Walk The Sky

Product Information

For now, 'Walk the Sky' will find a comfortable home in my playlists next to the bands’ previous works, but I doubt any of these tracks will be remembered as their best, which is the records biggest sin. But already with the next couple of songs, we are on the road of what we know with Native Son and Take The Crown. Alter Bridge, Halestorm, Neck Deep, Bob Vylan, Hot Milk, Palaye Royale, Jinjer and more join this year’s Download Festival.

I realize I’m taking a big risk here by putting a hard rock band like Alter Bridge in the same, well not ball park, let’s say the National League, with some of the bands I’m going to mention. Like I said before, it just has that early 80’s rock feel, the kind that was around before the hair metal explosion.There is an argument to be made that a more varied pace might have made the overall feel of the album slightly less uniform. This album was recorded differently from the band's previous record due to scheduling constraints, with vocalist Myles Kennedy and guitarist Mark Tremonti sharing their own song ideas, which were then moulded into shape alongside bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips.

And as Myles sings “Do you feel alive” directly into your ears, it travels so deeply that one has just the urge to answer, “Oh hell yes! It’s been three years since the last Alter Bridge album, The Last Hero, and the need and anticipation for another Alter Bridge masterpiece was so out there. One of these happened to the latest solo-project offering from AB axeman Mark Tremonti, inviting obvious comparisons. I found it perplexing that such talented and well-experienced musicians would tone down the quality of their writing and playing at this stage of their careers after extensive work in other acts and gaining significant tour experience. And then Forever Falling came and I could not believe how great this guitar mage progressed with his singing voice.The instrumentals are perfectly solid, but lack the complexity, layering and frequent changes in pace found in AB’s earlier records, leaving an ever-so-slightly underwhelming impression. Ultimately, 'WTS' offers perfectly competent hard rock that is almost certain to satisfy long-term fans. Interviews indicate that much of the material off 'WTS' was written by Mark and Myles in the absence of the rhythm section, in a rather hurried fashion. Especially since with every listen you can just find there something that you have not heard at first. Still, with constant touring of Myles Kennedy with his solo record and Slash and the Conspirators, with Mark’s solo band Tremonti, they found time to work on new material.

Considering that these men all have to eat at the end of the day in a market which is becoming increasingly saturated, this move is somewhat justified. The Bitter End', 'Godspeed' and particularly 'Dying Light' competently capture the melancholic, yet somehow uplifting essence of classic AB tracks like 'Watch Over You' and 'In Loving Memory'. On the heavier side of things, I particularly enjoyed 'Indoctrination' which features a Sitar-like instrument and a wicked beat and 'Forever Falling', which sees Tremonti taking lead duty following his significant improvement as frontman of his own act. The first abbreviated track, One Life sets up the album sort of like the way a movie begins with theme music to introduce the mood.It's particularly challenging when you've had so many records, but when I showed Myles what I was thinking, he absolutely loved it and was on board right away. The EP was released on CD and LP, while the digital and streaming versions were released together with Walk the Sky as a deluxe bundle. One only has to listen to the first three AB records to realize that, as a group AB delivered superior performances like the seminal 'Blackbird' several years prior to most of the aforementioned side-project experiences even took place. In doing so, the band understand that power is nothing without control; when the music is reined in, as it is on parts of the Soundgarden-esque Walking On The Sky – not in the sky, you’ll notice, but on it – they purr like a finely tuned engine popping out for a pint of milk and a paper. It has grasped my attention on the first listen and for sure I will continue to find new gems lurking behind the many layers of the song.