MattA75's Full Review: One Day Remains by Alter Bridge
Say what you want about the now disbanded rock group Creed, but their debut album, My Own Prison was a very solid mix of riffs, melody and inward looking songwriting. It wasn't one of the best debut albums ever, but it was a solid start to what looked to be the beginning of a solid career for a solid band.
Over the course of the last five years though, Creed went from rocking to wretched. Their songs bled together, their ballads were horribly overwrought, and Scott Stapp quickly became a lightning rod for public scrutiny. In short, Stapp and his ego helped to kill the best selling rock band of the last 5 years. Guitarist Mark Tremonti and drummer Scott Phillips had had enough. They tried in vain to record a fourth Creed record, but they could no longer connect with Stapp.
And just like that, the announcement of Creed's breakup came in June, which was quickly followed with the news that Tremonti and Phillips had re-recruited Creed's former bass player, Brian Marshall , and had hooked up with former Mayfield Four vocalist Myles Kennedy. The name of this new group: Alter Bridge. And this week they released their debut record, One Day Remains.
I wasn't sure what to expect, if anything, from this new group. Members of top selling rock bands had gotten together in other bands recently, most notably Audioslave and Velvet Revolver. But while the members of those bands aligned themselves with lead singers who had already cut their teeth in their own successful rock bands, Myles Kennedy has cut no such teeth. Perhaps this is what Tremonti wanted in a vocalist, a guy who would be in the band for the fun of playing with friends. After all, that seemed to be a big part of Tremonti's statements after the breakup: he wanted music to be fun again.
The first thing that stands out about Alter Bridge on this debut disc is that they are seemingly a band in search of an identity. Whereas Creed built up a following by touring, becoming more and more familiar with their songs, Alter Bridge has done no such touring. They've essentially been a band for less than a year. And so, the genre jumping this disc undertakes can be a bit of a frustrating listen at times. It's also a bit hard to get a grasp on Kennedy as a vocalist: at times, he'll remind you of Chris Cornell, at others Brandon Boyd, and still at others like he's trying his best to be Scott Stapp himself.
The first single, Open Your Eyes, is the most reminiscent of Creed, which, like Audioslave's Cochise, is the safe choice for first single, even though, like Cochise, it's probably the worst song on the album. For a band who, according to Tremonti, wanted to leave Creed in their rearview mirror (good and bad memories notwithstanding), it is kind of disturbing that the most Creed-like song is the first single (though I'm sure Wind Up, the band's label, had a big say in that).
Much of the first half of the album fares better. The opening 1-2 punch of Find the Real and One Day Remains gets the disc off to a strong start. The former is characterized by some biting guitar work from Tremonti, while the latter may just be the best song on the record, thanks to it's progressive feel and the fluid, driving riffs that Tremonti lays down. The solos that Tremonti lays down on each of these songs are excellent as well.
But even these songs are no match for the hardest rocker on the disc. Metalingus begins with an earth pounding drum intro from Phillips, which soon moves into a driving hard rock song, led again by Phillips just beating the ever living sh*t out of his drumkit, and Tremonti once again comes up with a decent riff. The song does lose momentum towards the end, but it should keep your interest and have you banging your head in appreciation.
Admittedly, this band's ballads, much like Creed's, could use a little bit of work. The intro to Broken Wings begins and ends with a bit of bluesy guitar work. Unfortunately, the music between the two has little to do with this intro and outro; instead, it feels like a regular Creed-style mid tempo power ballad that you've already heard 3 times before.
But more often than not, I found this group winning me over, even with the songs that are admittedly generic and/or derivative. A good example of this comes on Down To My Last, which manages to sound uplifting without sounding overtly preachy, a credit to Kennedy who at times does sound a bit too preachy on this record. And even Watch Your Words, which sounds awfully close sonically to the My Own Prison material, manages to rise above and surprise.
Is this a contender for "best album of the year?" Not by a long shot. However, is it the "worst album of the year," especially on the rock scene? Also not by a long shot. It is a bit better than middle of the road, and if you give it a shot (i.e. not put it away forever after one listen), you might be plesantly surprised. In terms of Creed comparisons, it's better than both Human Clay and Weathered, but not quite as consistently engaging as My Own Prison. That should give you a good idea of where you'll stand with this record.
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