Alter Bridge
aligns the original
Creed
lineup of guitarist
Mark Tremonti
, drummer
Scott Phillips
, and bassist
Brian Marshall
with vocalist
Myles Kennedy
, formerly of late- '90s modern
rock
hopefuls
Mayfield Four
. The resulting
One Day Remains
retains some
-isms, like
Tremonti
's foot-on-monitor-wedge showboating, or the thickheaded riffs that unfold smoothly into elegiac, radio-ready choruses (
diehards are going to love
"Open Your Eyes"
). But
Kennedy
isn't nearly as melodramatic as
Scott Stapp
was, and his reaching back to wail like vintage
Chris Cornell
fits nicely with
's more aggressive moments. Witness the chunky PRS shredding of
"Metalingus,"
the
Metallica
influence in
"Watch Your Words,"
or the slaves and bulldozers of pounding opener
"Find the Real."
Principal writers
and
don't shy away from spiritual generalizations -- believing in the promise of a new day, for example, in
"Burn It Down."
There's also the dualistic quality of the band's name and album artwork, as well as a fold-out poster emblazoned with the title track's lyrics. "When every wound has been opened/And in this world of give and take you must have faith." This stuff muddies the line between old group and new; together with flourish-laden
post-grunge
pacesetters like
"Broken Wings,"
"In Loving Memory,"
"Shed My Skin,"
it suggests
is happier courting
's constituency than establishing the promise of its more
metal
side. ~ Johnny Loftus