Alter Bridge have released many DVDs which I haven't had the pleasure of watching yet. The likes of Live at Wembley and the Amsterdam one. But this DVD has the added speciality that it is first time Alter Bridge have performed with an orchestra. Not only that but it was at the Royal Albert Hall. A venue I am gagging to go to a gig too as just looks like an awesome place. Before I got into the review of the DVD I'll give a bit of background to my journey with Alter Bridge.
I first heard of Alter Bridge last year thanks to a friend who was and still is a huge, huge fan of them. I liked "Cradle to the grave" but other than that I could not get into them at all and I went as far as saying I did not like them. I continued to follow them on twitter and facebook as I did quite like their posts and retweets. When Myles's solo stuff started being released earlier this year I sat up and took notice. This was really good! I bought the album and loved it. I then started to get into Tremonti and love most of his stuff and have been to see him live. However I still didn't really like Alter Bridge. I tried listening to a few albums and just could not get into them.
Then things started to gradually change when they released "Addicted to Pain" live version from this gig was released. I loved it. Most bands when they release a live DVD just release it and that's that. With Alter Bridge its like they are releasing singles of it to get people into it. And it really worked on me. Especially when they released "Words darker than their wings". An awesome track and that high note Myles sings is phenomemal. Then they released "The End is here". A track which sees Myles without guitar, allowing him to really connect with the crowd.
Now the edition of this I bought contained the DVD, Blue ray and 2 CDSs. I have listened to the CDs on their own and while they are excellent. They don't fully capture what went down that night at the Royal Albert Hall. I think this is a performance you really need to see whether its the blue ray or the DVD. The CDs are also all about the music with none of the talking in between songs. Also the DVD/blue ray contains interviews with the band and manger in between some of the tracks. These interviews show what great people the likes of Myles and Mark and the rest of the band are. They come across really well.
This DVD really has really opened my eyes (and ears) to more of Alter Bridge's music. And they really have produced something amazing and special here. You don't always realise the orchestra is there but there are tracks you do and they do add a great deal to those tracks. There are so many amazing moments. But I really like the streak starting with "The end is here", moving on to "Words Darker than their wings", on to "Water rising" (love Marks vocals on this), "Lover" (I think this is the track the orchestra works best with), "Wonderful life/Watch over you" (Myles accoustic). Now you may notice that a few of these tracks have Mark on vocals. To be honest while Myles does have a good voice and suits Alter Bridge's style. I do actually like Mark's vocals better which is why I am a big fan of Tremonti. But when it comes to acoustic stuff Myles is awesome.
The thing is though even though I do like Mark's vocals better. I think Myles is a better front man than Tremonti. He really connects with the crowd both in between songs and during songs. I'm not saying the rest of the band don't - they have their roles and perform them excellently. Mark's solo's on many of the songs are awesome. And it was also nice to see Myles taking a few solos to, showing just how talented a guitarist he is too.
Overall this is an excellent release. The DVD - all 2 hours 45 minutes of it. Worth every penny. With or without an orchestra I would go and see Alter Bridge live. And who knows I might even give the albums another listen now I am getting into them more.
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