Alter Bridge

Now with 25% less Creed.

The swan song to the classic rock bands of the 1970s, Alter Bridge comprises three of four former members of Creed. Mark Tremonti spent some time practicing guitar after Creed split up and once he was sure he could melt faces, he called up his former bandmates, found Myles Kennedy, and formed one of the rockinest rock bands this side of the pond.

AB dropped One Day Remains in 2004. The album was largely recognized as a definite improvement over Creed and very well received. AB spent the next few years trying to make the Creed comparisons end. They finally did after they released their second album, Blackbird, in 2007.

While they're popular in America, they're huge in Europe and actually produced a live DVD in Amsterdam, although it's possible they did this for other reasons. By every account, the band is composed of some of the nicest guys you could ever hope to meet.

Discography:

One Day Remains (2004)
Blackbird (2007)
AB III (2010)

Alter Bridge provides examples of the following tropes:

A Day in the Limelight: Kennedy alone plays the solo in "Isolation", though Tremonti plays all the mini-solos scattered throughout the song.
The Alcoholic: "Buried Alive"
- "Drank so much last night, I think that I drowned / But now my cup is empty..."^[1]
Alternative Metal/Post-Grunge: A bit of both. Though since Kennedy tends to sound like 1/8 Nose Yodeling, 1/8 R&B, 1/8 blues and 5/8 Chris Cornell-belting, his singing could be called more true Grunge than Post-Grunge. That or a new style entirely...
Audience Participation Song: Pretty common.
Badass Boast: Any given fight song, like "Metalingus" and "White Knuckles".
Big Rock Ending: Not to mention the guitar duel before "Rise Today."
Call to Adventure: "Make It Right" and "Rise Today"
Chorus-Only Song: "Rise Today" is mainly known for the "Yeah! Oh yeah!" hook.
Concept Album: AB III, loosely.
Contemplate Our Navels: All of AB III, but especially "Words Darker Than Their Wings", which was born from a philosophical discussion between Kennedy and Tremonti weighing their respective beliefs (or rather, Kennedy losing faith in his).
Cover Version: Very common and often spontaneous. In Tremonti's words:

"Before Myles joined Alter Bridge, he sang in many, many cover bands to put himself through college, and he knows every song known to man. So I want you guys to scream out the names to songs you want to hear, and I guarantee this guy here knows it".

Darker and Edgier: Compared to Creed, quite a bit.
- AB III, compared to their previous albums.
Despair Event Horizon: "All Hope Is Gone".
Downer Ending: "Wonderful Life," maybe.
Epic Rocking: "Blackbird" is just shy of 8 minutes.
Grief Song: "In Loving Memory", written about the death of Tremonti's mother.
Lyrical Dissonance: "Watch Over You". Beautiful ballad that's generally performed acoustically... and the lyrics boil down to "I can't deal with your problems anymore; I'm outta here."
Mohs Scale of Rock and Metal Hardness: Their radio friendly tunes are usually a 5 or 6, but their faster works like "Metalingus", "Ties That Bind" and certain guitar solos tread into a 7.
Neoclassical Punk Zydeco Rockabilly: Myles' voice is essentially hard rock wailing ala Robert Plant, grunge breathiness with a hint of soul. Mark's playing is basically proggy Alternative Speed Metal with just a bit of blues, Spanish guitar and southern twang making surprise appearances. The rhythm section can have some progressive tendencies as well.
One-Hit Wonder: "Metalingus," from their first album, is the only song by the band to have had any major impact outside of rock radio stations. This is because it is the theme song for professional wrestler Edge. Ironically, "Metalingus" was never one of the band's singles and therefore never got any rock airplay.
The Band Minus the Face: Creed, minus Scott Stapp.
Self-Backing Vocalist: Myles' voice is overdubbed quite a bit (including much echo).
Signature Song: Their general set-ender is "Rise Today". When Kennedy toured with Slash, it was the only AB song in the set.
Spiritual Successor: They've been called "The young Led Zeppelin" while Blackbird has been described as "The next Stairway."
- If only "Blackbird" the song got actual radio play while the album was being promoted.
Step Up to The Mic: Tremonti sometimes does this live.
Vocal Tag Team: The song "Words Darker Than Their Wings" has sections sung by Tremonti, passed off to Kennedy. It works out to a conversation between the two.
Weaksauce Weakness: Myles Kennedy: excellent guitarist. Incredible vocal range. Incapable of whistling.

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