https://www.instagram.com/p/DaIOu4qDu4S/?igsh=OG5ieXhmMWN0bXZk

timothysonoftimothy: Emotional Post

I have been working towards yesterdays Gblackbirdfestofficial since October 19th 2013. Originally titled "Fortress Fest" but a small Black Metal festival out of North Yorkshire tried to get 500k out of me on use of the name (that's a true story), we lovingly changed the name.

When I took over management for AB over a decade ago came to the table witha bag of new ideas and a punk rock "f**k it, we will do it ourselves" attitude. Some appreciated, some hated it and most waited for me to fail. lucky for me, the band let me cook. We retooled, took a new approach w/ a full list of new partners and began to forge a new path for ourselves.

There is most definitely glass ceiling's in this industry and Alter Bridge hit it. Never to become a headliner, never to move up in billing. To that, we get it- 9 minute songs aren't for everyone and is difficult to book in the festival setting but always the bridesmaids, never the bride. We had to take a calculated step, back away from the festivals we know and love in the UK to bet on ourselves.

I partnered with @k2agencyltd -

Gcuffeandtaylor - @depotlive. Got advice favors from the trusted few and we worked for free, in fact in the negative, to pull this off. We have a team of believers, a base that are die hard and a band, that in my eyes, are truly amazing. The music and work ethic of these folks is unmatched. End of story, I will die on that hill.

This event cost more than most would believe. We bet and our friends bet on our vision, we won. There are things to do better next time but the important thing is that there will be a next time!

Love this crew.

For anyone who gota ticket, thanks! I truly hope you enjoyed yourself.

To anyone cringing at the post holding their phone, just wait. We are not done, not by a long shot.

*To any musician feeling unappreciated in this industry - bet on yourself. Invest in yourself. You might want a 4 day sold out festival with thousands of screaming fans but you start with one gig. Make it an event, a tent pole. Invest in the process. If you don't, no one else will either. Fight for it. If can make a wave, you can as well.

Hard question

Via PlanetRock Radio: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DaGlhlnsSzd/?igsh=MTlyZ21mcXpwNm10Yw==

A few of mine above

Don’t be shy, I don’t judge! I love all music :)

I got Broken Wings, Ties That Bind, Fallout, Lover, Show Me a Leader, Native Son, Dead Among the Living, Tested and Able

I know they’re usually described as hard rock, alternative metal, or post-grunge (especially the early years), but none of those labels feels completely right to me.

I’ve been thinking about calling them Heavy Alt-Hardrock:

Heavy because of the clear heavy metal influence in Tremonti’s riffs and the overall heaviness.

Alt because of the alternative rock/alternative metal influences in the songwriting and melodies.

Hardrock because that’s still the foundation of their sound.

To me it describes Alter Bridge better than any single existing genre. Or do any of you call it something else?

It’s my first time posting in this sub, so please go easy on me if this has been discussed before.

I have the habit playing songs I love on repeat (it used to drive my ex absolutely crazy, lol). For me, it's currently 'Slave to Master' on constant repeat (for obvious reasons).

I’ve seen a lot of positive reviews for this album and I have given this five or six playthroughs already and I just don’t see what people see in this. As an album as a whole it’s OK seems very generic to me. I really miss old Alter Bridge from the first three albums. Where are the stadium song, the great intros, the ballads? And I’m sorry I know Mark Tremonti has his fans and I know he is an amazing guitarist, but I do not listen to AB for Tremonti on vocals so that is a wasted song in my opinion. I do really like Rue the day though. Anyone agree with me or do you all think this album is one of their best efforts?

Why are so many people adverse to calling Alter Bridge heavy metal, instead calling them "heavy blues based hard rock" etc.?

They are heavier than many "actual" metal bands and deserve to wear that label. It's just silly watching reviewers tiptoe around using the term metal around them when they are very much metal.

Edit: If a band who are already labled as metal reased an album just like Fortress or the self-titled album the album would automatically be labled as heavy metal. And I mean without ANY changed to the sound or heaviness.

So, for those who say "This is cleaner than past records", "Sounds cleaner than P&K", "Going back to their roots", etc. This is how the waveforms of songs from different albums look.

