Blackbird | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 5, 2007 | |||
Recorded | February 2007 – May 2007 | |||
Studio | Studio Barbarosa (Bavon, VA) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 59:17 | |||
Label | Universal Republic | |||
Producer | Michael Baskette | |||
Alter Bridge chronology | ||||
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Myles Kennedy chronology | ||||
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Singles from Blackbird | ||||
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Blackbird is the second studio album by American rock band Alter Bridge,released on October 5,2007. The first single,"Rise Today",was released on July 30,2007. The album peaked at number 13 on the Billboard 200,selling 47,000 copies in its first week on the charts. [1] As of December 2008,Blackbird has sold 227,000 copies. [2] Despite receiving poor marketing and generally low mainstream success,initial critical reception towards the album was mostly positive,with music critics praising the songwriting and musicianship.[ citation needed ] The album was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry.
The band stated in early 2006 that the song writing process was two thirds complete. [3] On February 8,2007,the band announced that all of the album's songwriting was finished and that they would be entering the studio to begin the recording process for the new record. It was then announced on May 11,2007 (by guitarist Mark Tremonti on www.thealterbridgenation.com),that the recording of the album was complete,the mixing had been finished,and only a few small minor things were still to be done.
On July 23,2007,there was another official press release containing the official release date for the first single from the album,the track listing for the album,and news that tour dates would be released at a later time. Three days later,Alter Bridge uploaded two new songs to their official MySpace page for fans to listen to as a taste of the new album. The songs were "Ties That Bind" and the album's single "Rise Today".
A UK version of the album was released on October 8 with a special UK bonus track titled "We Don't Care at All",a track also found on the iTunes version of the album. There is also a version of the album sold exclusively through Best Buy that contains the two bonus tracks "The Damage Done" and "New Way to Live",and a Walmart version with a bonus DVD containing exclusive interviews and an in-depth look at the making of the album.
Also,prior to the album's official release,Universal Republic Records put up a page of e-cards on their main home page on August 24,2007,which contained the then-unreleased "Before Tomorrow Comes","Watch Over You","Buried Alive",and "Come to Life". They were then removed on Saturday,August 25,as their discovery resulted in many fans accessing them in a short period of time. Their online availability appears to have been a mistake on Universal's part,but it could also have been a unique marketing strategy.
On March 19,2009,the band released a tablature book for the album,containing the tablature sheet music for every song on the album.
While a large majority of the songs on One Day Remains were written before Myles Kennedy came on board,this time around it was a collaborative effort with Tremonti and Kennedy sharing the songwriting duties,while all four band members worked on the arrangements. All four members have songwriting credits on the album.
In "Wayward One",the melody of the verse is based on the theme of the Bourrée in E minor (Suite BWV996) of J. S. Bach.
Alter Bridge left Wind-Up Records in 2006 due to Wind-Up pressing for a Creed reunion,which,in fact,actually later happened (all of Alter Bridge's members excluding Kennedy are also members of Creed),and subsequently signed to Universal Republic Records. The band's second label change occurred in 2010;Blackbird's follow-up, AB III ,was released on Roadrunner Records worldwide,with the exception of North America where it was self-released via Capitol Records. The band dropped their contract with Universal Republic likely due to the way the label handled the release of Alter Bridge's 2009 live album/DVD Live from Amsterdam .
"Rise Today" was the first single from the album. It was officially released on July 30,2007. The music video of "Rise Today" was released on Yahoo! on October 4,2007. It was also made available for download on iTunes on July 31,2007.
