bleed it Dry, Isolation, Metalingus, Addicted to Pain)
19
44%
Uplifting Anthem (ex. My Champion, Life Must Go On, Open Your Eyes, All Ends Well)
6
14%
Tearjerker ballad (ex. In Loving Memory, Wonderful Life, Cradle to the Grave)
1
2%
Slow Build into Heavy Progressive Epic (Ex. Slip into the Void, Cry of Achilles, Calm the Fire, This Side of Fate?)
8
19%
Epic Progressive Title Track w/ multiple solos (Ex. Fortress, Blackbird, Last Hero)
3
7%
Angry Accusatory Song (ex. Ties that Bind, Crows on a Wire)
5
12%
Other (please explain with examples)
1
2%
 
Total votes: 43

TheEndisHere
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Poll: What type of song do you want to be the lead single for AB VI?

Post by TheEndisHere »

Part of the reason I think that Alter Bridge does not have the recognition they deserve from mainstream rock fans and stations is that sometimes the choice is singles is lacking. For example, Blackbird (consensus best song) was never released as single but a middling song "Rise Today" was chosen. Same goes for The Last Hero (song) being shelved in favor of My Champion. Other amazing songs were not chosen either to be radio singles (Slip into the Void, Fortress). I understand that some songs are more radio friendly then others but those aren't AB's best songs that separate them from the pack. I'd love to see either the slow build epic (Calm the Fire, Slip into the Void, This Side of Fate) or the epic title track (Fortress, The Last Hero, Blackbird) be chosen as the lead single. Now I know you might say the length of some these longs (6-8 minutes) or the progressive song structure doesn't fit with radio rock but radio plays Tool songs like Schism. I feel like it's so much easier for AB to build their audience with their more bold daring epic title tracks then the more radio friendly songs.

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Vaux
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Re: Poll: What type of song do you want to be the lead single for AB VI?

Post by Vaux »

How about a cover song? It would be nice to see AB get the kind of recognition that Disturbed did with their version of Sound Of Silence. And look at Weezer with their Africa cover. It seems like hard rock is pretty much on life support, and maybe a classic song that people know would help cut through and reach an audience that they wouldn't normally.

What song could they cover and make their own? My thoughts are that it should be a famous song, but not a very famous song. And it should not be a rock song, or at least not a hard rock song. And it should be a song from the 90's or earlier, one that isn't fresh in everyone's mind. I'm trying to think of what could work.

How about House Of The Rising Sun? I could maybe see them doing that, if Mark and Myles could find a really cool way to play those organ parts. Or how about Nights In White Satin? Hmm, maybe not.

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Re: Poll: What type of song do you want to be the lead single for AB VI?

Post by Dolo »

Do you want people to remember AB only for a cover song?
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Vaux
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Re: Poll: What type of song do you want to be the lead single for AB VI?

Post by Vaux »

Why do you think they would only be remembered for a cover song? Even still, would that be better than not being remembered at all?

I'd like to think AB are a respected member of the hard rock community. If anyone only remembered them for a cover song it would be people that would have never heard of them anyways.

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AB4Lyfe
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Re: Poll: What type of song do you want to be the lead single for AB VI?

Post by AB4Lyfe »

I chose the progressive title track with multiple solos. They need to be more bold with what songs get sent out as singles, unfortunately Achilles didn’t pan out but that’s also because it was the LEAD single. Imagine if that was the first song we heard on the radio from them...
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Re: Poll: What type of song do you want to be the lead single for AB VI?

Post by Dolo »

Vaux wrote:Why do you think they would only be remembered for a cover song? Even still, would that be better than not being remembered at all?

I'd like to think AB are a respected member of the hard rock community. If anyone only remembered them for a cover song it would be people that would have never heard of them anyways.
Bands end up being remembered by big cover songs whereby their discographies get, so to speak, obscured. Cover songs tend to get bigger than regular singles.
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nagpo
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Re: Poll: What type of song do you want to be the lead single for AB VI?

Post by nagpo »

If the point is to get on radio you got to go with something like isolation

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Which is why I don't listen to radio

Post by gbruin »

If you want to get on the radio, go with some 5 cent riff, screamo in the prechorus, no solo, and repetitive lyrics about fighting the fight against the haters. Ka-ching.
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Re: Which is why I don't listen to radio

Post by Ubik »

gbruin wrote:If you want to get on the radio, go with some 5 cent riff, screamo in the prechorus, no solo, and repetitive lyrics about fighting the fight against the haters. Ka-ching.
Yeah, at some point you have to imagine that streaming is more important for this kind of thing than radio is these days, particularly given what Tim said about having to pay to increase your spins. Put something out that represents the album well and gets the fans excited, then hope they share the hell out of it.