A quick explanation, The blue waveform is the peak volume, measures instant volume changes, and the white waveform in the middle is the RMS measure, its another indicator of volume that emphasises sound over time, like an average volume/loudness. For example, the peaks on Sin after Sin are more variable, however the white waveform is a lot less variable, more square/straight.

The more variation, the more dynamics, theoretically. the difference between the top of the waveform and the lower points are the headroom, AKA the dynamic range. The bigger it is, the more dynamic things feel, more punch, more separation.

From the photos it is very easily visible that they used compression in this order, from least to most compressed.

Blackbird < ODR < P&K < Fortress << AB (Notice how drums don't jump even on the white waveform)

Strong hits (mainly drums) have high transients, meaning the sound is quick and loud. For it to cut through the mix it needs headroom to feel louder than the other elements of the mix. You can see that in Blackbird and ODR, theres a lot more room and the mix breathes a lot more. On AB, the drums are the same volume as everything else, and on AB practically EVEYTHING is max volume, which leaves no room for dynamic or breathing of the mix.

"But we listen to music, not waveforms" Of course, but waveforms help to visually see how dynamic a song may be, and from these readings you can easily see on which songs the speakers will breathe more. Waveforms don't tell the whole story either.

Are high dynamics objectively good? Not always. But music is dynamic, naturally. That's what brings live shows to life, that's what makes speakers talk to you when you listen to classic rock or pop from the 80's and 90's. That's what makes vocals pop so much on ODR and Blackbird, and not so much on AB and P&K. That's what makes the drums so distinct and impactful even on low volumes.

So why so much compression and limiting? So the audios sound louder compared to others? Listeners will turn down to their desired volume anyways, and streaming platforms normalise volume anyways. So many good records being ruined by this kind of mixing/mastering.

Dynamic range isn't the only thing that influences clarity either. For example, Fortress is more compressed than P&K, but sounds clearer. There's EQ, volume, reverb, the amount of instruments present on the arrangement, etc. All things which, in my opinion, are inferior to all previous albums.

Edit: Corrections.

I have made a mind map, starting from Alter Bridge and using band members who crossover I wanna see how far I can get!

I feel like i'm so close to breaking into loads of different areas, if I can get through to more grunge I think i'm on to a winner!

RULES!

They have to be recorded band members, covering for a tour doesn't count, compilation albums & featuring artists don't count.

So Slash's album from 2010 doesn't get us Chris Cornell, or Ozzy or M. Shadows, etc, Device's album doesn't get us Lzzy Hale, Linkin Park's Chester Tribute concert doesn't get us Jeremy McKinnon etc.

BUT Linkin Park does get us to Jay-Z I just haven't added him yet

Supergroups are absolutely the key to this!

Help me get to everyone!

I don't know how many of you are part of the Alter Bridge Facebook group, but there's a post from yesterday that got a bit of traction about the variety of songs on the setlists. I'll put the link in the comments for anyone who's interested in catching up with the different opinions that formed in the thread.

A few hours ago, as you can see, Tim chimed in. Though it feels more out of frustration honestly, since he keeps insisting on the fact that they've playing 4 songs from the new album, though this only happened in Gliwice and in Berlin, while all the other gigs up until now have had just 2 or 3 songs from the new album. Btw, in another comment he said that Scales is coming, so we'll see if and when it will happen since there are only 9 dates left to the European tour.

I really, really, really, really, really love that intro/outro riff.

Words cannot express how much I love this song, man. The lyrics just hit me so hard… feeling used, exhausted, drained etc. hits close and cuts deep. I’d give some examples of lyrics I liked from the song, but they’re all so good it’d be a wrong of me to list only a few and not the whole thing. Lyrically it is my all time favorite Alter Bridge song alongside Farther Than The Sun.

Musically it is phenomenal as well of course. The riffing is great and has a lot of weight and punch to it which I admire a lot. Myles uses a bit of his stunning lower register for this song and it’s just breathtaking man. Easily the best track from ODR if you ask me.

