Alter Bridge - The Last Hero

 

"The Last Hero" is the 5th studio album by American rockers Alter Bridge and was released back in 2016.  A bit of background to this review first of all.  I only got into Alter Bridge the last couple of years and reviewed "Walk the sky" when it came out last year. This year I have gone back to the beginning and reviewed their first 4 albums in order.  All of them are absolutely fantastic and I have really enjoyed listening to them. But I tell you what. There is something about 4th album "Fortress". Usually I can stop listening to albums once I have reviewed them and move on to the next one to review. But a sign of a really, really good album is one which I go back to after reviewing and "Fortress" is one of those albums. So much so getting to listen to "The Last Hero" has taken me a while to get round to.

But in saying that one of the tracks off "The Last Hero" which was "The cradle to the grave" was actually the song that pulled me into the world of Alter Bridge a few years ago. I think "The Last Hero" is seen by many and even by the band as one of Alter Bridge's weaker album.  I have seen fans rank Alter Bridge albums and often this is low down.  And even in Alter Bridge setlists not many tracks off this album get much of an airing.  I think when I went to see them last year only "Crows on a Wire" was the only track in their setlist from this album.  But is it a weak album?  I really don't think so.  

Alter Bridge albums are the equivalent to the top 6 teams in the English Premier league.  All capable of winning but they can't all win.  The competition is really, really high.  The tracks are the equivalent to the players the teams have.  You've got "Blackbird" which is probably the Kevin de Bruyne  and so on.  "The Last Hero" is probably like Tottenham.  They may not win any title or trophies due to the competition but they are always up there and competing. Basically last hero is still a fantastic album.  

Alter Bridge I have noticed that they do like strong openers and closers to albums and this album is no different.  "Show me a leader" kicks things off and the epic title track "The last hero" closes proceedings.  "My Champion" has a really fun riff and a strong chorus which I like a lot.  They are probably the stand out tracks but tracks like "The writing on the wall", "This side of fate  and "You will be remembered" along with other tracks combine to make a rollercoaster of an album.

Overall a brilliant album with a lot of good songs on it. If I'm being honest not their best album. But if you compare this album to other artists without comparing it to their own. This is a very good album and well worth your time.  If this album was released as the first Alter Bridge album it would have been a lot more successful. But when you are coming after an album like "Fortress". You have got an uphill battle to be on the same level at it to begin with.