That said, I like the epics to stay as album tracks, just for first listen purposes.
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Re: Poll: What type of song do you want to be the lead single for AB VI?

Post by Andy92 »

They need another Isolation-type song. Imo it’s the best radio hard rock song they’ve ever written, and it’s one of my favorite tracks of theirs too. I like the epics as much as anyone, but I don’t need that style in every track, especially for a single.
anguyen92 wrote:Oh well. Deal with it.

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One Drew Remains
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Re: Poll: What type of song do you want to be the lead single for AB VI?

Post by One Drew Remains »

I went with a ties that bind type. Even though it sounds a mess live, in my truck it has some great Dynamics.
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AB4Lyfe
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Re: Poll: What type of song do you want to be the lead single for AB VI?

Post by AB4Lyfe »

One Drew Remains wrote:I went with a ties that bind type. Even though it sounds a mess live, in my truck it has some great Dynamics.
I think the riff is too fast (or don’t have the right amps) for them to effectively pull off live. Imagine if they ever played Peace Is Broken.
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peapod0609
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Re: Poll: What type of song do you want to be the lead single for AB VI?

Post by peapod0609 »

TheEndisHere wrote:Part of the reason I think that Alter Bridge does not have the recognition they deserve from mainstream rock fans and stations is that sometimes the choice is singles is lacking. For example, Blackbird (consensus best song) was never released as single but a middling song "Rise Today" was chosen. Same goes for The Last Hero (song) being shelved in favor of My Champion. Other amazing songs were not chosen either to be radio singles (Slip into the Void, Fortress). I understand that some songs are more radio friendly then others but those aren't AB's best songs that separate them from the pack. I'd love to see either the slow build epic (Calm the Fire, Slip into the Void, This Side of Fate) or the epic title track (Fortress, The Last Hero, Blackbird) be chosen as the lead single. Now I know you might say the length of some these longs (6-8 minutes) or the progressive song structure doesn't fit with radio rock but radio plays Tool songs like Schism. I feel like it's so much easier for AB to build their audience with their more bold daring epic title tracks then the more radio friendly songs.
Well I somewhat disagree here. While all of those songs are great, not one of them is a typical radio single whatsoever.
Tool is much more of an exception in my opinion. Very rarely do bands release songs like that as singles.
Maybe I could see a Slip to the Void or a This Side of Fate doing decently, but I don't see radio stations lining up to play 6-8 minute songs, especially these days.
And when they DO play these songs they usually butcher them by editing them anyway, so what's the point? Madden NFL 2005 had Open Your Eyes which is only like 5 minutes and they cut out like a minute of the song for some reason. The radio version of The Last Hero cuts out the intro and intro solo entirely, even though that song isn't that long either. I'm pretty sure I heard Cry of Achilles on satellite radio once and they cut out the intro to that, too.
What's the point of releasing your more progressive songs if they're just going to be ruined?

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Re: Poll: What type of song do you want to be the lead single for AB VI?

Post by peapod0609 »

I agree with the people saying a song like "Isolation." That was their most successful radio single to my knowledge. I really don't know why, but it did well!
I remember at the time it came out, my college's local radio station had a chart for most requested songs in the hall, #1 was "Firework" by Katy Perry, and #2 was "Isolation" and I thought that was awesome!

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Re: Poll: What type of song do you want to be the lead single for AB VI?

Post by VigilantSteve »

Isolation is arguably their best song, and probably my favorite song of all time.

It would be a terrible radio single.

Their only real chance of getting on the radio is another Isolation type song, IMO

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Re: Poll: What type of song do you want to be the lead single for AB VI?

Post by TheEndisHere »

@peapod, I guess you are right about radio butchering progressive songs. Did the radio edit of Cry of Achilles really cut out the intro? I've never heard the radio edit. I never heard the radio edit of show me a leader until I just looked it up and wow, I see your point. If I was AB, I would refuse to let them put out radio edit. I hope at least one pre-release song is one of the epic proggy songs

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Re: Poll: What type of song do you want to be the lead single for AB VI?

