Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

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Crumbso
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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by Crumbso »

SHEAKENBAKEN wrote:
Blackbird wrote:Out of pure curiosity, could you guys explain to me what you like about Native Son? It's the incarnation of an ultra-generic hard rock song to me, similar to the likes of Losing Patience, Cry A River or Farther Than The Sun. Unmelodic and boring, AB are capable of so much more. Why does it seem to be in everyone's top 5?
Speaking for myself, the reason I rate Native Son so high on this record is because its insanely catchy and melodic to my ears :shrug Every time I listen to it I find myself singing a long to it. The main riff is also major ear candy to me. One of my favorite riffs on the record and instrumentally its one of my favorite songs on the record. Very fun track to rock out to :headbang :mkrules :rockon
Yeah. It's vintage, straight ahead AB style. No twist or turn, just a kick arse riff and a super melodic chorus. I believe this could have been on Blackbird.
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Blackbird
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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by Blackbird »

Thanks, everyone! Seems like we love AB for different reasons then, at least partially. :)

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Cariocawlad
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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by Cariocawlad »

Music is art. And nowadays there are just a few bands that make music as art. Most of them see as business only. With this said and done, I'm glad to see AB still do it as art.
The many different opinions about this album only reflects it. And that's the thing with art: the artist produce what his heart and mind gives. The artist don't mind to the fan's opinions.
I saw this kind of reactions when Linkin Park released One More Light. Some fans loved, some hated. But the band just produce the music that they believed in. And that's it.
I read some opinions here and some fans seems to believe that there must be an AB formula to make music. If something goes out of the formula, everything is ruined. Don't have to be this way.
Hail AB for walking the sky. I'm really enjoying every song in this album. Reminds me when I heard ABIII the first time (one of my fave AB album). I hope that this continues to dare and defy my taste for a long time more.
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UninvitedZero
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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by UninvitedZero »

Native Son is alright... The riffing is nasty, the lyrics are good. The verse melody reminds me of self-titled era Alice In Chains. The pre-chorus grooves. It's the "Ohhh oh ohh oh" thing in the chorus that spoils it for me. Kinda like Tremonti's From The Sky, seems like they couldn't think of any better lyrics to write. Or purposely tried making it to sound more anthemic and uplifting when (imo) it should have stayed darker and heavier.
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Timotheus
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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by Timotheus »

The pre chorus of Native Sons redeems the entire song. I love the synths behind the guitars.
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anguyen92 wrote:
Oh well. Deal with it.

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Micky
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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by Micky »

I've listened to album fully about 3 times now. I'll give an in depth review at another time, but here's some quick thoughts:

One Life sounded better when I heard the intro live at the show in NY, but it's still a piece of music that I think is really beautiful and is a great tone setter for the record.

Wouldn't You Rather is a really catchy tune, and I love the guitar throughout.

In the Deep is a song that I could give or take, I've felt that way since it was released, but it has grown on me over time. Album worthy, but one of those songs that is borderline album worthy.

Godspeed- Man, this song really hit home for me. My grandmother passed earlier this month, and I love the fact that this is in AB song that is about death, but it isn't a sad song. It's, to me anyway, a celebration of the person's life and the impact they've left behind. It's been a true highlight for me since hearing it.

Native Son- What a badass tune. The guitar, Myles lyrics, everything about this song is a headbanger and super catchy.

Take The Crown- Aside from the end where Myles sings "But we're so sorry", this song is still growing on me. Definitely not my favorite song on the record, and more of a B-Side for me.

Indoctrination- I love this song. It's so catchy, it's dark, and it feels different than most AB material to me. Even my girlfriend (who isn't a big Alter Bridge fan) liked this one.

The Bitter End- This song was one of the big standouts for me on the first listen-through. I loved it from the get go. I think Flip shines on the intro to the song and I love the riff. I expected the song to be a lot more depressing than it actually is. I love the idea of AB writing a song about living in the moment. It's awesome.

Pay No Mind- This was my favorite of the singles released (Aside from Dying Light, which I only listened to about 3 times before the album release). I think it's really catchy and one hell of a rock tune.

Forever Falling- This is without a doubt my favorite song on the record. Mark owns this song and the way he and Myles trade vocals here is so cool. The guitar is badass and I can't help but headbang to it.

Clear Horizon- Another great song. Is the perfect mix of old school AB with modern AB.

Walking On The Sky- "Do you feel a...ALIVE?" I LOVE this song. It feels like everything that I wanted in a new AB song.

Tear Us Apart-This is the only song on the album I could care less about. I love the message it sends, but I find it quite cheesy and think it's the only song where I go "Eh, could've been a B-Side".

Dying Light- This is one of my favorite AB songs of all time. Top 10 for sure. It feels like it's right off of fortress or ABIII. I love this song.

Gonna give the album an 8/10. Was surprised at how much I liked it. Can't wait to see what's next for these guys.
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Thanks Andy!