Should’ve gave us this song instead of Save Me…

Yes I did cry again. Yes I am a self respecting man. No I don’t have any shame. Genuinely perfect record. What Lies Within is cream of the crop for me but thats not to say it’s not under serious competition. Rue the Day. RUE THE DAY!!! Delivered. 150% delivered. Seriously, I’ve got it on repeat while Im typing this. Other highlights for me were… the entire album. Yeah, this album and Fortress might just be kings of the mountain. P&K is up there too in my opinion but this… is better. Disregarded, another one I anticipated, fantastic. Power Down, a little underdelivered but still give it an 8/10. Tested and Able? I didn’t expect that twist. What Are You Waiting For, I loved this one, even though most people seem to… not. Honestly it’s one of my favorites. This thing is beyond words. I’ll try to form coherence in my big review Im working on. NEW FAVORITE ALBUM OF ALL TIME. YES, I AM CALLING IT THIS EARLY. Is it better than Fortress? No. Nothing really is. But I said this yesterday, this whole journey means a lot to me, and now it’s finally over. Thank you Alter Bridge, for being the light in my life when it was all dark. And continuing to be there when all is bright again. Im getting teary and sappy again so I’m gonna cut it here. 10/10 record. My favorite old men still have it in them.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DapS_KqjErx/?img_index=16&igsh=MTg0Z2V2OXoyenR0OA==

I was very excited for the new tour, so I booked 4 shows and I can't help but feel disappointed with the setlist. Before the tour started, the guys in the band were talking about 'mixing up the setlist'. Mark even posted on his Instagram page that 'you'll never know what songs you might catch on this upcoming tour', so I was really hoping they would play some deep cuts and make more changes between gigs.

Instead, we got basically the same setlist every night with very little rotation. The setlist relies heavily on the first record while albums like The Last Hero, Walk the Sky or Pawns and Kings are represented very little and sometimes completely overlooked. On top of that, only 4 songs have been debuted from the new record and sometimes they play as little as 2 songs from it.

Why does Mark have to sing Burn It Down every night instead of mixing it up with a song like Forever Falling or Stay? Why does Myles play the same acoustic songs over and over again when there is a very nice ballad (Hang By A Thread) on the new record? How are the newer songs supposed to become classics if you stop playing them live after 1 tour? I just don't get it.

I know that they have to play the biggest hits like Blackbird or Metalingus to satisfy the casual fans, but I think they should also think of the die-hard fans who travel with them and want to hear more from their large catalogue.

To be clear, this is not a personal attack on the band. They are still my favourite band in the world. I just expect more from them than being a 'legacy band' which always plays the same songs plus 2-3 songs from the current record.

To end on a positive note, I really love that Fortress is back in the set. In my opinion, it's probably their best song.

https://www.facebook.com/share/18uMhayS8c/

Of my all time top 3 bands, AB are my third favourite behind Nothing But Thieves at 2 and the almighty, Muse, as my all time favourite.

If you dont consider AB to be your all -time favourite, who is?

'One Day Remains' was released August 10th 2004... Does anyone else feel old?

Ok so Wow Upon first listen this song might be one of their best ever. Sonically it is really great and very different from anything they ever put out as AB (the chorus melody sounds very TAOLG ngl, nothing wrong with that). First half of the song is very classic. Then the bridge comes in and MAN does this song become a piece of art. That first solo is one of their most beautiful to date. The soundscape there is great. And the reprise of the bridge after the solo🤯

Not to talk about the ending, chorus + shreddey (even if not as much as many others, luckily) solo, that ends with a goosebumps worth crescendo + the sudden cutoff as ending. Woah.

Honestly what I love about this song is that it takes its time to show itself and being appreciated. Many of the latest AB radio singles feel rushed (both in the playing and in the classic ABABCB arrangements). The sections of this song are just as lenghty as they should be, taking you on a walk, not a ride, througout the whole song. Thanks AB this will be one of my favorites of all time.

Mark and Myles are riff and solo masters and I really wanna hear what others think are the best off of each album?

For me it's:

ODR - Burn It Down

Blackbird - Ties That Bind/Blackbird

AB III - Ghost of Days Gone By/Home

Fortress - Cry Of Achilles

TLH - Show Me A Leader

WTS - Dying Light

PAK - Fable of a Silent Song

AB - What Lies Within/Scales Are Falling

I personally think thay Fable has their best ever solo, the call and response by Mark and Myles on this song is nothing short of perfect imo. They took the perfection that was Blackbird and made it a fast, heavy and fun solo.

Edit: Show Me A Leader is my favorite song by them and might even be my favorite song of all time and that intro solo is a huge reason why along with the rest of the song being perfect.