Alter Bridge

Did You Know?

• Alter Bridge joined the Wheelchair Foundation and other artists in the 'Plane to Haiti' project to aid victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
• In 2011, the band helped the 'Play for Life' organization raise funds for City of Hope Medical Center, a cancer research center.
• The band's name comes from a real bridge on Alter Road near Mark Tremonti's home in Detroit.

History

Marshall left Creed in 2000, and the band became inactive in 2003 after a controversial tour. That year, Tremonti wrote new material and planned a new band with Phillips and Marshall. They invited Myles Kennedy, a fan of his former band The Mayfield Four, to be lead vocalist. The name Alter Bridge came from a real bridge on Alter Road near Tremonti's Detroit home. Creed officially broke up in June 2004, coinciding with Alter Bridge's debut single 'Open Your Eyes' on June 11. The debut album One Day Remains, released August 10, 2004, on Wind-up Records, received mixed reviews but sold 750,000 copies worldwide and achieved gold status. It peaked at number five on the Billboard charts for fourteen weeks. Two more singles, 'Find the Real' and 'Broken Wings', followed in 2005. Kennedy did not play guitar on the album but co-wrote some lyrics.

Musical style

Alter Bridge's music has been categorized as hard rock, heavy metal, alternative metal, progressive metal, alternative rock, and post-grunge, with elements of progressive rock, thrash metal, and classic rock. The band's songs are co-written by Kennedy and Tremonti and arranged by the group; Kennedy writes most lyrics, though Tremonti wrote most lyrics and all music on One Day Remains. Early albums focus on hope and overcoming regret, sadness, grief, loneliness, pain, and addiction, while AB III has darker themes of struggling with faith and loss of innocence. The band is known for live performances, typically playing smaller venues like House of Blues rather than large arenas outside the UK. Guest musicians have included Slash, Paul Reed Smith, Wolfgang Van Halen, and Eric Friedman.

Awards and accolades

In October 2010, Total Guitar ranked 'Ties That Bind' from Blackbird as the 41st greatest guitar song of the decade, and Ultimate Guitar Archive named AB III the seventh best album of 2010. In March 2011, Guitarist magazine named the dual guitar solo in 'Blackbird' the greatest guitar solo of all time, ahead of tracks by Led Zeppelin, Guns N' Roses, Van Halen, and Pink Floyd; Kennedy said he was 'a little uncomfortable' with the ranking, but both he and Tremonti said they were honored. In May 2011, Alter Bridge won Fuse TV's 'Battle of the Fans' poll, defeating Avenged Sevenfold, Linkin Park, and Three Days Grace, with 7.2 million votes. One Day Remains received mixed reviews, criticized for sounding too similar to Creed, but was certified gold by the RIAA on November 8, 2004, and remains the band's only RIAA-certified album. Subsequent albums have received general acclaim. The live album Live from Amsterdam rose 15,000 spots on Amazon's 'Bestsellers in Music Videos & Concerts' chart on October 22, 2009, reaching number one ahead of Michael Jackson and Bon Jovi without promotion or label support. Alter Bridge has received one BDS Spin award for 'Open Your Eyes' (50,000 spins). At the Kerrang! Awards, the band won Best International Band in 2013. The Loudwire Music Awards have given Alter Bridge eight awards, including Best Vocalist for Myles Kennedy in 2012 and 2013, Rock Album of the Year for Fortress in 2013, and Rock Song of the Year for 'Addicted to Pain' in 2013.