Alter Bridge: AB III

Hello everyone. Today, I'm reviewing Alter Bridge's newest album, AB III. It was released October 8th, 2010. I'm not a die-hard Alter Bridge fan but I did listen to the occasional song before I took a listen to this album. The major difference I saw between the tracks on this album compared to their older songs were the musical styles. Of course, there are still songs that sound like the Alter Bridge fans are used to, such as Breath Again and Show Me a Sign but there were some heavier and lighter songs I wasn't expecting from the band. I really enjoyed the heavier ones like Isolation, I Know It Hurts and Still Remains. The lightest of the songs (light for Alter Bridge at least) I did not enjoy as much, Life Must Go On and Wonderful Life; I felt that they didn't really fit with rest of the album. Overall, the musical quality throughout the album was fairly pleasing to the ear, better than in the past in my opinion. One other thing I like is the amount of songs on the album, 16 in all. I look forward to future releases by the band. I give AB III a 8 out of 10.

Alter Bridge - AB III

Slip to the Void ****

Isolation *****

Ghost Of Days Gone By ****

All Hope Is Gone ***

Still Remains ****

Make It Right ***

Wonderful Life **

I Know It Hurts *****

Show Me A Sign **

Fallout ***

Breath Again *****

Coeur D'Alene *****

Life Must Go On **

Words Darker Than Their Wings *****

Zero ***

Home ***

Collective Soul: The Rabbit

So, it been a couple weeks since my last post and I've been listening to Collective Soul's newest album, Collective Soul (or Rabbit as the band nicknamed it) a lot. Overall, I'm very impressed. The musicianship, I thought, was much enhanced compared to the band's older stuff. The guitar skills stood out for me. The drums were done by the bands new drummer, Cheney Brannon, and I really enjoy the interesting beats. Ed Roland's vocals were great as usual and he even played some keys, which were fairly decent. As for the songs, the bulk of them are excellent, save two. The tracks Fuzzy and Lighten Up were kind of disappointing, but more so Fuzzy. I just do not understand why they felt the need to include that song on the album. But, of course, the good outweighs the bad. The top three songs in my opinion are Staring Down, You and Welcome All Again. Staring Down is an upbeat song and includes Ed Roland on the keyboard, which was excellent. This was the first single they released from the album. You is a slower song and speaks to the heart. Welcome All Again is a rocking song and it's easy to get into. My overall rating for the album is a 8.5 out of 10 (Fuzzy brought it down). This will be one of my favourite albums for quite a while.

Collective Soul - Collective Soul (Rabbit)

1. Welcome All Again *****

2. Fuzzy *

3. Dig ****

4. You *****

5. My Days ****

6. Understanding *****

7. Staring Down *****

8. She Does *****

9. Lighten Up **

10. Love ****

11. Hymn For My Father ***

Smoke & Mirrors

So, I finally got to listen to Lifehouse's newest album, Smoke & Mirrors. In fact, I'm listening to the title track right now. I've listened to most of the tracks and I have to say, I'm really enjoying it. Lifehouse put a diversity of genres in this album. "Smoke & Mirrors" has a southern rock feel to it, "It is What it Is" is more pop styled than most of Lighthouse's other songs, and surprisingly I enjoy it. Also, "Nerve Damage" is a mix of hard rock and blues, sounds weird but it works really well. The other songs are more like the Lifehouse most people know. My favourite songs so far are "All In", "Nerve Damage" and "Had Enough." Overall, I'm impressed with the album. This greatly increases my respect for Lifehouse. I recommend you take a listen.

Smoke & Mirrors

Lifehouse

1. All In

2. Nerve Damage

3. Had Enough

4. Halfway Gone

5. It Is What It Is

6. From Where You Are

7. Smoke & Mirrors

8. Falling In

9. Wrecking Ball

10. Here Tomorrow Gone Today

11. By Your Side
12. In Your Skin

Enjoy!