What songs do you use to introduce Alter Bridge to new people?

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TheEndisHere
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What songs do you use to introduce Alter Bridge to new people?

Post by TheEndisHere »

We all know by now that Alter Bridge is criminally unknown to many people, including fans of rock music, especially in the US, despite being one of, if not the best rock band (IMHO) of the last 15 years. I try to introduce other people to Alter Bridge all the time. In the last two years, I have introduced them to some of my high school students and fellow teachers. Who else tries to get people into Alter Bridge? What songs do you use?

Depending on who it is (male, female, wrestling fan, etc), I have used the following songs: Cry of Achilles, Fortress, Blackbird, and Metallingus. If people like those, I move to other songs.

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Re: What songs do you use to introduce Alter Bridge to new people?

Post by AB4Lyfe »

Honestly it depends on what the person is in to. If they’re more into pop, I give them something lighter like Rise Today, Open Your Eyes, Breathe Again. If they’re coming from a heavier background, I’ll use Island of Fools, Isolation, Ties That Bind. If they’re into more progressive and technical stuff, then their epics; Fortress, Blackbird, Achilles, Last Hero.
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Re: What songs do you use to introduce Alter Bridge to new people?

Post by MuffinMcFluffin »

Generally I introduce Blackbird, because sometimes I'm asked what my favorite ever song is. How can I not play it, then? lol

I don't think that's the right "order" to do it, but that's what it generally comes to. Sometimes I'll play Cry of Achilles simply because of the opening, which people tend to dig.

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Re: What songs do you use to introduce Alter Bridge to new people?

Post by WaywardOne »

I usually go Cry of Achilles. Most people don't want to hear a sad song like Blackbird right off the bat, so CoA feels like the next most impressive one to show.

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Re: What songs do you use to introduce Alter Bridge to new people?

Post by Mr. Slash »

WaywardOne wrote:I usually go Cry of Achilles. Most people don't want to hear a sad song like Blackbird right off the bat, so CoA feels like the next most impressive one to show.
I think Cry of Achilles is by far their best effort when it comes to writing more progressive stuff. On the other hand the main riff and the chorus provide rather hard rock/sing-along like components. So you can show this song to basically everyone who is interested in guitar music I would say.

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Re: What songs do you use to introduce Alter Bridge to new people?

Post by TheEndisHere »

Also, when you introduce Alter Bridge to people who have never heard them before, what comparisons to other popular bands would you use? I struggle with this question because there are obvious reasons to avoid the Creed history and the original post grunge sound has largely faded as the band has become more metal and progressive throughout the years. I know that certain songs have clear influences (Uninvited-tool, My Champion-AC/DC) but Alter Bridge really sounds different than most of the other bands that they are grouped together with. What bands do you hear in Alter Bridge? I mean I hear bits of Metallica, Alice in Chains, Sound Garden, Tool and AC/DC in their sound along with Myles voice that is like Cornell mixed with Axl mixed with Steve Perry.

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Re: What songs do you use to introduce Alter Bridge to new people?

Post by anguyen92 »

TheEndisHere wrote:Also, when you introduce Alter Bridge to people who have never heard them before, what comparisons to other popular bands would you use? I struggle with this question because there are obvious reasons to avoid the Creed history and the original post grunge sound has largely faded as the band has become more metal and progressive throughout the years.
That's always been one of the hardest AB-related questions to give a concrete answer to. I guess it depends on what type of music the person is into. If they lean more on the heavier side, you can say A7X, Trivium, Mastodon, Disturbed, etc. and I don't think AB would be out of place. If the listener is more into mainstream rock but not as heavy as the bands I mentioned, you can feasibly say Shinedown (their albums in the 00s, not so much their albums in the 10s), Breaking Benjamin, Halestorm, Black Stone Cherry, etc.

