Battle Of The Track Numbers: Track 11

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BOTTN: Track 11

Poll ended at Wed Dec 04, 2019 8:28 pm

The End Is Here
17
40%
Break Me Down
2
5%
Breathe Again
3
7%
All Ends Well
6
14%
Twilight
3
7%
Clear Horizon
12
28%
 
Total votes: 43

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Ubik
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Re: Battle Of The Track Numbers: Track 11

Post by Ubik »

The End Is Here and Clear Horizon are both right up there, but I really love All Ends Well. I went a while without listening to it because I'd tend to skip Cry a River and it was too hard to resist going straight to Fortress, but came back to it since TLH came out and that chorus really just whacks you. And that story from Muffin above is fantastic.
For all of the hope that it brings...

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Re: Battle Of The Track Numbers: Track 11

Post by Schulzy »

Very tough choice for me between The End is Here and Clear Horizon. I love the build up in TEIH and the intro is instantly recognizable. The lyrics of Clear Horizon are wonderful and hit me on a very personal level. It encapsulates the theme of Walk the Sky - ESCAPE. In the end it received my vote....
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Re: Battle Of The Track Numbers: Track 11

Post by gbruin »

This is such a great set of songs. All Ends Well has a special place for me for a couple of very sentimental reasons. Clear Horizon is probably top 3 on Walk The Sky for me. I love Breathe Again. It has probably my single favorite bridge of any AB song and I'm so glad that BMarsh insisted it make the album. Break Me Down is fantastic and very underrated. But my favorite song in this group is The End Is Here. Myles' voice is just so good on the ODR songs and it adds so much emotion to what are already such powerful lyrics. That instrumental part near the end that goes into the last chorus and that outro are just massive, and the final note Myles carries out of the chorus is as good as what he does in WDTTW.
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Re: Battle Of The Track Numbers: Track 11

Post by gbruin »

MuffinMcFluffin wrote:All Ends Well
Clear Horizon
Breathe Again
The End Is Here
Break Me Down
Twilight

Honestly, I think I give The End Is Here a bad rap because of its opening "London Bridge" riff. I think that while it's meant to add to the song, it sounds disjointed and weird. I do not think it's a good riff. I do love the song's chorus, though.

(long rambling ahead)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

All Ends Well was a really, really funny surprise. I remember first reading a review for Fortress when someone described one of the songs as a ballad, but I couldn't remember the title. As I was going through the songs, I thought maybe it was Farther Than the Sun... until I heard the song, and went: "Ugh, that wasn't it." I must've fallen asleep during my first listening through the album or somehow skipped by Track #11 when I was like: "Album is damn good, but I couldn't find that ballad." A couple of days later, I'm shuffling through AB's discography, and this one song pops up with a warm D-sounding riff (technically C#, but **** it). "What the hell is this?" I ask myself. It sounds nice. Open Myles' calming words, a welcoming pre-chorus, and then "If you be-LIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVE" comes in, and I've never felt more goosebumps before in my life. That song completely came out of left field, I didn't know what it was or where it came from, and later that day I discovered that it was the track I somehow never heard on Fortress. All Ends Well, it was.

About a year later, one of my students once disclosed to me that she was having suicidal thoughts. I of course did the mandated reporting thing and she got the support that she needed, but during that time that we were alone together (after a long back-and-forth conversation with her), I did an exercise with her where I asked her to sit with her arms rested on her legs, eyes closed, and I played All Ends Well for her through my HT-like system I had at school (which captured the song well). When the chorus came, she was grasping for breath. When the second verse came in with: "If I could heal the scars, show you what you are..." she went into shambles. Not really ever opening her eyes fully, as the song was still playing, she rose up from her seat, came to me and gave me a big hug, and said, "You're a great person." I think she mostly just wanted someone in her corner, and I was there... as was Alter Bridge.

As I said, she eventually got the help that she needed... and that was about five years ago. Now she's a third year college student in LA and we interact through social media all of the time. We've even done some cover songs together (she sings). I want her to do this one with me someday.

Anyway, my point is that All Ends Will cannot be surpassed on this list for me. It'll easily stand triumphant.
I got tears reading this. You rule, Muffin.

I had a similar, though less critical, moment with my 15 y/o daughter and this song recently, and it's these things that make AB so much more than a band to me. It's life.
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Re: Battle Of The Track Numbers: Track 11

Post by MuffinMcFluffin »

Thanks for all the kind words, fellas. The song may not be a life-changer for me, but I feel like it was for someone else, and for me that's more than just enough.

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Re: Battle Of The Track Numbers: Track 11

Post by Buffon »

I keep forgetting Twilight even exists. Such an ... inoffensively dull song.

Voted for The End Is Here, though All Ends Well has definitely grown on me over the years.

