Alter Bridge is an Alternative Metal/Melodic Hard Rock band formed in 2004 by all Creed’s instrumentalists, led this time by Vocalist Myles Kennedy. Since then, they have been quite famous among the Rock/Modern Metal and Post-Grunge fans. With Mark Tremonti’s Groovy guitar style and Myles Kennedy’s breathtaking vocals and vocal range, they are indeed one of the best in today’s Rock scene.
Most significant thing about this album is that Alter Bridge are trying new sounds and trying hard to make every track sound different. While it worked for some tracks, it bounced back around for some others. So, half of the album is made of interesting unique tracks and the rest is just tracks that sound awfully familiar and you get bored half the way through the album. It is best if the album is not heard all at once.
If you’re looking for Tremonti’s signature heavy grooves, you’ll find it here and that’s why I can’t say I dislike the album. Same goes for Kennedy’s vocals; if you think you’ve heard Kennedy’s best before, Fortress proves you wrong.
Another present element is the harmonized layered vocals which is the worst thing about Modern Metal bands in my own opinion. They just make the tracks of any album sound repetitive. I wish if many vocalists would stick to one-layered raw vocals. You can hear Myles’ raw vocals in most of the verses and it sounds much better than the layered vocals in most choruses.
So if you’re already a fan of Alter Bridge, you won’t be disappointed with this one. There’s nothing here that you can’t expect. The album is not very different from its predecessors although not as strong as some like Blackbird. But you have the same elements you’re used to when listening to Alter Bridge. And as usual, you get some excellent tracks here and a bunch of filler tracks there.
Highlights include: ‘Cry of Achilles’, ‘Addicted to Pain’, ‘Lover’ – Similar to Slip to the Void from ABIII, which is a favorite of mine – and ‘Fortress’.
Edited by: NJ Bakr