Otherwise, I wouldn't list the post-grunge bands that were big in the 00s, but not as big (in fact, smaller in popularity than AB nowadays) nowadays like Saliva, Puddle of Mudd, Trapt, P.O.D. The bands that you would hear on Sirus XM Turbo, but wouldn't hear on Octane nowadays.

That stated, AB has a sound very distinctive that it's really hard to categorize in a group of contemporaries and they be the odd band out if you group them with a list of bands. Either they are too "mainstream"-like to the metal crowds or they are too heavy for the "Active Rock" crowds.

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Re: What songs do you use to introduce Alter Bridge to new people?

Post by TheEndisHere »

I listen mostly to more mainstream rock and Alter Bridge has heavier and more complex guitar so as you said they seem like the odd one out. In comparison to the heavier bands you mentioned, AB has much cleaner vocals. Like I sometimes have trouble finding bands that scratch the same itch as AB of heavy yet melodic, because mainstream rock bands play it too safe (looking at you, Shinedown) while the harsh metal vocals (screaming/ growling) of bands like Trivium just feel fake and too harsh. The only band that really has the same feel is obviously Tremonti or some Metallica. Maybe part of the reason that AB is still so underrated is that they don't fit cleanly into either category.

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Re: What songs do you use to introduce Alter Bridge to new people?

Post by Mr. Slash »

TheEndisHere wrote:Also, when you introduce Alter Bridge to people who have never heard them before, what comparisons to other popular bands would you use?
I'd go with Stone Sour for some reason.

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Re: What songs do you use to introduce Alter Bridge to new people?

Post by TheEndisHere »

I just can't get into Stone Sour outside of their 3 big singles. I have tried multiple times.

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Re: What songs do you use to introduce Alter Bridge to new people?

Post by VigilantSteve »

Mr. Slash wrote:
TheEndisHere wrote:Also, when you introduce Alter Bridge to people who have never heard them before, what comparisons to other popular bands would you use?
I'd go with Stone Sour for some reason.
I don't know if you could really compare AB to any "popular" bands. Maybe if you pick out specific songs (i.e. you could make an argument that musically Isolation sounds somewhat like Disturbed), but really I can't think of another "popular" band that I could compare their catalogue to.

To answer the original question of the post, I rarely ever specifically try to get anybody to listen to a specific song from any bands that I like. At most I'll just throw one of their albums on while I'm driving with someone else in the car, or I'll have some of their music playing in the background at my house when people are coming over to hang out. If they like whatever song is playing, great, but I usually don't push things more than that unless someone specifically asks for recommendations. That's just me though.

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Re: What songs do you use to introduce Alter Bridge to new people?

Post by welshsteve »

Blackbird never fails.

The last couple of people I got into the band I got them to watch the Albert Hall vids for "The End Is Here" and "Words Darker Than Their Wings"

If the person is into softer music or pop music I'll play them "Ghost Of Days Gone By" or "Watch Over You".
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Re: What songs do you use to introduce Alter Bridge to new people?

Post by abw1987 »

I agree it depends on the person. For a casual pop listener, I'd go with GODGB or "My Champion". For a fan of straightforward modern rock, I'd choose "Isolation". For those with a more complex ear, there is no shortage of choices but CoA and "Blackbird" stand out to me.

Not quite the same, but here's a playlist I assembled for a couple friends I brought to see AB for the first time during the last tour cycle. It mostly followed the typical set list from the THL tour, but the quick descriptions allowed them to zero in on what interested them the most.