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AHart96
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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by AHart96 »

Timotheus wrote:Farther Than The Sun > Native Son >> Losing Patience
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Rock Never Dies

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Micky
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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by Micky »

VigilantSteve wrote:
anguyen92 wrote:
Mullet151 wrote:
riemslag1 wrote:I feel quite the opposite of that.
TLH is still by far their weakest album and does not come near the quality of ABIII or any of their first 4 albums.
Since the band play almost no TLH-tracks during their recent gigs, I think they feel the same themselves about TLH.
That does not really mean anything though. On the Fortress tour they were only playing isolation and ghost. The previous album often times gets the short end of the stick due to various reasons like they just played the heck out of them. There are numerous TLH songs that will continue to resurface live.
I'm not certain if that would actually be the case for The Last Hero. On The Last Hero tour, they were playing four songs off Fortress on the regular with the rarity of them playing the title track or Lover (mainly around the time they are ready to play the Royal Albert Hall shows). I still would want to see Crows on a Wire and Island of Fools live though.
I'm still perplexed that Island of Fools isn't a regular in their live set. Have they ever even played it at all?
I saw them play Island of Fools on the TLH tour, Myles was like "this song was a deep deep cut. Never thought anyone was gonna get behind it, but it's a lot of people's favorites on TLH."
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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by Box Of Frogz »

I don’t know why people are bemoaning the lack of an epic - the entirety of the album IS the epic. What a cathartic experience this album is. Utterly uplifting and consistent in its message of embracing life and the moment. It’s what Alter Bridge has always been about captured in a nutshell and I adore it for being so.
I can’t think of another band with such a strong collection of albums. This one is the only one with zero filler though.

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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by Timotheus »

Micky wrote:.Godspeed- It's, to me anyway, a celebration of the person's life and the impact they've left behind. It's been a true highlight for me since hearing it.
Beautifully said. I 100% agree.

It's the song I desire to hear the most, when I'm not listening the the album.
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anguyen92 wrote:
Oh well. Deal with it.

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Blackbird
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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by Blackbird »

Box Of Frogz wrote:I don’t know why people are bemoaning the lack of an epic - the entirety of the album IS the epic. What a cathartic experience this album is. Utterly uplifting and consistent in its message of embracing life and the moment. It’s what Alter Bridge has always been about captured in a nutshell and I adore it for being so.
I can’t think of another band with such a strong collection of albums. This one is the only one with zero filler though.
I wouldn't necessarily describe the album as a whole as "epic"; but even then, Dying Light is exactly what defines an Alter Bridge epic.

jcrowe
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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by jcrowe »

Many listens in now. I agree with assessments that say this is the most complete front to back effort. Not a Blackbird but certainly a top notch album. I miss the lengthy epic but dying light scratches the itch enough. I'm digging Native Son, Forever Falling and Walking on the Sky. I always get a kick out of seeing how some songs i.e. Native Son can be Loved by some and Hated by others. Tells me this band has a nicely diversified fan base. Time for the next three year wait!

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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by Exceed »

The Forever Falling chorus is so powerfully beautiful. First time I heard Myles sing "Oh carry this light away", my eyes welled-up a bit.

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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by DCooper727 »

jcrowe wrote:Many listens in now. I agree with assessments that say this is the most complete front to back effort.
This one and Fortress are the most complete to me. I only skip two songs from each of them (Peace is Broken, Cry a River, Wouldn't You Rather and In the Deep) whereas I skip a few on the other albums.

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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by austinjhnsn »

Agree that Losing Patience isn't that great at all.

This album rules and TLH drools.

all seriousness i will post a review soon, it has been great reading everyones thoughts! I love that we all seem to have different favorites and someones biggest dislike might be someone elses favorite.
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Andy92
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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by Andy92 »

To me this album definitely has some of the least filler songs compared to their others. Blackbird has a few I tend to skip like One By One and Break Me Down. AB III starts strong and ends strong with Words, but I do feel it loses some momentum in the last 1/3 of it. On Fortress I tend to skip Farther Than The Sun and Cry A River a lot (not a huge fan of All Ends Well either).

If this album had one, maybe two songs in the vein of Blackbird/Achilles/Calm The Fire/Fotress, I might honestly consider it their best album ever. But right now I’d call it a super consistent album that doesn’t top out quite as high as some of their previous ones.
anguyen92 wrote:Oh well. Deal with it.

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scarecrow
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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by scarecrow »

On my second listen... already having different reactions. Godspeed is a little corny but Native Son is cool!! I'm glad they've figured out how to keep the choruses as heavy as the verses.

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Crumbso
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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by Crumbso »

After 3 or 4 listens now I can quite happily give this album an 8/10

General thoughts:
Some delightful experimentation that still retains that AB magic. Song structure is exclusively conventional but it doesn't hurt the album because of the sheer variety of tone and mood on offer.

The only song that suffers from being too short is Forever Falling. That last riff sounds like the beginning of an entirely new section of a progressive instrumental section. I'd have happily heard that go somewhere for another 3 or 4 minutes.

Everything else, thumbs up man. Go AB. Production is crap but not as tiring as TLH. The material and performance is beautiful and more than wins me over.

Songs I might cut or skip:
Take The Crown
In The Deep (maybe)
Pay No Mind
Clear Horizon
Tear Us Apart

Ranking vs other albums:
1. Fortress
2. ODR
3. Blackbird / Walk the Sky
4. ABIII
5. TLH
Last edited by Crumbso on Sat Oct 19, 2019 2:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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scarecrow
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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by scarecrow »

Why are Mark's vocals so low in the mix on Forever Falling?????

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Re: Walk The Sky Reaction Thread

Post by dpsmith33 »

Y’all may think I am crazy but I am having a hard time distinguishing Myles from Mark on Forever Falling. Does Mark sing the verses and Myles the chorus? I have never had this problem before. Maybe it’s something about the mix of the song.

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