Alter Bridge – Fortress Review

Hi Guys, Leo here.

For my first album review i thought i’d go with a band i like a few individual songs for and been meaning to listen to properly in Alter Bridge.

So my idea is to do bullet points on each track on there own then give my overall thoughts on the record at the end plus what my top 3 songs are.

Enjoy

Track 1: Cry’s Of Achilles
Like the acoustic intro into heavy riff at the beginning
Bass parts in the bridge were cool and worked well
Solid solo
Great start for what comes on the rest of the record

Track 2 – Addicted To Pain
Only song I know off the record
Great intro
Catchy chorus
Good riff throughout
Proper headbanger

Track 3 – Bleed It Dry
Really heavy start
Loved when it lowed down into the guitar solo
Smooth feel to it compared to the strong start

Track 4 – Lover
The dynamic of slow acoustic to hard rock back and forth worked really well.
Singing got downed out a bit near the end
Very enjoyable nonetheless

Track 5 – The Uninvited
Liked the intro
Enjoyed the pre chorus with the squealing guitar
Solid song for around the mid way point in the record
Good headbanger track especially nearer the end

Track 6 – Peace Is Broken
Quicker paced riffs during verses
Smooth chorus
Another really good bridge
Liked the added guitar whining during the last choruses

Track 7 – Calm The Fire
Different feel with alone singing and acoustic guitar faint in the background
Really like the electric guitar that introduced even more faint
Awesome how they have the guitar start before the song kicks in
Shows how good Myles’ voice is
You can tell where the pit would start to circle in the bridge

Track 8 – Waters Rising
I assume there’s two singers on this one but the dynamic works really well
Softest song on the record so far even with the hard chorus in the first half
In the second half the riff is so good transitions into fully hard rock so seamlessly
Guitar solo in the final minute is great

Track 9 – Farther Than The Sun
Bass and guitar fading in, straight into a great headbanger riff very enjoyable.
I couldn’t help but start headbanging when the riff came back in after the chorus
Bridge was awesome matched by the solo
My second favourite song so far.

Track 10 – Cry A River
Another fast straight from the get go
Transitions worked well it’s never stagnated
Never felt like too much was going on for the fast paced parts
Ear worm type chorus

Track 11 – All Ends Well
Softest song on the record
Nice self belief type song
Was a good change from the rest of the record
Cans till bop your head to it especially during the chorus

Track 12 – Fortess
The first part from start to around just after 2 and a half minute mark gave a flowing feeling was nice
The second part turned pretty heavy when that guitar again gave the impact and was really cool
Then just have 4 minutes it switch again kind of fading out and back in with a quicker heavier riff and guitar solo, loved the bass before it kicked in.
Then went back into how it started really smooth transition.
Great way to finish a record.

Overall Thoughts:
As a whole I’d say this record was very good and stayed pretty consistent throughout, even the softer songs had hard rock elements to it. There was never a moment I wasn’t enjoying a song whether it be bopping or headbanging. They seem to have perfected how to intro songs and use a bridge very well. Myles’ voice is so distinct and his range is amazing.

Top 3 tracks:
Addicted To Pain, Farther To The Sun and The Uninvited