The single received a release date in the UK set for October 15,on both CD and 7" Picturedisc. [4]
At their concert on October 30,2007 in Dallas,Texas,the group recorded a live music video for a future single,"Ties That Bind". It was later announced that "Ties That Bind" would be released as a single in the UK and Europe and that the video would be used to promote that single. On January 2,2008,it was announced that "Watch Over You" would be the second single from Blackbird. There is also currently a duet version of "Watch Over You" featuring Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil found on the band's MySpace. "Watch Over You" was featured in promos and during the season finale of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew . The second version of the music video aired on VH1 containing clips from the show. "Before Tomorrow Comes" was released as the fourth and final single off the album in April 2008,and the third to be released in the United States.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
411Mania | 9.0/10 [5] [ unreliable source? ] |
AllMusic | [6] |
Bullz-Eye | [7] [ unreliable source? ] |
Hard Rock Hideout | [8] |
The Metal Forge | [9] [ unreliable source? ] |
TuneLab | 9.5/10 [10] [ unreliable source? ] |
Blackbird was met with critical acclaim upon its release. It debuted at number 37 on the UK Albums Chart,and at number 2 on the UK Rock Album Chart. In the US,it debuted at number 13 on the Billboard 200 chart and number 4 on the Billboard Rock Albums chart,selling about 47,000 copies in its first week [11] and 227,000 copies by 2008. [2]
All tracks are written by Alter Bridge
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Ties That Bind" | 3:19 |
2. | "Come to Life" | 3:51 |
3. | "Brand New Start" | 4:54 |
4. | "Buried Alive" | 4:35 |
5. | "Coming Home" | 4:19 |
6. | "Before Tomorrow Comes" | 4:06 |
7. | "Rise Today" | 4:21 |
8. | "Blackbird" | 7:58 |
9. | "One by One" | 4:20 |
10. | "Watch Over You" | 4:19 |
11. | "Break Me Down" | 3:56 |
12. | "White Knuckles" | 4:24 |
13. | "Wayward One" | 4:47 |
Total length: | 59:17 |
No. | Title | Length |
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14. | "We Don't Care at All" | 3:42 |
Total length: | 62:59 |
No. | Title | Length |
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14. | "The Damage Done" | 3:45 |
15. | "New Way to Live" | 5:40 |
Total length: | 68:42 |
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Chart (2007) | Peak position |
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Austrian Albums Chart [13] | 64 |
Dutch Albums Chart [14] | 55 |
German Albums Chart [15] | 55 |
Scottish Album Chart [16] | 38 |
Swiss Albums Chart [17] | 83 |
Swedish Albums Chart [18] | 56 |
US Billboard 200 [19] | 13 |
US Top Rock Albums [20] | 4 |
UK Album Chart [21] | 37 |
UK Rock Album Chart [22] | 2 |
Year | Title | US Main | US Alt [23] | UK Rock | ||
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2007 | "Rise Today" | 3 | 32 | 3 | ||
2008 | "Ties That Bind" [a] | — | — | 3 | ||
"Watch Over You" | 19 | — | — | |||
"Before Tomorrow Comes" | 29 | — | — | |||
"—" denotes the single failed to chart, was not released, or was not certified. | ||||||
^ a "Ties That Bind" was only released as a single in the United Kingdom.
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United Kingdom (BPI) [24] | Gold | 100,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Release date | Label |
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Ireland | October 5, 2007 | Universal Republic |
United Kingdom | October 8, 2007 | |
United States | October 9, 2007 | |
Australia | October 20, 2007 | |
Japan | December 4, 2007 |
Come To Life, Ties That Bind, and Buried Alive were played at a live event in 2006 along with an early version of the Blackbird cover.
Myles Richard Bass, known professionally as Myles Kennedy, is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Alter Bridge and of Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators alongside guitarist Slash. A former guitar instructor from Spokane, Washington, Kennedy has worked as a session musician and songwriter, making both studio and live appearances with several artists, and has been involved with several projects throughout his career.
Alter Bridge is an American rock band from Orlando, Florida. The band was formed in 2004 by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Myles Kennedy, lead guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips. After their former band Creed became inactive in 2003, Tremonti and Phillips formed a new band with former bandmate Marshall and new member Kennedy; Alter Bridge was formally unveiled in January 2004, months before Creed's official breakup in June.
Mark Thomas Tremonti is an American guitarist and singer, best known for his tenures with the rock bands Creed and Alter Bridge. He is a founding member of both bands, and has also collaborated with many other artists over the years. He formed his own band Tremonti in 2011 and has released five albums with them, including A Dying Machine, which was adapted by Tremonti and science fiction novelist John Shirley.
