Alter Bridge were only just getting started here. In between reformations of Creed and other events, this is their third release. Which explains the title of the album. Is it as good or better than earlier releases? Let’s find out.

We kick off with Slip to the Void which has some dark bassline like electronic melodies to begin with, before the singing kicks in. It sounds something out of a horror movie, but considering the stylistic implications of the music here, it sounds logically so. It’s a slow starter, before the crashing groove of the Metal group comes in. It is a loud, heavy and majestic piece to hear. It sounds uplifting in an odd way, in that it seems to have taken a leaf out of the book of Grunge. The guitar parts here are excellent, however. The groove of the band is great here, as are the well done guitar solos. A good start to this album. Dark and heavy.

Next is the crash intro to Isolation which is an improvement on the previous track. It sounds more upbeat, louder, more precise and more moving. It’s no doubt a better track by Alter Bridge here, and the palm muted riffs really do sound good here. A superb song with some brilliant production behind it. Play this loud, and near people who don’t like metal. The guitar solo sounds legendary. The whole group, although is a project of Mark Tremonti’s origin, sounds like a whole working together. No prog soloing, just a solid effort.

Ghost Of Days Gone By starts off sounding a bit like Blink 182 in a metal context. It’s about personal demons that one has to deal with. It goes into a loud, melodic and crashing piece. In the midsection are tom-tom drums thundering and loud, heavy metal guitars. It then goes into a superb screaming section with loud guitars. Obviously Myles Kennedy is a professional metal singing, as you can hear. It’s a very cathartic release sort of song here, and does well in that respect.

All Hope Is Gone comes next, with a more melodic feel to the music at hand than before. It is a slower and daresay it, more ballad feel, although clearly it is not a love song or anything like that. Musically, a good piece, although rather depressing from a listening point of view. It goes into a harmony led midsection which is quite suspenseful, before crashing back into the loud nature of it all. A good piece of music, but is a little depressing, to be fair. The outro has some interesting feedback guitars.

Next is Still Remains which has some good drop tuned guitars to begin with, along with some well recorded and mixed beats. It then goes into a sludgy metal piece which is very catchy. It sounds massive in terms of overall mix, and is quite a good and well thought out piece. Loud, melodic and thunderous, this is quite a good listen here. One of the better tracks from the album, it is quite impressive. Power to the metal for you here. It ends with a sustained and distorted bass guitar chord.

The acoustic intro of Make It Right is a great sound to hear, with some good singing and then quickly going into a straightforward metal piece with loud electric guitars overdubbed. It’s another good listen with some excellent singing on it. There are some great guitar effects on the lead guitar breaks here, obviously well thought out here. A good and quite uplifting piece.

Wonderful Life does sounding very uplifting here for a change, and has more carefully picked acoustic guitars, which along with the love song message, makes it a standout from the album. It’s a great piece which is something metal to get married to, if that is something suitable for you. It’s a superb listen, and a must hear for those new to Alter Bridge. Well thought out message. Good piece of music here.

I Know It Hurts comes next is back into drop tuned familiar territory and has some good lyrics about being in emotional pain. It’s a good listen for those who feel down. It has a very heavy midsection, and the whole piece is very good metal. It’s a well thought out and interesting piece about feeling the pain.

Next is Show Me A Sign which has a set of unusual metal guitar parts to begin with, before launching into a melodic song that is quite decent. It is more uplifting than some of the other songs here. It’s a good and punchy statement to listen to, and sounds very much like a highlight of the album. A very intense sounding piece. There is a quieter midsection with some good violining in it, before launching back into the main section of the song. Great effort. The guitar solo at the end is a screamer.

Following is Fallout which has some clean and melodic guitar parts to begin with, before launching into alternating quiet/loud sections of heavy metal music. Unfortunately, it sounds like more of the same at this point. Many of the tracks on this album follow a similar feel, to mixed results. It’s still good listening, and no doubt the band are giving their all here. Some good drop tuned riffing is at the end here all the same.

Breathe Again comes next, with a more sensitive ballad sort of feel about it. It’s a welcome change from the loud Nu Metal feel about most of the tracks here, and even the louder sections sound more focused than the previous track. A more focused and thought out effort, sounding quite poppy. There is some mint singing and guitar work here, revealing it to be a very good effort indeed. Memorable.

Coeur d’Alene comes next. It has many multitracked guitar parts and seems to return to the more typical sound of Alter Bridge. It sounds more typical of the very heavy metal sound. There is some really good drum work here, which propels the piece along well. Another good effort here, even if all the tracks on this album sound the same. The outro guitar solo is magnificent here.

Next is Life Must Go On which starts with some clean electric guitar riffs, before crashing into another semi-ballad here. This seems like an improvement on some of the tracks here, but still it sounds very much like the rest of the album. Perhaps some change in the musical format could help? Regardless, it’s good, just not fantastic.

Lastly, we have Words Darker Than Their Wings which is a decent way to finish off this rather long album. It is acoustic arpeggio riffing here, and sounds like it could have been made by a non-metal band. A good and consistent effort, it finishes off the album nicely.

This is a good musical album. What stops it from being great is the rather limited musical template, the length of the album and the repetitive nature of the songs. Still, if you dig really heavy metal, this is a good, but not great, listen for fans of such music.

Heavy.

7/10