[list][*]Show Me a Leader – the current single; written during the 2016 election cycle—not taking any sides, but more of a commentary on the frustration and divisiveness of the electoral circus—and perhaps even more relevant post-inauguration
[*]Come to Life – a rousing anthem written in defiance of the band's record label woes in 2006
[*]Ghost of Days Gone By – a nostalgic summer ballad with a dark bridge giving the song its Alter Bridge flare
[*]Metalingus – an upbeat fight song, popularized by WWE wrestler Edge who used it as his entrance theme in the mid-2000s
[*]My Champion – a new uptempo ballad; rather sweet if you overlook its borderline cheesiness
[*]Isolation – the band's most successful single to date; a heavy rocker with a catchy chorus from 2010
[*]Watch Over You – a ballad about drug use; did quite well as a crossover single in 2007
[*]Crows on a Wire – one of my favorites off of the new album; equally heavy and catchy
[*]Blackbird – Alter Bridge's magnum opus; if you listen to one song, make it this one
[*]The Writing on the Wall – new song about climate change deniers (bleh)
[*]Waters Rising – Mark Tremonti sings lead vocals on this apocalyptic rocker
[*]Cry of Achilles – another epic, and easily a top 5 track for me; the perfect blend of melody and instrumental prowess
[*]Addicted to Pain – a heavy single from 2013
[*]Ties That Bind – another quick-hitter chronicling the band's label woes
[*]Island of Fools – pure heaviness with a heart-wrenching bridge
[*]Open Your Eyes – the band's first single; a live singalong favorite
[*]Rise Today – uplifting single from 2007 to leave things on a positive note[/list]
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Re: What songs do you use to introduce Alter Bridge to new people?

Post by GazEd »

Metalingus
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I saw lation
Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam, 3 November 2013
Helsingin Jäähalli, Helsinki, 14 November 2019

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Re: What songs do you use to introduce Alter Bridge to new people?

Post by fix »

Like people said; probably CoA, Blackbird or Isolation.

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Re: What songs do you use to introduce Alter Bridge to new people?

Post by Jaded Rescue »

Down To My Last has never failed.

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Re: What songs do you use to introduce Alter Bridge to new people?

Post by LosingPatience »

Find The Real .........first song i heard and was already into them. Big guitars, soaring vocals, guitar solos and that killer end vocals from Myles. That or Brand New Start melodic intro big choruses another amazing guitar solo

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Re: What songs do you use to introduce Alter Bridge to new people?

Post by jailman »

definitely something off the first album, like Open your Eyes and In Loving Memory Of. Also Watch Over You. These are the more safe, commercially appealing to the masses.

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Re: What songs do you use to introduce Alter Bridge to new people?

Post by erau »

TheEndisHere wrote:We all know by now that Alter Bridge is criminally unknown to many people, including fans of rock music, especially in the US, despite being one of, if not the best rock band (IMHO) of the last 15 years. I try to introduce other people to Alter Bridge all the time. In the last two years, I have introduced them to some of my high school students and fellow teachers. Who else tries to get people into Alter Bridge? What songs do you use?

Depending on who it is (male, female, wrestling fan, etc), I have used the following songs: Cry of Achilles, Fortress, Blackbird, and Metallingus. If people like those, I move to other songs.
Find The Real.

If the first song off the first album doesn't do it for them the same way it did it for me when I was first introduced to the band, there's not going to be much of a journey in wanting to discover more.

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Re: What songs do you use to introduce Alter Bridge to new people?

Post by jailman »

erau wrote:
TheEndisHere wrote:We all know by now that Alter Bridge is criminally unknown to many people, including fans of rock music, especially in the US, despite being one of, if not the best rock band (IMHO) of the last 15 years. I try to introduce other people to Alter Bridge all the time. In the last two years, I have introduced them to some of my high school students and fellow teachers. Who else tries to get people into Alter Bridge? What songs do you use?

Depending on who it is (male, female, wrestling fan, etc), I have used the following songs: Cry of Achilles, Fortress, Blackbird, and Metallingus. If people like those, I move to other songs.
Find The Real.

If the first song off the first album doesn't do it for them the same way it did it for me when I was first introduced to the band, there's not going to be much of a journey in wanting to discover more.
It did it for me too (along with Open your Eyes). But I don't know, doesnt seem to be the most appealing to most people. But maybe youre right.

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