Walk The Sky

Product Information

It does stand out for an obvious reason, the message is powerful and the guitars, together with Myles’ voice are just something to absolutely cherish. This ultimately led me to the simple conclusion that 'WTS' fails to demonstrate the significant potential that AB possesses as a band, while also never really offering any of the members an opportunity to truly stand out and shine, with the possible exception of Myles. Somebody might hear the record and have no idea that was intended, but for a batch of songs, I tapped into some old loops that I either created or found randomly online, and worked with them in the background to inspire me to go in a different direction. It has this kind of liberating vibe, zen moments even, yet with few songs that are darker than the rest. I know and witnessed what this guy can do with his voice, the high note in Words Darker Than Their Wings is legendary.

Considering that these men all have to eat at the end of the day in a market which is becoming increasingly saturated, this move is somewhat justified. The album even starts with just one-and-a-half-minute long song One Life, going easy on vocals of Myles Kennedy, having this exact calming vibe that I rather enjoy at the beginning. With obviously getting out of the safe waters onto a bit more unknown roads, the band matured and it’s safe to say that their latest work, Walk the Sky, will crawl under your skin with every tone. The instrumentals are perfectly solid, but lack the complexity, layering and frequent changes in pace found in AB’s earlier records, leaving an ever-so-slightly underwhelming impression.

For now, 'Walk the Sky' will find a comfortable home in my playlists next to the bands’ previous works, but I doubt any of these tracks will be remembered as their best, which is the records biggest sin.

Alter Bridge guitar hero Mark Tremonti reflects on some of the most important songs of his life (spoiler: he really, really likes Metallica). When they go into the chorus, singer Myles Kennedy harmonizes brilliantly over Tremonti’s guitar riff that would surely make Neal Schon smile. The Bitter End is again an example of a song with a calming vibe, while Pay No Mind is based on interesting riff with visible synth elements and great rhythm section. 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. However, in the same breath the offering is disappointing when considering the sheer talent of the musicians involved was not fully utilized.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.

This album was recorded differently from the band's previous record due to scheduling constraints, with vocalist Myles Kennedy and guitarist Mark Tremonti sharing their own song ideas, which were then moulded into shape alongside bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips. The falsetto at the beginning of the song is the one that gives me goosebumps and the chorus that Myles is taking over is absolutely catchy.

There are parts of Walk The Sky, the quartet’s sixth album, when the music contained within this 14-song, 60-minute set hits the kind of altitude one would sometimes hear in the golden age of heavy rock from the 1980s. The seven-track EP consists of a brand new song, "Last Rites", plus six live favourites from Walk the Sky. And then Forever Falling came and I could not believe how great this guitar mage progressed with his singing voice.

The next song on our throwback road trip, Godspeed, has that head bobbing, straight kick groove going on and I love it.Following In The Deep is again brushing along this calming vibe, even though the music itself is nothing close to slow or quiet. But in terms of producing a superior rock record that manages to combine a sense of modernity with being fully briefed on the heritage from which it is formed, Walk The Sky is hard to beat.