One Day Remains is the debut studio album by American rock band Alter Bridge, released on August 10, 2004, on Wind-up Records. The album was produced by Ben Grosse, making it the band's only album to not be produced by Michael "Elvis" Baskette as of 2020; additionally, it is the only release by the band on which lead singer Myles Kennedy does not play guitar. It has been certified Gold in the United States as of November 2004, with worldwide sales reaching 750,000. It is said the album received its name from the band members' attitudes that life should be lived as if only one day remains. Guitarist Mark Tremonti also said in an interview that the title is a reference to the title cards that appeared in the 2001 movie Donnie Darko, and it is one of the names the band considered using before settling with Alter Bridge.
"Bullets" is the second single from Creed's third album, Weathered. The song serves as the opening track to the album and is considered to be one of the band's heaviest songs.
"What's This Life For" is a song by American rock band Creed. It is the third single and ninth track off their 1997 debut album, My Own Prison. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in the U.S., becoming their first number one hit on this chart. It remained on top for six weeks.
"Open Your Eyes" is a song by American rock band Alter Bridge. The song, which is one of the band's biggest hits, was released as the first single off their 2004 debut album One Day Remains. It peaked at No. 2 on the US Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 2004, the band's highest-charting single on that chart until "Isolation" reached No. 1 in 2011. The song "Save Me", which appears on the soundtrack for Elektra, is also on the "Open Your Eyes" single as a b-side. Like many songs on the album, "Open Your Eyes" is about regrets and is one of the six songs on the record co-written by singer Myles Kennedy. The chorus seems to be encouraging peace. Lead guitarist Mark Tremonti originally wanted "Down to My Last" to be the first single, but the record company rejected it, saying it sounded too much like Creed, the then-former band of Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall, and drummer Scott Phillips. "Open Your Eyes" was chosen instead.
"Rise Today" is a song by American rock band Alter Bridge. Written by lead guitarist Mark Tremonti and lead vocalist Myles Kennedy, it was produced by Michael "Elvis" Baskette and appeared on the band's 2007 second studio album Blackbird. The track was released as the lead single from the album on July 31, 2007, peaking at number 3 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.
"Watch Over You" is a song by American rock band Alter Bridge. Written by lead guitarist Mark Tremonti and lead vocalist Myles Kennedy, it was produced by Michael "Elvis" Baskette and featured on the band's 2007 second studio album Blackbird. The track was released as the second single from the album on January 14, 2008, peaking at number 19 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart. An alternate version of the track featuring additional vocals by Lacuna Coil singer Cristina Scabbia was also later made available as a digital download.
The discography of Alter Bridge, an American rock band, includes seven studio albums, four live albums, one box set, one extended play (EP), 26 singles, two video albums and 14 music videos. Formed in Orlando, Florida, in 2004, Alter Bridge consists of Myles Kennedy and former Creed members Mark Tremonti, Brian Marshall and Scott Phillips. The band released its debut album One Day Remains in 2004, which reached number 5 on the US Billboard 200 and was certified gold by the RIAA. Two of the three singles from the album – "Open Your Eyes" and "Find the Real" – reached the top ten of the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.
AB III is the third studio album by American rock band Alter Bridge, released on October 8, 2010. Produced by Michael Baskette, the album is a departure from the band's first two albums; lyrically, it is a loose concept album dealing with darker lyrical themes of struggling with faith, while musically, the album's sound is more dynamic and progressive than previous recordings. AB III is also the first Alter Bridge album to be released on Roadrunner Records, making it the band's third consecutive album to be released on a different label. The album was released on Roadrunner Records worldwide except North America, where it was self-released on Alter Bridge Recordings via Capitol Records.
"Isolation" is a song by American rock band Alter Bridge, released as the first single from its third album, AB III. The song was made available as a digital download on September 26, 2010, in the United Kingdom by Roadrunner Records and October 25, 2010, in the United States by the band's own vanity label. Musically, "Isolation" is heavy and aggressive, featuring the band's style while retaining a melodic chorus and incorporating elements of alternative metal and modern heavy metal. The lyrics explore metaphorically isolating oneself from faith and belief, a common theme throughout the record. A music video for the song was released on December 6, 2010. The song was included in the racing video game Dirt 3 in 2011.
