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Alter Bridge: The Last Hero

What with recent years having seen guitarist Mark Tremonti focusing on his solo band and singer Myles Kennedy performing alongside Guns n' Roses six-string man Slash, the pair's main band, Alter Bridge, seems to have been very much on the back burner. However three years down the line from the Fortress album, Alter Bridge are back with The Last Hero, a release set to reconfirm this band as one of the main players in the modern heavy rock world. Bolstered by one of the most solid rhythm sections around, Brian Marshall on bass and Scott Phillips on drums, this fifth effort from the Orlando, Florida outfit picks up exactly where its predecessor left off, a confident and vibrant signature AB sound now thoroughly established.

From the off the excellent production from Michael Baskette, reprising his role with the band, allows this album to boldly go about its business, a massive drum sound and bottom end the foundation for bristling guitars and varied vocals. What with his recent time as frontman of Slash's band, it's often forgotten than Kennedy is also a highly skilled guitarist in his own right, however combined with the technical mastery of Tremonti, the pair become simply unstoppable. On the flip side, that Tremonti has grown into a more than capable frontman in his own band allows the manner with which his backing vocals intertwine with Kennedy's voice to be a key factor in this band's success. "Show Me A Leader" is an awesome opener, galloping into view on the back of a scintillating guitar solo, towering vocals and punchy riffs. It's a mighty statement of intent and one that the atmospherically charged "The Writing On The Wall" ably lives up to, a deeper, dirtier sound hitting home.

Impressively with thirteen tracks on show the quality never dips, the closing pair of "Island Of Fools" and the album's title track just as vibrant and memorable as those at the front of this instantly impressive album. The former builds tension and release over and over, the burrowing guitars gnawing, biting and scratching ferociously, while the latter somehow manages to maintain the urgent and vibrant impact while intentionally taking the foot off the gas. It also has a chorus to die for, something that's a factor of this album from start to finish. And with "Crows On A Wire" a smash of controlled aggression, "Losing Patience" darting from introspective and pensive to boldly strutting its stuff and "You Will Be Remembered" a tender yet thoroughly believable change of pace, there's simply not a foot put wrong on The Last Hero.

The next time anyone tells you that rock is dead (which it sure as hell ain't!), point them in the direction of Alter Bridge and let them discover The Last Hero. Their faith will soon be restored.

See more about this release on our recent YouTube show!


Track Listing
1. Show Me A Leader
2. The Writing On The Wall
3. The Other Side
4. My Champion
5. Poison In Your Veins
6. Cradle To The Grave
7. Losing Patience
8. This Side Of Fate
9. You Will Be Remembered
10. Crows On A Wire
11. Twilight
12. Island Of Fools
13. The Last Hero
14. Last Of Our Kind (Bonus Track)

Added: October 28th 2016
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Alter Bridge online
Hits: 2178
Language: english

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» SoT Staff Roundtable Reviews:

Alter Bridge: The Last Hero
Posted by Scott Jessup, SoT Staff Writer on 2016-10-28 18:24:26
My Score:

It really is of little surprise that Alter Bridge's fifth album The Last Hero is such a hit especially after the excellent Fortress in 2013, and the two following Tremonti solo albums Cauterize and Dust how could they possibly serve up anything less? Lead vocalist Myles Kennedy has impressed so much whether it be those studio recordings or live with both Alter Bridge and Slash establishing himself as one best, and he has done it again right here on The Last Hero.


A serious contender for hard rock album of the year The Last Hero was more than worth the wait. Of course the main difference between guitarist Mark Tremonti's solo work and Alter Bridge is the absence of Myles Kennedy as Tremonti handles the vocals and very capably so I must add. That being said there are similarities between the two and Tremonti's heavy side is not just limited to his solo component The Last Hero is also a powerful melodic album, and one that is packed with quality tunes such as "Show Me The Leader" and "Cradle To The Grave". Alter Bridge are such a talented group they truly have it all covered and this new album is sure to get loads of mileage by their fans.


Alter Bridge: The Last Hero
Posted by Pete Pardo, SoT Staff Writer on 2016-10-09 06:59:50
My Score:

OK, I'm going to confess, I'm pretty late to the game when it comes to Alter Bridge, and it's a pretty big 'shame on me' moment to be honest. For some reason I always chalked these guys up as an extension of Creed and not worth my time, but boy was that a mistake. Creed 'lite' Alter Bridge are not, as this band is a complete force to be reckoned with, as far removed from what Creed was as you can imagine. Featuring the mercurial guitar talents of Mark Tremonti, the superior vocal ability (and a damn good guitarist as well) of Myles Kennedy, and the powerhouse rhythm section of bassist Brian Marshall & drummer Scott Phillips, Alter Bridge have cranked out one killer album after another, with their latest The Last Hero perhaps being their strongest collection yet. Combining bruising heavy metal with melodic hard rock, the band have a sound that is instantly accessible, catchy, yet certainly heavy enough with incredible guitar riffs & solos, and it's one winner after another throughout The Last Hero. "Show Me a Leader", "The Writing on the Wall", "The Other Side", Poison in Your Veins", and "Losing Patience" are crushing yet equally melodic metal tracks, heavy enough even for the skeptical headbanger, while "My Champion" and the title track provide the arena rock sounds that will echo across concert venues for the next several years. And I can't stress enough just how much Tremonti is a complete guitar hero, as well as Kennedy a star in the making on vocals...these guys are major talents folks.

So yeah, my apologies to Alter Bridge for waiting till now to jump on their already 'full steam ahead' bandwagon. If you are like me and just never gave this band a chance based on whatever opinions you had of Creed, chuck that out the window and check out this latest killer album as well as their incredible back catalog. You'll be glad you did.



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