For 15 years, Alter Bridge has fused superb songwriting, soaring vocals and blazing guitar riffs on the road to well-crafted rock anthems that not only have the power to take you somewhere, but bring you back. After all, every bridge has two sides.
The bridge. That beautiful and unique song element that offers a crossing between thematic worlds.
Often occurring only once per song, a bridge can lead into a guitar solo, or out of one. It can slow the pace of a song, or quicken the pulse.
Think bridges, and Alter Bridge fans will often think Blackbird, and that “Someday too, I will fly and find you again,” moment.
Or, that chill-inducing “Oh, oh, ohhh,” moment of Open Your Eyes, that when experienced live (or even heard recorded live) can inspire the best kind of tears—as many fans can attest. And, as many car dashboards can attest.
With or without words, a great bridge can bring complexity or added resolve, as the song returns for its closing moments.
Thankfully, Alter Bridge has been writing great bridges for 15 years, taking you somewhere with every song, and bringing you back–possibly changed. Possibly improved. But definitely, feeling.
Simply put, Alter Bridge writes the best song bridges I’ve experienced in any genre of music. Ever.
Thus it was my fascination with bridges that led me down this road of not only exploring every bridge in every Alter Bridge song, but ranking my Top 10 bridge transitions.
This exploration truly turned into a labor of love, inspiring me to write more than I have in years. Which, turned into one of my favorite writing experiences, ever.
If I’ve learned anything from artists, its that when something hits you that hard, and moves you that much, you are driven to share it, often with courage that comes unexpectedly.
Not being a musician myself, the courage to share your passion—not matter what it is—is something I’ve become more comfortable with, thanks to artists like Myles Kennedy, Mark Tremonti, Brian Marshall and Scott Phillips.
Without a doubt, that courage has carried over to many other Alter Bridge fans as well, inspiring artwork, a fan-led podcast and even a project uniting musically-inclined fans from around the world in performing Alter Bridge cover songs during this unique time.
So, it is here that I share with you my passion, my writing and my exploration of the Top 10 Bridge Transitions by Alter Bridge.
Because we all uniquely get just how much it hurts to miss this. All of it.
Ironically, whatever takes us away, will be the same to drive us on, as one day, we’ll discover the dusk of the day has reached its dawn–and we’ll be out enjoying live music once again.
And there’s no group or group of fans that I’m more excited to share that moment with when it does happen. And it will.
Until then, enjoy the review. And, remember to look inside yourself…before tomorrow comes. 💙
Note: Start times for the bridges referenced are noted in brackets, offering an immersive reading experience when used with the YouTube videos.
10. “One By One” from Blackbird – “And they gave it all.” (2:41)
Both enduring and transformative, “One By One” hints at the triumphant soundscapes yet to come from Alter Bridge over the next decade. The song itself is a showcase of the band’s vast potential to deliver heart-felt topics within the mass-appeal-oriented arena of post-grunge rock. This bridge is a coming-of-age moment for the sophomoric band that is now proving to be taken very seriously on their own merits, as this album would go on to unfurl one particular song that would take the world by storm.
9. “Lover” from Fortress– “Should you have to throw it all away?” (2:24)
This bridge ignites the already smoldering wreckage of this song’s subject matter into a raging inferno. Pound for pound, this bridge delivers some of the most blistering and pointed lines of any AB has offered in the course of 15 years, leaving the listener gasping for air though a torrent of emotions. The bridge repeats, slows, and sets the listener up for a feeling of hardened acceptance to close out the song.
8. “Forever Falling” from Walk The Sky – “Are you now lost?” (2:56)
Clever and athletically striking, this bridge stops, cuts and turns on a dime amidst the brutalizing track written and sung by lead guitarist Mark Tremonti. In just a few lines, this swaggering bridge emerges unscathed from the jackhammered frenzy of the song’s pulverizing riffs and growling bass grooves set forth by Brian Marshall, and confidently sets the song up for it’s powerfully closing moments.
