Alter Bridge - Nottingham Review

I have been to a lot of gigs this year, a few of which have been quite big affairs. I have seen a number of arena shows, as well as one big stadium gig, and I feel lucky that I have been able to see many of the biggest rock and metal bands in the world over the years. I ticked off Bon Jovi this year, saw Ghost's arena debut, and caught Kiss on their never-ending farewell tour. A band that has steadfastly been filling arenas here in the UK for a few years now however is Alter Bridge - a four-piece who might genuinely be one of the biggest rock acts in the world currently. Their success has been somewhat stealthy, with very little true fanfare or hype - instead building their reputation over time with a number of strong album releases and back-to-basics rock shows. The band have not reached these heights in their native US, but over here in Europe the band are a big deal. I cannot imagine the band will have to wait long to headline festivals here like Download, and they are truly the band to take the torch from the classic acts who are slowly winding down their activities. I have been a fan of the band since around 2008 or 2009. I remember hearing the Blackbird album around the time of its release and initially dismissing it. The first listen did nothing for me, but for whatever reason I revisited it a year or so later and loved it. Since then I have been a big fan of the band, and have seen them three times - with the best being a show at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2010, on the last tour they did in the UK before graduating to the arenas. Shows at Nottingham's arena followed in 2013 and 2016, both of which were great but neither reached the heights of that excellent night in Hammersmith. I felt that the band had not quite yet worked out how to play arena shows. Not every arena show needs to be a big spectacle, but I felt somewhat that the band seemed a little overawed by the situation. It must be strange going from large US clubs to UK arenas in the space of a month or so and, despite having the material to fill arenas, I felt that the transition never seemed to quite happen. Nevertheless, Alter Bridge are a band that I will go and see if I am able to - so when another UK tour was announced earlier in the year I picked up a ticket. I opted for Nottingham again as it fell on a weekend - and thought it the most appropriate considering it had been the venue for two of my previous Alter Bridge shows. In the interim period the band released the excellent Walk the Sky album, which I have been listening to a fair bit since its October release. The strength of the album made me look forward to the concert more, and I hoped that this would be the tour in which Alter Bridge fully transitioned to being an arena band.

Before Alter Bridge took to the stage however, the crowd were treated to a couple of support acts. Up first were The Raven Age - a British metal band that are making Iron Maiden fans the world over sick with their seemingly-continual support slots. George Harris (guitar/vocals) is the son of Iron Maiden's bassist Steve Harris and, with nepotism alive and well in the Maiden camp, The Raven Age have supported the band a number of times over the years. Ironically (or not), I saw The Raven Age a few years ago supporting Steve Harris' British Lion side project in Plymouth. I did not think much of the band then and, despite some line-up changes and a bit of an overall improvement in sound, I did not think much of them this time either. The band play that fairly twee sub-metalcore, but without all the heavy bits, which is somewhat popular these days - but it does nothing for me. The band were competent enough, and even had a few strong individual moments, but on the whole their songwriting was a bit bland and they did not really do anything to stand out from the crowd. There were some decent riffs scattered throughout their songs, and the occasional blistering burst of twin lead guitar, but everything else just fell a little flat. The band's current frontman Matt James certainly had a stronger voice than their original singer too, as I remember him being something of a weak link previously. James certainly belted out a number of strong notes, but the melodies all felt a bit lacking. There was not one chorus that really stood out to me, and for music with a poppy edge that is usually a big turn off for me. When the band were announced as a last-minute replacement for Sevendust who had to pull out due to illness, I was interested to see how The Raven Age had progressed. Unfortunately the band still do nothing for me, but I am glad I got the opportunity to catch up with them after a few years.

