Alter Bridge - London Review

The success of bands like Alter Bridge over the past couple of decades proves that hard rock and metal music is as strong as ever. Whilst some old-fashioned gatekeepers want us to believe that the genre is dead, and that there are no new festival headliners coming through - the fact that Alter Bridge have been an arena-sized act here in the UK for around 10 years at this point rubbishes that argument. The Florida-based band have a wide appeal, from young kids to old-school rockers, and their recorded output since putting out their debut album One Day Remains in 2004 has generally been of a consistent quality. The band added another strong album to their already-impressive canon, Pawns & Kings, back in October, too, and the result of this was the band's first European tour since the end of 2019. I first saw Alter Bridge live back in 2010 when they headlined the Eventim Apollo, as it is now called, supporting AB III, and I have seen them three times since at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham - in 2013, 2016, and 2019. Keeping up the three year cycle, then, Alter Bridge's regular work pattern did not seem to be impacted by the pandemic - but I am sure that the band were happy to get back out on the road in Europe having wrapped up the Walk the Sky touring cycle not long before pandemic really kicked off in early 2020. Whilst I have often thought that Alter Bridge have never really transitioned to being an arena act from a show and spectacle perspective - from a musical perspective the band have always delivered live. I still think that the 2010 show in London was the best of the four that I have been to, but the other three in Nottingham were also great - with the 2019 show probably the one that felt the most arena-ready. It would have been nice to continue my run of shows in Nottingham, but for this 2022 tour I opted for the tour-closing night in London at the O2 Arena. The reason why I opted for a Monday night in London was because I was supposed to be seeing Lamb of God the following night - but that show was postponed for at least a third, and maybe even a fourth, time a couple of months ago. This was frustrating, but I still had my Alter Bridge show - and it was good to return to the O2 Arena for only a third time. It is not a venue that I have been to very often at all, but I have always enjoyed visiting the strange tent-like arena in the city's Docklands area. I was staying fairly close by in Deptford, but given the snow and ice around the city it meant that getting to the venue look longer than usual. The journey was not too bad, though, but with the weather and the train strikes planned for the following day I do wonder if the overall attendance was affected. There was certainly a decent crowd in attendance, but much of the venue's highest tier was empty. I actually had a ticket for that part of the venue, but towards the end of the first support act's set I was moved down to the lower tier - and ended up with some pretty good seats right at the first of the lower tier.

First up, with just over half an hour to play with, was the newly-formed Mammoth WVH. Essentially a solo vehicle for Wolfgang Van Halen (vocals/guitar/keyboards), the band's debut album came out last year - and featured Van Halen playing and singing everything. Live, though, Van Halen has been backed by a four-piece band over the past year or so, including a couple of somewhat well-known faces in Slash's rhythm guitarist Frank Sidoris and former Tremonti drummer Garrett Whitlock. I was not really familiar with Van Halen's work, but his debut album received quite a lot of strong reviews when it was released last year so I was looking forward to seeing what he had to offer. Despite enjoying some of Van Halen's songs, though, I found the set on the whole to be a bit of a mixed bag. I had no real expectations going in, but knowing of Van Halen's instrumental prowess I did expect his music to be a bit more explosive and high-octane than it turned out to be. On the whole, Van Halen's music was very safe-sounding, and nothing massively different from what any number of modern hard/post-grunge bands have put out over the past couple of decades. One song that did stand out quite a bit, though, was Think It Over - which felt a bit more energetic and much catchier than the few songs that had come before it. It still was nothing special really, but it had some strong hooks throughout - and it made an impression in a way that many of the other songs had not. Some of the other highlight moments of the set were when Van Halen soloed. He is known to be a real virtuoso when it comes to most instruments, and it was great getting to see him play a handful of short solos. As mentioned previously, towards the end of Van Halen's set I was moved from the top tier of the venue to the lower tier. This meant that I watched the band's last song from a different vantage point, and the sound was much louder and more powerful down in the lower tier. As such, the final number was another that had a bit more of an impact as a result - and it did make me wonder whether I had not had the full experience from up in the top tier. As such, I am willing to give Mammoth WVH the benefit of the doubt. I likely would have enjoyed them more had I been in my second seat for their whole performance - as something was certainly lost with the sound travelling all the way up to the top tier. I would like to check the debut album out to see if that is a better representation of Van Halen's talents - but currently I am not really sure what to make of the newly-formed band.

