Alter Bridge

Alter Bridge

Alter Bridge is an American rock band that was formed in 2004 in Orlando, Florida by Mark Tremonti (lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Brian Marshall (bass guitar), and Scott "Flip" Phillips (drums), all of whom were, at the time of Alter Bridge's conception, former members of Creed, though that band later reunited. Myles Kennedy (lead vocals, rhythm and lead guitar), formerly of The Mayfield Four, joined the band shortly after their formation.

The band is named after an actual bridge that used to be located in Detroit near Tremonti's home on Alter Road. The bridge led to a bad part of town and the neighborhood children, who saw the other side of the bridge as the "unknown", were not allowed to cross it. Thus, according to Tremonti, the name of the band symbolizes going into the unknown and starting something new.

Alter Bridge released their debut album, One Day Remains, in August 2004, followed by their second album, Blackbird, in October 2007. The band's third album, AB III, is set for an October 11, 2010 release for Europe, though an international release date has yet to be announced.

History

Origins and formation: 2003–2004

Creed went inactive in late 2003 due to internal issues between Mark Tremonti and Scott Phillips with singer Scott Stapp. After that, Creed officially disbanded in 2004 (though they would later reunite in 2009) and Alter Bridge was formed in the same year. Tremonti and Phillips reunited with former Creed bassist Brian Marshall, who had left that band much earlier, and asked Myles Kennedy, formerly of The Mayfield Four, a rock band that Creed had toured with earlier in their career before they made it big, to be their singer. Later in early 2004 the band started recording their debut album.

One Day Remains: 2004–2006

Alter Bridge released their first album, One Day Remains, on August 10, 2004 along with their first single "Open Your Eyes", which was followed by "Find the Real" and "Broken Wings." "Find the Real" was used as theme music to the WWE Royal Rumble 2005. A "WWE Edit" of their song "Metalingus" has been used as the entrance theme for WWE superstar Edge since late 2004. The band later appeared on an episode of WWE Raw, where Edge called them his "good friends". Alter Bridge also released an instrumental song called "Ahavo Rabo Taco Salad" in 2005 for Total Guitar magazine. The song was only by Tremonti originally, but the rest of Alter Bridge soon got involved. Another song called "Save Me" was included on the soundtrack for the 2005 film Elektra.

One Day Remains, which was certified Gold by the RIAA, was released by Wind-up Records and produced by Ben Grosse, who has also produced albums by Filter, Fuel, and Sevendust. The album was almost completed by the time Kennedy came on-board as singer. The music had been composed completely by Tremonti, who had also written most of the lyrics by himself, though Kennedy wrote or at least co-wrote the lyrics for about half of the remaining songs. He also does not play guitar on this album, though he did play guitar on several songs on the One Day Remains tour. After the release of the album, the band soon split from Wind-up due to the label continuously pressing for a Creed reunion, and after numerous discussions with different record companies, Alter Bridge settled with Universal Republic for the sophomore release. Inevitably, however, Creed would later reform in early 2009.

Blackbird: 2006–2009

After finishing up the final leg of the One Day Remains tour in mid-2006, Alter Bridge started recording their second album. On October 9, 2007, with Universal Republic, Alter Bridge released their second album, Blackbird. The first single from the album, "Rise Today", was released on July 30, 2007. On January 2, 2008, "Watch Over You" was officially named the second worldwide single for the album, the third single being "Ties That Bind" (though this song was only released in the United Kingdom). After spending a short amount of time on the rock charts, "Watch Over You" was released to pop stations everywhere in the later part of April, making it the first Alter Bridge song released to both pop and rock radio. "Before Tomorrow Comes" was announced as the third worldwide single (fourth overall) on April 1, 2008 and was released to radio airplay in the later part of that month. It is only one of two Alter Bridge singles, the other being "Find the Real", that does not have an accompanying music video.

The official music video for "Watch Over You" was released in mid-September 2008. A new version of the video, using clips from VH1's Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, was released later that month and was used to promote the series. The Celebrity Rehab version of the music video debuted at #10 on the VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown and has since reached the #3 spot. There is also currently another version of "Watch Over You" called "Watch Over You Duet", featuring Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil. This version can be heard on the band's MySpace, and it was later released on the iTunes Store in the United Kingdom.. It is unknown if this version will be released worldwide.

Also in mid-September, Alter Bridge went on tour with Disturbed, P.O.D., and Redline to Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in New Zealand, as well as various cities in Australia, followed by other countries in the South Pacific.

During the United Kingdom leg of their Blackbird tour (their biggest U.K. tour to date), Alter Bridge was supported by Logan and Hot Leg. The tour wrapped up on December 10, 2008.

