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Fortress (Alter Bridge album)

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Untitled

Fortress is the fourth studio album by the rock band Alter Bridge, released by Roadrunner Records on September 25, 2013.[1] Michael "Elvis" Baskette, who produced Alter Bridge's previous two albums, Blackbird and AB III, returns as producer. It was released by Roadrunner Records worldwide except in the United States, where it was self-released on October 8, 2013, through EMI. The lead single, "Addicted to Pain", was released on August 12, 2013. The album was widely acclaimed, with critics praising its musicianship, lyrics, and experimentation.

Background

Fortress was recorded between April 26 and July 2, 2013 at Studio Barbarosa in Orlando, Florida. The album was written over the three previous years while the band toured, as well as during Alter Bridge's hiatus due to singer Myles Kennedy touring with Slash, guitarist Mark Tremonti releasing his debut solo album All I Was, and drummer Scott Phillips recording with his band Projected. Later in the month, Tremonti announced the band had approved the cover art and had mastered the new album.

In July, in an interview with MusicRadar.com Tremonti revealed that he would sing lead vocals on one track called "The Waters Rise",[2] which appears on the album as "Waters Rising". The official track listing and cover art for Fortress was revealed on July 31, 2013 along with the track listing, consisting of 12 songs. The artwork was designed by Dan Tremonti.[3]

On August 4, the cover art for the lead single "Addicted to Pain" was revealed,[4] and a day later the band confirmed that the lead single "Addicted to Pain" would be released on August 12, in Europe, and on August 20, in the US.[5] The single was made available for streaming a few days before release.[6] On September 5, the official video for "Addicted to Pain" was released.[7][8] The official video was shot by award-winning director Dan Catullo.[9] On September 23, the band streamed the album in its entirety for a limited time on the Metal Hammer website as a UK exclusive.[10]

During an interview with Bravewords on October 24, Myles Kennedy stated that the Best Buy B-side track, "Outright", had been incorrectly titled. During production, the working title of the song was "Outright Two" because it featured parts of a song previously recorded by the band with the same title. When it went into the mastering stage, the title was never changed and was later printed as "Outright". The song is actually titled "Never Say Die" and will be featured as that with new printings.[11]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic81/100[12]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[13]
Classic Rock[14]
The Guardian[15]
International Business Times[16]
Kerrang![17]
Loudwire[18]
Melodic[19]
Revolver[20]
Total Guitar[21]
RTE[22]

Fortress has received critical acclaim. It currently holds a score of 81 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic, indicating 'universal acclaim'.[12] Allmusic gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, saying "...Fortress is a driving album that not only doesn't feel tired or stale, but is a monster of an album that makes a pretty solid case for being some of Alter Bridge's strongest and most dynamic work to date."[13] In their review, International Business Times proclaimed the album "a delight to the ears".[16] Melodic said, "Alter Bridge does it again! Their ability is undeniable at this point and Fortress proves they are one of the best rock/metal acts of today’s generation and only moving forward."[19] Rock Sins stated that "Alter Bridge are the hard rock band the world needs and with Fortress they have their invitation to the top table of rock music" and gave the album a 9/10 score.[23] Kerrang! gave the album a perfect 5/5 score, saying "...on Fortress, with Myles and Mark both operating at the peak of their powers, there may be no limit to where Alter Bridge can go from here."[17] Classic Rock also praised the album, ending their review with, "...Myles Kennedy says he never wants to be the guy who says each record is the best thing they've ever done. But in this case he should probably make an exception. Because it really is."[14] Loudwire said of the band and album: "...the substance and technicality that they have immersed into their music have elevated them to a whole new level. Fortress proves to be the next impressive chapter in an epic adventure that shows no sign of ending any time soon."[18]

However, Revolver were not as impressed by the album, feeling that although it showed off the band's skills, the album became "predictable and monotonous".[20]

The album entered at number 6 in the UK album chart, making it the band's highest charting album in the UK to date.[24] It entered at number 1 in the rock chart.[25] It also opened at number 1 in the US, Canada, and Sweden in sales at iTunes.[26][27] Fortress debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 200 and sold 30,000 copies in its first week of release.[28][29]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Alter Bridge

No.TitleLength
1."Cry of Achilles"6:30
2."Addicted to Pain"4:16
3."Bleed It Dry"4:44
4."Lover"5:17
5."The Uninvited"4:47
6."Peace Is Broken"4:40
7."Calm the Fire"6:04
8."Waters Rising"5:39
9."Farther than the Sun"4:07
10."Cry a River"4:00
11."All Ends Well"5:12
12."Fortress"7:36
Total length:01:02:52
Best Buy Exclusive
No.TitleLength
13."Never Say Die" (incorrectly labeled 'Outright' in earlier pressings)3:44
Total length:01:06:36
Japanese Edition
No.TitleLength
13."Zero"4:39
14."Home"3:29
Total length:01:11:00

