Battle Of The Track Numbers: Track 05

[TenaciousBe]

Wow. I can't believe that I'm the 25th vote, and I'm the first one to vote for The Uninvited. I really thought that was one of the songs that made Fortress a masterpiece. I do love Metalingus, but I feel like I've just heard that one so many times over the years (especially with being a big Edge fan) that it's just part of the furniture now. I'd rank The Uninvited as one of my top 5 AB songs of all time, honestly.

[Crumbso]

Metalingus will walk this but I think Native Son is by far my favourite.

[UninvitedZero]

I voted Metalingus because it was the first exposure to AB I had (thanks Edge)... But thinking about it, Still Remains has grown on me exponentially since ABIII came out. This is maybe the weakest set of tracks in the band's catalog. I still don't love Native Son, Coming Home is pretty underrated and I do forget how much I dig The Uninvited!

[MuffinMcFluffin]

Wow. I can't believe that I'm the 25th vote, and I'm the first one to vote for The Uninvited. I really thought that was one of the songs that made Fortress a masterpiece. I do love Metalingus, but I feel like I've just heard that one so many times over the years (especially with being a big Edge fan) that it's just part of the furniture now. I'd rank The Uninvited as one of my top 5 AB songs of all time, honestly.

It's super high up on my list. Not Top 5, though. See my post on it. Could have been a 1a & 1b with Metalingus for Track 05.

I'm not surprised others haven't voted on it, after hearing the reception people have toward it here and on FB in our AB group, for whatever reason.

[VigilantSteve]

I'm quite surprised that Poison in Your Veins received more votes than The Uninvited so far. Furthermore it's sad to see that I'm the only one who voted for Still Remains.

I was VERY close to voting for Still Remains, always loved that song and never understood the apparent dislike it had around here going back to its original release.

[Buffon]

Wow. I can't believe that I'm the 25th vote, and I'm the first one to vote for The Uninvited.

And I'm the second. I honestly expected it to win this, or at least end up second behind Metalingus.

Happy to see some Coming Home love, at least. One of my favorite AB choruses.

[Blackbirddd]

I'm so happy seeing Coming Home getting some recognition

[Silvercreed]

Coming Home, The Uninvited and Still Remains are 3 of my favorite AB songs and it sucks not to vote for all of them.
But I have to choose Coming Home. I love everything about the song, especially the bridge and Flip's work. The drumming is awesome.

Coming Home
The Uninvited (I think this one could be interesting with an orchestra)
Still Remains
Native son
Metalingus
Poison Your Veins

[VigilantSteve]

I'm so happy seeing Coming Home getting some recognition

Same!

[TheEndisHere]

Coming Home
Native Son
Metalingus (it's a bit overrated IMHO)
Uninvited (unlike anything else in the discography, it's like AB does Tool)
Still Remains (underrated)
Poison in your veins

[George]

Metalingus for sure...
Coming Home close and Native Son above.

The rest are thereunder.

[Kreuger]

Tough choice but I picked The Uninvited. I don't know how anyone has picked PIYV. Easily the worst of the bunch to me.

[Arctic]

Coming Home has a really cool and unique riff and an awesome bridge, but the chorus just kills it for me. It’s so choppy and does not flow well at all. I’ve always been surprised by how much love it gets.

[Blackbird]

Coming Home has a really cool and unique riff and an awesome bridge, but the chorus just kills it for me. It’s so choppy and does now flow well at all. I’ve always been surprised by how much love it gets.

Exactly my feelings! The chorus makes the song so much worse than it could be.

[Buffon]

The guitar work in the chorus is what makes it stand out. There's some really cool stuff going on in there, more intricate than most Alter Bridge choruses.

The only thing that annoys me about the song is the very last line of the last chorus: three "I'm coming home"s within a ten-second spell, you can't deny Myles could probably have added some variety \M/

[abw1987]

This one surprises me as one of the toughest choices yet. Initially my reaction was they are all generally middle-of-the-pack AB songs, so it's tough to choose one when none of them really sticks out to me. In that light, I won't even try to rank them. However I went ahead and listened to them all in order, which refreshed my opinion that these are all great songs! And while there still isn't one that vastly outweighs the others, I give the edge to "Native Son".

I agree with TenaciousB's "part of the furniture" comment about "Metalingus: – it's hard to objectively think about this song since it's such a fundamental piece of AB's catalogue. Looking at it in the context of how AB has evolved, it kinda seems like "little baby rock band's first metal song". Mark is only just starting to experiment with the whammy bar, and the drums are fairly standard (remember we were all wowed by Flip's use of double bass at the end!). I'm sure if Mark came to the band with that song now, Flip would end up laying down a much more sophisticated drum pattern. With that said, it's a great example of a no-nonsense rocker and will forever be a classic.

I also agree with the last few posts about "Coming Home" being great except for the chorus. The verse and bridge melodies are really strong and I love Flip's hi-hat work throughout this song. I'd probably put it in the bottom half of Blackbird, but only because it's among such greatness on that record.

"Still Remains" is an overlooked gem on AB III, probably because it's a dark-sounding song surrounded by dark-sounding songs. It's got great melodies and even better riffs (that bridge still makes me feel berserk). However, while I usually reject any claim that Myles has a "nasally" voice, this is one song where I would agree his voice is a bit more grating than elsewhere in AB's catalogue.

"The Uninvited" is really cool too, with its unsettling intro and powerful subject matter. Great drumming and riffs, particularly in the transition to the bridge, and Mark's backing vocals shine ("for the blooooooood").

While perhaps not their magnum opus, "Poison in your Veins" is a fun song that never gets old for me. I'll always love its solo, which is somehow fast and loose, yet very crisply played.

Finally we come to "Native Son". So far I've avoided falling into the trap of voting for all the new songs out of novelty, but I really do like this song, and thus it will be the first WTS track I vote for. In particular, the pre-chorus's sends it over the top for me with its stuttering guitars and drum fills.

[abw1987]

One thing I forgot to mention above is this: as I listened through each of these songs, I was struck by how each represents a step up in Flip's drumming game. That's certainly evident throughout each album as a whole, but these songs in particular highlight that progression.

"Metalingus" was already a great showcase for Flip with its tom-driven intro and double-bass ending, and thus has become a staple for Myles introducing him live, as well as a very common song for for drummer fans to cover on YouTube. Although compared to his more recent work, his drumming on "Metalingus" is relatively rote. "Coming Home" has that intricate hi-hat work and Flip is just so solidly in the pocket for the entire song. "Still Remains" doesn't have any standout parts but is another step forward with Flip adding tasteful tom-tom fills throughout. "The Uninvited" is one of several examples on Fortress demonstrating his newfound embrace of the double bass pedal, and really represents his confidence to be able to replicate more complex drumming live. "Poison in your Veins" might be the one exception here but is a great example of solid, cut-time drumming, and has again shows his recent comfort with the double bass pedals. "Native Son" is another showcase for Flip with its intricate intro and of course those pre-chorus fills.

[Kreuger]

On the topic of Flips drumming, Ties That Bind has always been one of my absolute faves.

[Blackbird]

Winner: Metalingus

... which is only the second out of five tracks that's seen the same winner as three years ago (without any WTS song taking the victory so far). No surprise here, though Coming Home, just like last time, was a tough competition.

[Crumbso]

On the topic of Flips drumming, Ties That Bind has always been one of my absolute faves.

Aww yiss. Those ride/bell hits during the bridge while Myles does the high note sound fantastic.