Alter Bridge AB III – I’ll admit, I actually liked Creed. But I was starting to get a little tired of them when they broke up. It was cool to like them at first but now you probably laughed at me for admitting I liked them. Scott Stapp left the band and the rest of the guys added Myles Kennedy to the group. At the time, I didn’t know who he was or what to expect from this new band they created.

Their first album sounded just like Creed. Maybe they didn’t want to alienate their fans too much, I don’t know. I didn’t give it much of a chance at first but, after time, I went back and listened again and there are some really nice songs on there. Album number two, Blackbird, was just awesome. It’s one of my favorite albums of all time and I wasn’t sure if the band could top it. One of the main reasons I enjoy the second album is that they moved more into their own sound and away from the “Creed” sound. Mark Tremonti is an amazing guitarist and his solos just rock. And I love the addition of Myles Kennedy now. He’s got a great rock voice and has tremendous range.

When I heard that Creed was reuniting, I was pretty sad but then the guys said that Alter Bridge would just take a break and then would release a new album. The new Creed album was actually better than I thought it would be but I was much more excited to hear AB III.

So let’s get to it. AB III starts off with “Slip To The Void” and opens with this slow, eerie sound. Myles joins in with a soft verse and sounds different than he has before. And just when you think this is going to be a slow song, there is a short pause and things take off. I thought it was a great way to start things off.

Next up is the first single, “Isolation”, and it’s going to be a hit. It’s a faster song and Tremonti’s guitar work really shines. He has a great solo where he can show off some of his speed metal skills. I’d love to hear it live where the crowd can sing along to this anthem.

Things slow down a little with “Ghost Of Days Gone By” and this is one of my favorite tracks on this album, if not my favorite. It’s a beautiful song and the music meshes so well with Myles’ voice. The song starts to get darker near the end and Tremonti comes in with another kickass solo. I’m sure this will be a recurring theme. At first, I didn’t like the way it ended and loved the rest of the song. But after a few listens, I love the whole song.

“All Hope Is Gone” was not one of my favorite tracks but what’s great about Alter Bridge is that even though I don’t like a track as much as the others, it’s still good.  And, of course, Tremonti comes in with one of the better solos on the album.

“Still Remains” gets back to the metal. It appears to be directed at someone. The songs starts with “I cast a line when I saw you were drowning/Still you turn your back on me/Pulled you from the fire when you were burning/Still you never could believe”. There’s more speed metal guitar in here and I think it would be another great one to hear live.

Things get more upbeat and positive with “Make It Right”. It’s about struggling and hitting some hard times but says that you need to stand up and try to make a change. Instead of being around the bridge, this song closes with a brilliant guitar solo.

From their last album, my favorite song was “Watch Over You” and I was hoping that they’d do another song kind of like it. To my pleasure, “Wonderful Life” is just that. The band is able to make beautiful songs about dealing with death and this is just the next one for them. I think this song will hit home with a lot of people and should definitely not be missed.

“I Know It Hurts” is another upbeat song about getting through your hard times. This is another song that I think people will relate to and offers hope for the future. Myles sings “There’s still tomorrow, hold on, hold on/There’s still tomorrow, just wait, just wait”. And this one also closes with a guitar solo from Tremonti.

“Show Me A Sign” slows things down some and gets much darker. The music sets the mood and Tremonti even sings along on this one. He does much more singing on this album than I’ve heard before.

Next up is “Fallout”. It seems to tell about a man going through his struggles but he keeps walking on and fighting. It’s a bit brooding and has a little different sound than the other songs. It almost has a kind of country/blues feel to it.

“Breathe Again” backs off the hard, loud music on the verse to showcase Myles’ voice. Then the chorus comes in louder and Myles screams it out like an anthem. He hits some pretty high notes on this one.

“Coeur D’Alene” is a song about wanting to go home. Sometimes you lose your way or get tired but it always feels good to go home again.

We then go to another beautiful song called “Life Must Go On”. I’m sure you can guess what the song is about and I’m sure it will be a popular one to sing along with at concerts. In the chorus, Myles sings “Cause the Sun always sets/The moon always falls/It feels like the end/Just pay no mind at all/Keep rollin’/Rollin’/Life must go on”. This is another one you need to check out.

“Words Darker Than Their Wings” is a duet between Myles and Tremonti. It’s the first time that Myles hasn’t been the only lead. From what I understand, this song is the two singers discussing their faith.

There are two bonus tracks on the album, “Zero” and “Home”. Both are good songs that could have just been on the album and not bonus songs.

Overall, this is a very good album. I’d give it 4.5 or 5 out of 5. I keep thinking that I like Blackbird a little more but with each listen of AB III, it catches up so I’m sure I will eventually like it just as much, if not more. Myles Kennedy has a great voice and is the perfect frontman for this group. And if you like to rock out and enjoy good guitar music, this would be for you. Mark Tremonti is amazing and I’m not really doing him justice with that. You have to listen to see what I mean.

If you’re going to skip around or only check out a few, I definitely recommend “Ghost Of Days Gone By”, “Isolation”, “Wonderful Life” and “Life Must Go On”. There are plenty more good songs though. I’m always impressed by these guys and I hope they continue to put out music for many, many years.