7. “Burn It Down” from One Day Remains – “Whatever takes us away.” (3:43)
Four songs into Alter Bridge’s 2004 debut album, fans get their first real taste of the super-human voice that belongs to Myles Kennedy, as he soars and swoops effortlessly through verse and chorus. And in that bridge, sure, you get the elongated note during the “Remember to carry on…” part. But, it’s really a clever set up. Because the song’s outro provides a second chance to take in that vocal talent. Only this time, set against the searing backdrop Mark Tremonti’s white-hot fret work, Myles holds that last note long enough to leave the listener gasping for air.
6. “Native Son”from Walk the Sky – “Fractured and cut off from all we had.” (2:51)
One of the most requested songs on the “Walk The Sky” tour also contains one of the most visceral and prophetic bridges to date: “Fractured and cut off from all we had/severed all that’s sacred, now we stand.” The song offers a dark reminder that humans have gone through troubled times long before these ones. Thankfully, the song’s stomping drum rhythm, brought on by Scott Phillips, serves audible courage to those that continue to wander a world they don’t understand.
5. “This Side of Fate” from The Last Hero – “What have we done?” (2:58)
Probably the most fun of all bridges, the massive songwriting capability of Alter Bridge is on full display throughout this sprawling, adventurous and deliciously resounding multi-level bridge. Prog-metal fans will rejoice at the intermingled bridge-bridge-bridge interlude offered starting at about halfway through the song. It’s utter brilliance, and fitting this intelligent arrangement also appears on the band’s Live At The Royal Albert Hall recording.
4. “Blackbird” from Blackbird – “Ascend may you find no resistance.” (3:58)
This song is best song of all-time territory. Not just by Alter Bridge, but of any band. As the song ebbs and flows amongst the vast, deep ocean canyons of emotion that can only be experienced by loss, Myles takes us to the surface for a breath of air, “Ascend, may you find no resistance,” before his sympathetic guitar howls give way to the cathartic plunge of Tremonti’s storied guitar solo.
3. “In Loving Memory” from One Day Remains– “I’m glad it sets you free from sorrow.” (3:28)
If Blackbird displays the heroism of Alter Bridge helping millions of fans let go and move on, then “In Loving Memory” touches upon the delicate nature of cherishing love within the moment. Fifteen years later, despite the interviews I’ve read about the song, and the great conversations I’ve had with fans online and at shows, to me personally, I’m still torn whether this song is about a conversation with someone about to leave, or someone who’s already left. But, I can’t escape the optimism of being able to love something more tomorrow. Even if I never have the opportunity to understand it today, or know if I’ll ever experience it ever again.
2. “Words Darker Than Their Wings”from AB III – “Go, never to ask why.” (3:06)
The most determined of bridges, WDTTW captures the full essence of AB at their finest. “Go, set out towards the sun, Let the new begin,” is the most enchanting of AB’s bridge offerings, providing the listener with an encouraging send-off. As the bridge culminates into the delightfully blinding rays of the song’s closing chorus, the might of AB’s songwriting is once again on full display, with Kennedy’s soaring vocals and Tremonti’s confident backing vocals and steep guitar dives.
1. “Walking On The Sky”from the album Walk The Sky (2:51)
“Here you stand all alone, above the crowd the air is cold; Losing balance where you can’t let go. Here and now, in the clouds, you have found your escape. For all you give it’s worth the risk. At least you lived your own way. You’re on the line, walking on the sky”.
Standing on the brink of swirling, symphonic atmospherics and chasm of the song’s emotion, “Walking On The Sky” holds you high above the sixth album’s title track—providing a mesmerizing vantage point of the band’s 15-year modus operandi: “For all you give it’s worth the risk, At least you lived your own way.”
This bridge beckons to be crossed. It disregards self-manufactured fears and defies gravity, needing neither suspension cables or concrete beams.
“‘Walking On The Sky” is not only beautiful, but also seems conscious of its own beauty.”
Once again, Alter Bridge works its remarkable magic—offering the listener yet another courageous moment and the resolve to move forward.
Just like always.
And, just when we need it most.
MavStar 