By every right, Alter Bridge should’ve been viewed as a major contender in the realm of big-swinging post-grunge from the second they kicked off in earnest toward the middle of the 2000s.
There was just one minor thing holding them back in a lot of people’s eyes – save for vocalist Myles Kennedy, every member of the band was previously a member of much-maligned Christian rock outfit Creed.
It may have taken awhile for the band to ascend to a higher level of popularity, but these days Alter Bridge are generally accepted with arms wide open. “We heard all the jokes when our first record came out,” says guitarist Mark Tremonti; who is also an accomplished solo guitarist away from his work in both Creed and Alter Bridge.
“We were being compared to Creed in every review we got of that first record [One Day Remains, 2004]. They were calling us Creed Part Two. Everyone that was bagging on Creed all the time that we were a band wouldn’t give us the time of day. It wasn’t until we put out the next album [Blackbird, 2007] that people really started to give us a chance.
“By the time that [third album, 2010] AB III came out, the critical response was pretty much unanimous in its acclaim. The fans loved it, too; so we were really happy that we were at a point that we’re past the comparisons and people saying nasty things to try and diminish what we’re doing.”
For what it’s worth, Tremonti has no sour grapes over his early days of performing guitar solos on the tops of mountains and making multi-platinum albums. “Creed was a much simpler band,” he says. “It was much more straightforward. We had so much success that we immediately became an easy target.
“I’ve seen it happen to huge pop stars and the biggest rock bands around – once you get any kind of popularity like that, your success comes into question and into scrutiny. I’m glad that people have come to treat Alter Bridge as a separate entity – it’s a very different beast.
“Scott [Stapp, Creed vocalist] and I still keep in touch,” he says. “We’ll drop each other a line for birthdays and holidays, to check in. He’s doing really well these days – he seems to be really loving what he’s doing as part of Art of Anarchy. I couldn’t be happier for him.”
Meanwhile, Alter Bridge have been going from strength to strength; most recently releasing their fifth studio album, The Last Hero, in October of last year. A politically-charged and righteously-pissed record, Tremonti is incredibly satisfied with its reception among the band’s immediate audience.
“It’s been great,” he says. “I really feel as though Alter Bridge is headed in the right direction. The crowds keep getting bigger and bigger, the fans have really taken to this album and we’re all enjoying ourselves a lot. We’re incorporating more songs from the album into the live show, and the reaction it’s getting is really amazing.
“People really love Show Me a Leader, Crows on a Wire, Island of Fools… it seems to be the heavier songs off the record in particular that people get into. The response has really encouraged us to start playing more songs from the album live. There’s five that we still haven’t played, by the end of the year we’re aiming to have played The Last Hero in its entirety.”
Alter Bridges’s world tour in support of The Last Hero brings Tremonti and co. to Australia this April for a run of headline dates. The band are excited to share new music with their Australian fans for the very first time, noting the dedication audiences down under have shown to them over the years.
“We enjoy it so much,” Tremonti says. “With as far as it is to get there, it’s great to see how much the fanbase has kept growing. Australia is one of our favourite places to go on the planet, so we’re really happy that we get to keep coming back. I think, with these shows, we’re really going to take it to the next level.”
By David James Young