Personnel

Alter Bridge
Production

Charts

Chart (2013) Peak
Position
Australian Albums Chart[30] 13
Dutch Albums Chart[31] 10
French Albums Chart[32] 75
German Albums Chart[33] 7
Hungarian Albums Chart[34] 18
Irish Albums Chart[35] 16
Italian Albums Chart[36] 9
Japanese Albums Chart[37] 163
NZ Albums Chart[38] 24
Spanish Albums Chart[39] 60
Swedish Albums Chart[40] 17
UK Albums Chart[24] 6
UK Rock Chart[25] 1
US Billboard 200[28] 12

Release history

Region Release date Label
Japan September 25, 2013 Roadrunner
Ireland September 27, 2013 Roadrunner
Australia September 27, 2013[41] Roadrunner
The Netherlands September 27, 2013 Roadrunner
Europe September 30, 2013 Roadrunner
United Kingdom September 30, 2013 Roadrunner
United States October 8, 2013 Alter Bridge/EMI/Capitol
Canada October 15, 2013 Roadrunner

References

  1. ^ "Fortress - Drops September 30 (UK)". Alter Bridge. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  2. ^ Total Guitar (July 17, 2013). "Mark Tremonti talks new Alter Bridge album, tour and rig | Interview: Mark Tremonti talks new Alter Bridge album, tour and rig". MusicRadar. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  3. ^ "Alter Bridge // Reveal 'Fortress' Album Artwork & Tracklisting! - Roadrunner Records Uk". Roadrunnerrecords.co.uk. July 31, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  4. ^ "Alter Bridge". Facebook. September 1, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  5. ^ "Alter Bridge - Our first single from Fortress, Addicted To..." Facebook. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  6. ^ "Alter Bridge Unleash Single 'Addicted to Pain'". Loudwire.com. August 7, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  7. ^ alterbridge. "Alter Bridge - Addicted To Pain (Official Video)". YouTube. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  8. ^ "Alter Bridge premiere: Addicted To Pain | Video | Classic Rock". Classicrockmagazine.com. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  9. ^ "Alter Bridge: 'Addicted To Pain' Video Due In September". Blabbermouth.net. August 20, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  10. ^ "Alter Bridge Fortress Full Album Stream". Metalhammer.co.uk. September 23, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  11. ^ bravewords.com. "> News > ALTER BRIDGE – "Addiction Is A Very Nasty Animal"". Bravewords.com. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  12. ^ a b "Fortress Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  13. ^ a b Gregory Heaney (October 6, 2013). "Fortress - Alter Bridge - Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards - AllMusic". Allrovi. Cite error: The named reference "Allmusic" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  14. ^ a b Sian Llewellyn (October 2013). "Classic Rock Magazine". Team Rock: 90. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  15. ^ Dom Lawson. "Alter Bridge: Fortress – review | Music". The Guardian. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  16. ^ a b "Music Review: Alter Bridge – 'Fortress' - Entertainment & Stars". Au.ibtimes.com. September 30, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  17. ^ a b James Hickie (September 21, 2013). "Kerrang! Magazine" (#1484). Bauer Media Group. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  18. ^ a b "Alter Bridge, 'FORTRESS' – Album Review". Retrieved October 8, 2013.
  19. ^ a b "Melodic Net - Alter Bridge - Fortress". Melodic.net. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  20. ^ a b "Review: Alter Bridge — Fortress - Heavy Metal News | Music Videos |Golden Gods Awards". revolvermag.com. October 2, 2013. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  21. ^ Rob Laing (August 2013). "Total Guitar". Future plc. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  22. ^ "Alter Bridge, 'FORTRESS' – Album Review". RTÉ News. October 16, 2013.
  23. ^ "Alter Bridge - Fortress Album Review". Rocksins.com. September 23, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  24. ^ a b "Alter Bridge | Artist". Official Charts. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  25. ^ a b "Rock & Metal Albums Top 40 - 12th October 2013". Official Charts. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  26. ^ Apple Inc. "iTunes - iTunes Store - Charts - Top 10 Rock Albums". Apple. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  27. ^ "Twitter / TheABNation: Today is the day USA! #FORTRESS". Twitter.com. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  28. ^ a b "200 : Page 1". Billboard. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  29. ^ "Alter Bridge's 'Fortress' Lands In U.S. Top 15". Blabbermouth.net. October 16, 2013. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  30. ^ "Australias Official Music Charts | Single, Album, Digital Charts and more". ARIA Charts. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  31. ^ Steffen Hung. "Dutch charts portal". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  32. ^ Steffen Hung. "French charts portal". lescharts.com. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  33. ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche - musicline.de". musicline.de. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
  34. ^ "Top 40 album-, DVD- és válogatáslemez-lista - MAHASZ - Magyar Hangfelvétel-kiadók Szövetsége". Zene.slagerlistak.hu. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  35. ^ "IRMA - Irish Charts - Singles, Albums & Compilations". Irma.ie. October 3, 2013. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  36. ^ "FIMI - Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana - Classifica settimanale (dal 30-09-2013 al 06-10-2013)". fimi.it. October 10, 2013. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  37. ^ "「フォートレス」 アルターブリッジ│オリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE". Oricon.co.jp. Retrieved October 9, 2013. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)
  38. ^ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  39. ^ [1][dead link]
  40. ^ Steffen Hung. "Swedish charts portal". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  41. ^ "Alter Bridge set local release date | News". Kill Your Stereo. August 18, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
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