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Re: Battle Of The Track Numbers: Track 11

Post by TenaciousBe »

abw1987 wrote:So that was you! Ladies and gentlemen, we have our "Break Me Down" voter.
Now you have 2! It was so hard not to vote for The End Is Here, such a classic song, but I have to throw my futile vote at Break Me Down just on the principle that so many write it off and I'm sitting over here like baby Yoda thinking "but it's one of my favorite songs they've ever done..." I mean, I've always loved the rhythm of the vocals, the melody, Brian's bass really shines through on the verses... but I think I just really connected with this song when it came out because of some stuff I was going through with a good friend who felt overbearing at times, and the lyrics just put into words everything I was feeling about him at the time.
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Re: Battle Of The Track Numbers: Track 11

Post by Crumbso »

TenaciousBe wrote:
abw1987 wrote:So that was you! Ladies and gentlemen, we have our "Break Me Down" voter.
Now you have 2! It was so hard not to vote for The End Is Here, such a classic song, but I have to throw my futile vote at Break Me Down just on the principle that so many write it off and I'm sitting over here like baby Yoda thinking "but it's one of my favorite songs they've ever done..." I mean, I've always loved the rhythm of the vocals, the melody, Brian's bass really shines through on the verses... but I think I just really connected with this song when it came out because of some stuff I was going through with a good friend who felt overbearing at times, and the lyrics just put into words everything I was feeling about him at the time.
The End is Here and Clear Horizon did run it pretty close but TEIH lacks that real 'wow' moment and I find Clear Horizon's chorus a little monotonous (though the whole beginning is fantastic and the bridge is awesome).
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Re: Battle Of The Track Numbers: Track 11

Post by TheEndisHere »

So here's my ranking:

The End is Here: so epic, meaningful lyrics, just love how Mark does the different variations on the riff during the bridge, even better with an orchestra
Clear Horizon: right now this is my favorite track on WTS, it has such an epic progression, I love the grungy feel of the 1st prechorus and how the song isn't as straight forward structurally as the others on the album. only thing I don't like is how Myles sings PURE ESCAPE on the bridge, it reminds me of something off TLH but I can't place what song)
All Ends Well: I'm a fan from the Creed days and a sucker for the big chorus. This song also breaks up the thrash of the Fortress album and reminds that yeah this band was once Creed in a good way
Twilight- has a cool 70s/80s hard rock feel
Breathe Again- sounds too much like another song but I like how airy it sounds compared to the heaviness darkness of the rest of AB3. Brian's bass is nice and clear. Has an epic long high note
Break me down- filler

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Re: Battle Of The Track Numbers: Track 11

Post by UninvitedZero »

I had to choose Breathe Again. That song doesn't get nearly the credit it deserves! That high note around the 3:00 - 3:10 mark is I think equally impressive as the vocal run at the end of Words Darker! My fiance who isn't at all an AB fan was even impressed!
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Re: Battle Of The Track Numbers: Track 11

Post by abw1987 »

TenaciousBe wrote:It was so hard not to vote for The End Is Here, such a classic song, but I have to throw my futile vote at Break Me Down just on the principle that so many write it off and I'm sitting over here like baby Yoda thinking "but it's one of my favorite songs they've ever done..." I mean, I've always loved the rhythm of the vocals, the melody, Brian's bass really shines through on the verses... but I think I just really connected with this song when it came out because of some stuff I was going through with a good friend who felt overbearing at times, and the lyrics just put into words everything I was feeling about him at the time.
The bass is really the highlight for me as well on this song. In fact I think it's the only thing holding the verses together; they'd be very difficult to follow otherwise.
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Re: well, unemployed. close enough.

Post by zazthespaz »

abw1987 wrote:Breathe Again - the poor man's "Before Tomorrow Comes"
I gotta start paying more attention to your reviews - this cracked me up :lol

This isn't an easy vote, think I'm going with TEIH. Love the build up from the lone guitar to the heavy metal ending - always gets me going when a song has such a dynamic change like that. Could have easily voted for any of the others, especially Breathe Again since apparently I'm poor :lol
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Oh well. Deal with it.
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Go reread what zaz says

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Re: Battle Of The Track Numbers: Track 11

Post by nildiven »

Went with TEIH. Really dig clear horizon too though.

Twilight has such an amazing bridge and solo, if only it had a better chorus.

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Re: Battle Of The Track Numbers: Track 11

Post by TenaciousBe »

I enjoy Clear Horizon as well, but it just seems so middle-of-the-road to me. I feel like if you put all of AB's catalog into a computer and told an AI bot to create an Alter Bridge song, Clear Horizon is what would come out.
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Re: Battle Of The Track Numbers: Track 11

Post by Micky »

They all suck because Alter Bridge is just Creed 2.0 :shifty

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Re: Battle Of The Track Numbers: Track 11

Post by Kreuger »

There's nothing wrong with Creed but if you're just trolling then please leave.
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Re: Battle Of The Track Numbers: Track 11

Post by Timotheus »

No, dont leave, Bobby :(
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anguyen92 wrote:
Oh well. Deal with it.

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Re: Battle Of The Track Numbers: Track 11

Post by Crumbso »

Timotheus wrote:No, dont leave, Bobby :(
Sorry. He's been told.
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Re: Battle Of The Track Numbers: Track 11

Post by Timotheus »

Dammit.
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anguyen92 wrote:
Oh well. Deal with it.

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Re: Battle Of The Track Numbers: Track 11

Post by Blackbird »

Winner: The End Is Here

... honourable mention to a respectable performance by Clear Horizon, especially compared to most other WTS tracks.

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