Post by anguyen92 »

TheEndisHere wrote:@peapod, I guess you are right about radio butchering progressive songs. Did the radio edit of Cry of Achilles really cut out the intro? I've never heard the radio edit. I never heard the radio edit of show me a leader until I just looked it up and wow, I see your point. If I was AB, I would refuse to let them put out radio edit. I hope at least one pre-release song is one of the epic proggy songs
The radio edit of Cry of Achilles gutted out a lot of things that made the song awesome. To my recalling, it gutted the intro, Brian's bass section, Myles' solo, and one chorus section. Unfortunately for a band like AB that does not have the largest radio rock presence, it's either the radio version or it's not going to get played on radio at all.

Compare that to say, A7X, where if they put out a single, no matter how long it is, it's getting played in full. I know when Octane and other stations plays Nightmare (which is six minutes), they retain that lengthy intro. I think The Stage (song) was 8:30 long and I'm not certain how long it was played on for radio at the time, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was played in full.

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Re: Poll: What type of song do you want to be the lead single for AB VI?

Post by peapod0609 »

anguyen92 wrote:
TheEndisHere wrote:@peapod, I guess you are right about radio butchering progressive songs. Did the radio edit of Cry of Achilles really cut out the intro? I've never heard the radio edit. I never heard the radio edit of show me a leader until I just looked it up and wow, I see your point. If I was AB, I would refuse to let them put out radio edit. I hope at least one pre-release song is one of the epic proggy songs
The radio edit of Cry of Achilles gutted out a lot of things that made the song awesome. To my recalling, it gutted the intro, Brian's bass section, Myles' solo, and one chorus section. Unfortunately for a band like AB that does not have the largest radio rock presence, it's either the radio version or it's not going to get played on radio at all.

Compare that to say, A7X, where if they put out a single, no matter how long it is, it's getting played in full. I know when Octane and other stations plays Nightmare (which is six minutes), they retain that lengthy intro. I think The Stage (song) was 8:30 long and I'm not certain how long it was played on for radio at the time, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was played in full.
Yeah, sometimes bands aren't in any position (unless they're massively popular, perhaps) to make demands like that. Alter Bridge is definitely in the camp of "we will play an edited version of this or nothing," unfortunately.

And jeez, I remember they butchered Cry of Achilles but was it that bad? That's terrible. That's gotta be at least 1/4 of the song! And some key parts that give the song identity.

That kind of goes back to my point, though. What's the point of releasing the progressive epics if the radio stations are just going to edit out the parts that make it epic?

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Re: Poll: What type of song do you want to be the lead single for AB VI?

Post by TenaciousBe »

Honestly, if I'm Alter Bridge at this point in their career, having been a band for 15 years and releasing their sixth studio album, I'm thinking "fuck radio." I'm so tired of watching our boys put some of the best music into the rock world, and STILL not being part of the "cool bands that always get played on the radio" club like your Volbeats and your Avenged Sevenfolds and your Breaking Benjamins, and your flavor-of-the-month new bands that have one big single and disappear back into obscurity. Alter Bridge shouldn't have to try to get radio play by this point. It should just be expected.

Not to mention, the world isn't what it was 15 years ago. Sales and touring shouldn't have so much to do with what rock radio does. When I think of the pre-streaming days, I think of a map where each rock radio station has a particular circle of coverage, like a big Venn diagram, and more people closer to the epicenter of those circles were exposed to more music and thus, were more "important" in terms of touring and pushing singles to try to sell albums. Now that everything is online and streaming, that map is basically equal all over the country, all over most of the world. Radio singles don't mean what they did in the 90s, 2000s, even the early 2010s.

So when it comes to an opening single? Just be creative. Put out whatever is best representative of the album. Whatever Alter Bridge wants to be known as. The core fanbase is going to love it regardless, and the fringe rock world that might or might not dig it will either like it or not. Unless it gets picked up by something mainstream (e.g. WWE's Edge using Metalingus as ring entrance music) or a particular live performance goes viral (e.g. Disturbed's Sound of Silence cover on Conan), the opening single is just going to be what it always is, maybe top 10 or 20 on the mainstream US Rock chart, make zero impact on the Billboard Hot 100, and they'll sell a few albums and go on tour, and life will just go on as usual. That sounds more bleak than I mean it to, but that's kind of how I feel about singles and radio and all of that nonsense right now.

With all that said... I cast my vote for the Angry Accusatory song, your "Crows on a Wire" or your "Waters Rising" or your "Writing on the Wall" or something like that. Something that rallies against climate change or the hate/fear-mongering of a certain administration. I was a big fan of the political overtones of The Last Hero and I hope they keep pushing it more in that direction.
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