Also, the band shot their first live DVD in Amsterdam. Daniel Catullo of Coming Home Productions, who has worked with artists such as Godsmack, Nickelback, and the Smashing Pumpkins, produced the DVD. A new MySpace page for an upcoming live DVD was created. It was later revealed that several versions of the DVD, titled Live from Amsterdam, will be released: the first was released on September 12 and was a single disc-only version sold exclusively at venues during the Creed reunion tour in 2009 and currently on Amazon. This version has been on Amazon's list of the bestselling rock DVDs since its release. A Blu-ray disc and a deluxe edition, which includes a documentary and an audio CD, however, have both been delayed by the band's record label several times and still does not currently have a release date. However, the band remains optimistic about its release and has stated on a recent blog, "We will also be able to give you news on when our long delayed Blu-Ray and Deluxe DVD (Alter Bridge - Live From Amsterdam) will be in stores world-wide", confirming that a final release date is underway.

AB III: 2009–present

After writing music through most of 2009, Alter Bridge began the recording process of their upcoming third album, AB III (tentatively titled Alter Bridge III at that time), in February, with the mixing stage beginning in April and being finalized in May. It was also announced by Mark Tremonti that Michael "Elvis" Baskette, who produced Blackbird, would return to produce this album as well. The band announced on MySpace and their official website on June 21, 2010 that the recording process for the album was entirely finished and that all that is left was to decide on the title, track listing, official song titles, and official album cover art. On August 9, 2010, the band announced on MySpace that the official title will be AB III. On the same blog post, they announced the 14-song track listing. Each song was announced one by one throughout the day. Tremonti said that the record is "more dense", that the band used different arrangements than what they have used in the past, and that some musical elements of this album may surprise some fans. He also stated, "We just kind of went out of the box and made a record that's very, very dynamic. One song could be real pretty at one moment, and sound desperate and lonely the next second." Tremonti has also talked about the possibility of releasing an EP of the unused AB III tracks in the near future.

There were rumors that Alter Bridge have recently dropped their contract with Universal Republic and have signed with Roadrunner Records for their third album. However, the deal with Roadrunner is more likely to be for the European release of the album with the group still with the Universal label in the United States. North American tour dates with Godsmack in March have also been planned, as well as the European dates in late 2010 and early 2011 that have been announced on Alter Bridge's website.

The band will also perform at the Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards on November 10, 2010 alongside Cheap Trick, AC/DC, and others.

In August 2010, the rumors were confirmed when it was officially announced that AB III will be released through Roadrunner worldwide except North America and that a North American announcement regarding a record label is forthcoming. The album's artwork was later revealed on the band's website.

In September 2010 it was announced that the first single from the album will be "Isolation", which is available for free listening on Roadrunner's website. It was later confirmed that AB III will be a loose concept album, a first for Alter Bridge.

Later, still in September, Alter Bridge released another new song called "Words Darker Than Their Wings" and gave it away for free for a 48-hour period on Roadrunner's website.

Mark Tremonti confirmed in an interview that Alter Bridge will release AB III through EMI in the United States.

Other projects

Solo and session work: 2004–present

Since and before Alter Bridge's conception, Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti have collaborated with several artists, collectively and individually. Both of them appeared on Fozzy's 2005 album All That Remains and Sevendust's 2008 album Chapter VII: Hope & Sorrow. In addition, Tremonti has also collaborated with Larry the Cable Guy, Submersed, Bury Your Dead, and Michael Angelo Batio. Tremonti has also released a documentary/guitar instructional DVD called The Sound & the Story that includes guest lessons by Myles Kennedy as well as Michael Angelo Batio, Rusty Cooley, Bill Peck, and Troy Stetina. This DVD can be purchased through www.fret12.com. Kennedy, along with appearing on the aforementioned DVD, has collaborated extensively with Slash, as well as Big Wreck, Five Foot Thick, and former members of Led Zeppelin, whom Kennedy jammed and wrote songs with in 2008. He did not, however, form a new band with Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and Jason Bonham as reported by Blabbermouth.net, and neither did Led Zeppelin reform with Kennedy filling in as a replacement for Robert Plant, despite many sources stating the contrary.

Kennedy has confirmed that he is working on a solo album during an interview with www.myles-kennedy.com, a fan-run Myles Kennedy website. He has stated that the album is going to be much different from the heavier material he has done with Alter Bridge. Slash announced through Facebook and various other outlets on February 1, 2010 that he would be appearing on Kennedy's solo record. Kennedy later confirmed this through his official MySpace.

Mark Tremonti has also discussed the possibility of a solo album.

Main article: Slash (musician)

In 2010, after Myles Kennedy appeared on and co-wrote the songs "Back from Cali" and "Starlight" from Slash's self-titled debut solo album (which also features Ozzy Osbourne, Chris Cornell, Kid Rock, and M. Shadows, among others), he became the frontman for Slash's touring band.