"Blackbird" is a song by American rock band Alter Bridge from their album of the same name, which was released on October 8, 2007, by Universal Republic. At nearly eight minutes long, it was the band's longest song until overtaken by "Fable of the Silent Son" 15 years later. It has received critical acclaim since its release, often cited as the crowning point of both the album and the band's career by critics, fans, and the band members themselves. In March 2011, Guitarist magazine listed the song's guitar solo, which is performed by both Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti, as the greatest guitar solo of all time.
"Ghost of Days Gone By" is a song by American rock band Alter Bridge, released in the United States as the third single from their third album, AB III, on April 18, 2011. In the United States, the song was self-released via EMI, like the album. Musically, the song features a somewhat lighter tone than other songs on the album except for the much heavier and darker bridge. The song's lyrics are about mortality, reminiscing past memories, and "coming to terms with the fact that time will go on."
Tremonti is an American heavy metal band founded and fronted by lead vocalist and guitarist Mark Tremonti, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock bands Creed and Alter Bridge. The band also consists of rhythm guitarist Eric Friedman, bassist Tanner Keegan and drummer Ryan Bennett. Bassist Wolfgang Van Halen and drummer Garrett Whitlock are former members of the band. Mark Tremonti's Creed and Alter Bridge bandmate Brian Marshall was also a touring member in 2012.
Fortress is the fourth studio album by American rock band Alter Bridge, released by Roadrunner Records on September 25, 2013. Michael Baskette, who produced Alter Bridge's previous two albums, Blackbird (2007) and AB III (2010), returned as the producer. It was released by Roadrunner Records worldwide except in the United States, where it was self-released on October 8, 2013, through Warner Music, Roadrunner Records passed to be an subsidiary of Warner Music, after EMI disappear a year before. It is their only album since their debut album One Day Remains not to be released in October. The lead single, "Addicted to Pain", was released on August 12, 2013. The album was widely acclaimed, with several critics calling it the band's best album to date and giving praise to each of the band members' musical skills displayed on the record.
"Addicted to Pain" is a song by American rock band Alter Bridge. Written by lead vocalist Myles Kennedy and lead guitarist Mark Tremonti, it was released as the lead single from the band's fourth studio album Fortress on August 12, 2013 in Europe and on August 20, 2013 in the US. The song peaked at number 4 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and reaching the top 20 of several other Billboard charts.
The Last Hero is the fifth studio album by American rock band Alter Bridge, released on October 7, 2016, by Napalm Records worldwide except in North America, where it was released on the band's own vanity label. It was produced by longtime collaborator Michael "Elvis" Baskette. The album's first single, "Show Me a Leader", was released digitally and to rock radio on July 26, 2016. On September 8, 2016, "My Champion" was released as the album's second single. The album's third single, "Poison In Your Veins", was released on June 12, 2017.
"Show Me a Leader" is a song by American rock band Alter Bridge, released as the lead single from the band's fifth album, The Last Hero. It was made available as a digital download on July 26, 2016, by Napalm Records, the band's first release on the label, except in the United States, where it was released by Alter Bridge Recordings via Caroline Records. The song's music video was released online on August 31, 2016.
Walk the Sky is the sixth studio album by American rock band Alter Bridge, released on October 18, 2019 via Napalm Records. It was produced by the band's longtime collaborator Michael Baskette, who has produced all of the band's albums since 2007's Blackbird. The album's first single, "Wouldn't You Rather", was released on June 28, 2019. A second single, "Pay No Mind", was released on July 25, 2019, with four further singles, "Take the Crown", "In the Deep", "Dying Light", and "Godspeed" later released. The album's cover art was designed by Dan Tremonti, brother of guitarist Mark Tremonti; its packaging was designed by Sturge Media and Janus Music Mgmt. Along with the announcement of the album's release, it was also revealed that the band would embark on a European tour with Shinedown, Sevendust and the Raven Age towards the end of 2019.