ALTER BRIDGE

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Traditional hard rock. Virtuosic guitar playing by Mark Tremonti. Powerful beat with signature fills by Scott Phillips. Smooth tenor vocal and guitar by Myles Kennedy. Steady rhythm by Brian Marshall.

One fact is so obvious: Alter Bridge sounds very similar to Creed.

Many people (even music people) dub Tremonti as being selfish because he kicked out Scott Stapp out of Creed and then proceed to form Alter Bridge. I don't know what make those people came to such opinion. Maybe it's because Stapp was getting a lot media coverage about his struggle against drug addiction and his car accident (relatively close to the disbanding of Creed) so he got quite some sympathy. Maybe they think Tremonti should've given Stapp another chance. I think, the fact that Alter Bridge's sound, Kennedy's vocal, and even the theme of their lyrics are very similar to Creed also contributes to people's opinion that Tremonti simply gave up on his bandmates and carry on to do the same thing that is engineered so that Stapp seemed has nothing to do with the way Alter Bridge is now.

Well, on the surface it seems that Tremonti is the asshole.

Do I think that Stapp's the asshole? Nope. It's those jaded people who are the real asses. They dub others without a slightest respect, without trying to figure out the real facts.

Even from Creed days, there are a lot of haters that dissing the band's attitude. They are so dwelling in negativity (which is a trend, by the way, for weak people), that they mocked all positivity that Creed has in the lyrics. I saw a flash animation in the Net, where Stapp was supposed to be clicked with the cursor and being put (shot?) down, and then the caption reads "Now he's higher". 'Higher' is one of Creed's popular song, which, I guess, dubbed 'too positive' (?) or even "who the hey are they, talking so righteously? keep your holy fking words to yourself, thank you very much..". It's the trap of trend: everything else is bad, no matter how lost the trend actually is. The fact was: hard rock virtuosity is out-of-trend, negative-mindless-angst is the center of the earth, and so positivity is even way-out-of-trend.

Actually, Stapp did acting like an ass.. but I do believe he learn his lessons, the hard way. Instead of coping with his problems, he started to behave less and losing more. Yes, he had all of the addiction and accident.. but he also took it so personal and went upstage with Creed and acted mindlessly (in the darkest moment, he mumbled the words all the way thru some songs). Now, he lost the band.. Even after that, he got into a quarrel with 311, the one straightforward positive band in the world.

Tremonti, in the other way, was acting responsibly. He saw the damage that Creed had become. The band had to deal with some law suit from fans who dismayed at the concert where Stapp underperformed. Being the second most popular figure in the band (a tipical curse for guitar players), Tremonti automatically dragged to center stage. No matter how he dealt with the problem at hand, the haters just beat the crap out of him since then.. not directly because of what he does but because they ARE haters.

So, I'm sorry. I simply loss a significant amount of respect (musically, anyway) to any person who still thinks Alter Bridge sucks. I did, to a so called local music-celeb.. but what the hey.. celeb sucks..

Tremonti didn't go by his own ego. He took the responsibility to be the main figure for Creed-minus-Stapp, for his bandmates, and now.. for Alter Bridge. Wouldn't it be more selfish if he would just go on with Creed, and replace Stapp? What kinda singer would it be? That replacement might sucked. Instead, he respect the fans, who have the right to remember Creed as the band which has an awesome vocalist named Scott Stapp.

So, Tremonti rocks!

What is unbelievable, is the fact that the negative power is so trendy. I think Alter Bridge deserves more publicity than it has today, for the attitude.. for the theme.. for the lyrics. Yes, WWE dub 'Metalingus' and 'Rise Today' as a kinda anthem.. but the rest of music community seems oblivious of this amazing band.

Their lyrics is so humble and amazing. Singing along (lightly, heh) is such a natural habit for me while listening to them.

Musically, well, nothing's new anymore anywhere natural instruments is the soul of a band.. but that's what's make it feels alive. Pounding drums, clinging cymbals, steady bass, and powerful guitar. It's traditional hardrock (or whatever), so there's no extended solos.. but upbringing rhythm IS the soul of this genre.

Scott Phillips, is underrated, even by me (was). I found that he teaches me to be steady rocking at the drum kit, instead of taking any chance to rip a fill or an odd time signature into a song (which I learned from Mike Portnoy, which I think is losing it.. still a great drummer, Portnoy is). These days, he sits on top of my chart, leading Portnoy, Jason Trullo, and Neil Peart.

Lyrically (and the way they're singed), is the one that really makes the difference. Day-to-day struggle, humble wisdom.

BTW: Myles Kennedy is a tenor.. which makes him a rare species in the abundance of baritones in the hardrock world.

In short, Alter Bridge is awesome.. and still (hard)rock-ing steady.

For example: One amazing discovery I had recently, is that three songs in 'Blackbird' ('Buried Alive', 'Before Tomorrow Comes', and 'White Knuckles') became somewhat a trilogy for me (problem-wisdom-solution).

I don't really care what jaded people think of Alter Bridge.. it doesn't make me love the band any less. What I DO worry is the question of how long they gonna be able to maintain such quality in that business-centered music world.. because I need more of them.. because there's less and less choice for such a quality.

Keep it steady guys! You've made my day.. THANK YOU..!!

LINKS:
Last.fm
Wikipedia