The evening's special guests were Shinedown, a band that actually occupied the same position when Alter Bridge played the same venue in 2013. The band are one that I actually somewhat enjoyed around the time The Sound of Madness album came out, but I have long grown out of Shinedown and actually find them quite annoying now. Aside from the 2013 Alter Bridge show, I also saw the band supporting Iron Maiden (there is a theme here...) in 2017 - and it was that show that really turned me off. There have long been rumours that frontman Brent Smith lip syncs live and, while I do not think that he wholly relies on backing tracks, there was certainly a lot of 'help' going on. Over-reliance on backing tracks instantly puts me off a band - so Shinedown have long been out of my attention - and their set in Nottingham did nothing to push them back in. I can understand why they are popular, as they do have some strong songs and some truly stadium-worthy choruses - but they also really rub me up the wrong way and that is largely down to Smith. He must literally give the same speeches at every show about making friends with the person next to you etc., and after hearing it for a third time I have to say that I was extremely sick of him and his band. I just find him to be quite an unlikable and arrogant person - seemingly thinking that everyone was there to see him. While I am sure that many people in attendance were Shinedown fans, the vast majority of us were primarily there to see Alter Bridge. The fact that he is still supporting the same band six years on should give Smith a reality check, but he seemed oblivious to the situation and kept wheeling out his shtick throughout. I did not hate the whole set, but Smith's attitude just really turned me off. I have felt similar previously, but this time I had had enough of him a just wanted the band to play some songs. The thing is, when the band do get a chance to play they sometimes pull out a winner. There is no denying that songs like Second Chance are top quality modern radio rock anthems, but with a few middling tracks and a rather leaden version of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Simple Man making up a large chunk of the set it was all a bit of a mixed bag. Judging by the crowd's reaction, lots of people in attendance really liked Shinedown - but I was not one of them. I am hoping that I will not be forced to sit through another of the band's sets anytime soon, as I am really not sure I can cope with any more of Smith's arrogance.

Luckily after two support acts that did very little for me, Alter Bridge were on hand to really capture the night. The band did not really do anything differently this year, but I feel that 2019 was the year when Alter Bridge became a true arena act. Clearly buoyed by the reaction to Walk the Sky, the band seemed at home on the big stage, and rattled through a seventeen-song set with ease - with a loud and clear sound mix allowing all the nuances in their music to shine through. Kicking off with Wouldn't You Rather was a good move too, as the song really shook the building's foundations. From guitarist Mark Tremonti's opening riff to Myles Kennedy's (vocals/guitar) soaring chorus vocal - the song really heralded this new era of the band in a big way. What followed was a good mix of stuff from five of their six albums (2016's weak The Last Hero was ignored), with many of their best-loved tracks featured, alongside newer and deeper cuts. Early on the favourites came thick and fast, with the heavy Isolation and the riffy Come to Life whipping up some excitement during the set's opening moments. If I had a criticism of the setlist it would be that it is many of the same older songs make the set from tour to tour, with tracks like Ghost of Days Gone By and Rise Today seemingly ever-present, but with plenty of new tracks included the setlist still felt suitably shaken up. All of the new songs featured fit nicely in the set, with a few even fleshed out with a live keyboard player - something new for the band. The heavy Native Son and the anthemic Take the Crown were particular favourites of mine, and the sold-out crowd seemed to lap them up too - despite the newer songs not initially receiving strong receptions as Kennedy introduced them. Speaking of Kennedy, he seemed much more expressive than usual - another reason why I feel the band have finally adapted well to arenas. He was more like the Kennedy I remember from Hammersmith, and his demeanour really helped the band to come across well. It helped that vocally he was spot on throughout the night, constantly showcasing why he is one of the best-loved modern rock singers. He also had ample chance to show off with his guitar too, but thankfully the set was much more balanced towards Tremonti's leads and solos this time around. In 2016 Tremonti was largely a rhythm player for much of the set, but this time he had plenty of time to shine. He also took the lead vocally on two tracks: Waters Rising and a rare outing for Burn It Down from the band's first album. I think many forget that One Day Remains was essentially a Tremonti solo album with his ex-Creed bandmates and Kennedy on vocals - so it was appropriate for him to take the vocals on the track live. His solo during the epic Blackbird was one of the highlights of the evening, and his driving riffing during the closing number Metalingus again shook the venue to the core - ending the evening on a real high. The sold-out crowd's cheers brought the band back for a couple more, with the ballad-esque Godspeed, another highlight, kicking the encore off. It was great to hear the song float through the venue, and it only made the closing number Addicted to Pain feel much heavier in comparison. It was a tough ending to a dynamic and varied show - and the large crowd made their appreciation known as the band took their bows. The setlist was:

One Life
Wouldn't You Rather
Isolation
Come to Life
Pay No Mind
Ghost of Days Gone By
Burn It Down
Native Son
Rise Today
Take the Crown
Cry of Achilles
Waters Rising
Watch Over You
Blackbird
Open Your Eyes
Metalingus
-
Godspeed
Addicted to Pain

In my opinion, this was easily the best Alter Bridge show I have seen since the Hammersmith one a few years ago. I have always enjoyed the band live, but this time they really brought it and seemed to have a new-found confidence on the big stage. A sold-out crowd certainly helped, and if anyone was unconvinced by Alter Bridge's status before then this show should have easily put those doubts to bed.