Creed: 1995–2004; 2009–present

Main article: Creed (band)

Creed consists of the instrumental members of Alter Bridge with singer Scott Stapp. They released two studio albums – My Own Prison in 1997 and Human Clay in 1999 – before bassist Brian Marshall left the band in 2000 after speaking out against Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder during a radio interview. In 2001, Creed's third album, Weathered, was released, with Mark Tremonti handling bass in the studio and Brett Hestla performing bass on tour. Although often criticized, Creed saw a great deal of success with songs like "Higher", "With Arms Wide Open", and "My Sacrifice", but they disbanded in 2004, with Stapp starting a solo career and the other members reuniting with Marshall to form Alter Bridge.

Despite the occasional rumor of a Creed reunion, Tremonti stated time and again that Creed would not return. However, beginning in late 2008, the rumors began circulating again and Tremonti appeared open to the idea of Creed reuniting. Finally, after months of speculation, Creed announced that its original lineup had reunited in April 2009, with reports of a new album and tour. The Creed released their first new studio album in eight years, titled Full Circle, in October 2009 and embarked on a corresponding tour with Staind (as well as Saliva, Hoobastank, Lo-Pro, and Like A Storm on select dates) earlier that year. A live DVD simply titled Creed Live was released in December 2009.

They recently finished a world tour called the "20-10 Tour" with Skillet.

In spite of Creed's return, both Creed and Alter Bridge will co-exist, despite initial rumors that Alter Bridge would disband as a result of Creed's reunion. On their MySpace and official website, Alter Bridge stated, "We have absolutely no plans to break up. Alter Bridge forever!"

Musical style and influences

Alter Bridge has been described as alternative metal, post-grunge, and hard rock and as an "an amalgamation of 1970s classic rock with contemporary hard rock," and have influences ranging from, according to singer Myles Kennedy, "the bluesier element of what came into the United States in the early part of the last century and all the way up through modern metal." The band is known for their live performances as they do more variations than their original songs while performing live. The band's music is heavier and more technical compared to most of the band's contemporaries and is characterized by the blend of guitar and overall musical styles between Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti. Kennedy, a former member of the jazz fusion bands Cosmic Dust and Citizen Swing and a longtime listener of soul and R&B musicians such as Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, has a bluesier, darker style and adds textures and colors to the band's music, while Tremonti's influences are primarily metal bands such as Metallica, Slayer, and Celtic Frost, which are evident in his playing. The music itself is co-written by Mark Tremonti and Myles Kennedy with most of the lyrics written by Myles Kennedy (though many of the lyrics on the band's first album were written or co-written by Tremonti). The band's lyrics often touch on dark subjects such as death ("Blackbird," "In Loving Memory") and addiction ("Buried Alive," "Watch Over You," "Burn it Down"), both of which are both common themes in the band's music, though the lyrics on their first two albums are mostly positive and hopeful. However, their third album, AB III, sees a departure from this and the lyrics on it are much darker.

Band members

• Myles Kennedy – lead and backing vocals, rhythm and lead guitar
• Mark Tremonti – lead and rhythm guitar, backing and lead vocals
• Brian Marshall – bass guitar
• Scott Phillips – drums, percussion, keyboards

In other media

In 2005, the band contributed two songs for the soundtracks to two films based on the Marvel Comics. "Save Me" for Elektra: The Album, the soundtrack to the Daredevil spin-off Elektra. And "Shed My Skin" for Fantastic 4: The Album, the soundtrack to Fantastic Four. In the same year, they contributed a live performance of their song "The End Is Here" to the Ozzfest: 10th Anniversary compilation CD.

An edited version of "Open Your Eyes" was featured on the soundtrack to the videogame Madden NFL 2005. The song was performed by the band along with then-Boston Red Sox players Johnny Damon, Kevin Millar, and Bronson Arroyo after the Red Sox won the 2004 World Series. The band also performed the song at the 2005 MLB All-Star Game with Damon and Mike Piazza onstage.

"Rise Today" was used as the theme song for WWE Unforgiven in 2007. The song was also featured in the first trailer for the television series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and in the promo commercial for the season 6 premiere of CSI: Miami.

The band's song "Come to Life" from Blackbird was included as a playable track in the 2009 video game Guitar Hero: Van Halen. In 2010, "Ties That Bind" will be included as a playable track for Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.

WWE Superstar Edge has used an edited version of "Metalingus" as his entrance theme since late 2004.

Discography

Main article: Alter Bridge discography

Title	Release	Label
One Day Remains	2004	Wind-up
Blackbird	2007	Universal Republic
AB III	2010	Roadrunner/EMI

External links

• Official website
• Template:Myspace