The main support act of the night was Halestorm. I had thought that the Pennsylvania-based four-piece would be too successful to need to support Alter Bridge these days - but I suppose any kind of arena-level touring opportunities should not be turned down, and there has been a relationship between Alter Bridge and Halestorm for a number of years. I am only really a casual fan of Halestorm, but it has been great seeing them rise through the ranks over the past decade or so. I had seen the band live a couple of times previously, both in 2013, so I was looking forward to catching up with them again following the large amount of success which they have found since. One of those 2013 shows was also with Alter Bridge, but that night they were the opening act. With more time to play with this time, then, the band really made their set count - and treated the show as if it was their own. There were clearly a lot of Halestorm fans in attendance, too, and the atmosphere throughout their powerful set was excellent. With their fifth album Back from the Dead still pretty new, half of the set was dedicated to it - with a handful of older cuts padding things out. There was little pretence to the band's performance, and it started with Lzzy Hale (vocals/guitar) singing the chorus to The Steeple a cappella - before the rest of the band crashed in, getting the set underway proper. Despite the power of the band as a whole, the spotlight throughout was always on the Hale siblings - with Lzzy and her drummer brother Arejay taking all of the plaudits. I have often thought that the other two members of Halestorm are somewhat anonymous, and that remains my view - but in truth the chemistry between the two Hales made up for it. After opening with a new song, the band then hit the crowd with the old favourite Love Bites (So Do I), which saw lots of singing from the crowd, before another three new songs came thick and fast. The rasping Wicked Ways was an early highlight, thanks to the big riffing of Joe Hottinger (guitar/vocals) and an anthemic chorus which Lzzy belted out with her gritty and room-filling voice. A little later in the set, both Mine and the older Familiar Taste of Poison provided something of a change of pace. Mine conjured up more of a downbeat modern pop vibe, whilst the latter was the only true ballad of the band's set - with Lzzy prowling the stage without her guitar to sing the murky track. This led into a short, but explosive, drum solo from Arejay which culminated in him using large sticks to play his kit - much to the amusement of the crowd. There was not too much time left at this point, but there was time for one last new track and a couple of oldies. The title track of the latest album proved to be another highlight with its huge chorus, before the clock was turned right back to the beginning for the raunchy mid-paced riffing of I Get Off. This certainly got lots of the crowd singing, but it was an extended version of I Miss the Misery that really got the crowd going - with Lzzy instigating quite a big sing-a-long with the crowd and some shredded soloing from Hottinger. It brought Halestorm's powerful set to a close, proving why they have found so much success in recent years. The setlist was:

The Steeple

Love Bites (So Do I)

Wicked Ways

Bombshell

Mine

Familiar Taste of Poison

Drum solo

Back from the Dead

I Get Off

I Miss the Misery

Half an hour or so following Halestorm's set the lights went down and Alter Bridge took to the stage - immediately launching into the hard-hitting, yet melodic, Silver Tongue from this year's Pawns & Kings. It was one of only three new songs played, which was something of a surprise, with the band instead opting for a career-spanning setlist that took in all but one of their seven studio albums. If I had a criticism of Alter Bridge live it would be that they rely too heavily on the same setlist staples from tour to tour. This was generally the case in London but the three newer cuts and a couple of rarely-played deeper cuts from their debut album helped the show to feel fresh - even if there were a few songs in the set that could do with a rest at this point. The riff-heavy Addicted to Pain, which followed Silver Tongue, was not one, though, and the song is a staple for a reason. The older single always goes down well live, and it helped to lift the atmosphere with its pace and soaring chorus - which frontman Myles Kennedy nailed. Kennedy was in fine voice throughout, and the guitar interplay between him and fellow guitarist Mark Tremonti was as good as ever. The two traded riffs and solos throughout the night, elevating songs like Addicted to Pain and the new This Is War which was wheeled out a little later. In between the two, though, was one of the songs which is due a rest in my opinion. Ghost of Days Gone By is pretty much ever-present in the band's setlists and there are many other great songs in the Alter Bridge canon which could be played instead. Before Tomorrow Comes also had a similar feel, but looking back it has not been played as often as I thought it had. The band have always been quite conservative with their setlists, though, and it does not seem that this is going to change any time soon. With that in mind, then, it was great to hear Shed My Skin from the debut album given a rare outing. I had not heard the song live before, so it was a real standout of the night as a result. It is a song that showcases the band's older post-grunge sound nicely, and it came across well live with Kennedy nailing the slow-burning, yet anthemic, chorus. This vibe was continued with Burn It Down from the same album - with Tremonti handling the vocals. This slightly different arrangement of the song was debuted on the band's last tour, and I like the change of pace that it provides. It added a bluesy touch to the set, with Kennedy handling the closing solo with ease.

The spiky, somewhat progressive Cry of Achilles was then wheeled out to provide another big kick of energy. It is another song that could probably do with a rest, but I still enjoyed hearing it live again. It is one of the songs in the band's canon which shows that they have a bit of a spark that sets them apart from other similar modern rock bands - and from the knotty guitar intro to the stadium-ready chorus the song had everyone in the venue on board with what the band were doing. It was perhaps fitting, then, that the band took the next few minutes to tone things down - and brought out the acoustic guitars for an excellent version of In Loving Memory, another song that I had not heard the band do live before. I am glad that the ever-present Watch Over You has finally been rested, and In Loving Memory proved to be a great substitute - with the crowd often taking over from Kennedy to sing the poignant song. It was another highlight of the night, and a stark contrast in tone to the epic Blackbird which followed. The title track of the band's second album is another ever-present song, but it is one that will never be dropped. It has become the band's anthem, and it is always a great moment of any Alter Bridge show - especially the two-part guitar solo that features the talents of both Kennedy and Tremonti. Everything following Blackbird felt a bit like a victory lap. The slightly grungy Pawns & Kings followed, with its soaring chorus, before the similar Wouldn't You Rather allowed for some somewhat downtuned riffing and plenty of headbanging from the large crowd down on the venue's floor. Everything at this point was being lapped up by the crowd - and the band ended the main set with two big classics: the pseudo-metal of Isolation and the favourite of WWE fans everywhere Metalingus. The latter allowed for the rhythm section of Brian Marshall (bass guitar) and Scott Phillips (drums) a bit of time in the spotlight during the song's rumbling intro. The old-school favourite brought the main set to a powerful close, and the crowd where left wanting more. There was time for a couple more, though, and the two-song encore contained two real crowd favourites. The simple, anthemic hard rock of Rise Today had everyone around me singing along  - but the real highlight of this closing section for me was the epic Open Your Eyes. The song is a big favourite for a reason, and it featured one last sing-a-long conducted by Kennedy as a great set from one of the world's best current hard rock acts came to a close. The setlist was:

Silver Tongue

Addicted to Pain

Ghost of Days Gone By

Before Tomorrow Comes

This Is War

Shed My Skin

Burn It Down

Cry of Achilles

In Loving Memory

Blackbird

Pawns & Kings

Wouldn't You Rather

Isolation

Metalingus

-

Rise Today

Open Your Eyes

The other thing to note about this Alter Bridge show in London was how clear the sound was throughout. Sometimes arena shows can suffer from echoey sound, but Alter Bridge sounded loud and proud throughout - with Kennedy's vocals cutting through the mix and the guitar riffing sounding huge. It helped the night to be as good as it was, and the band's performance throughout their classy set made it a great night all-round. Alter Bridge are always worth seeing, and I am sure that I will be in attendance again next time the band tour the UK.