As time rolls on and the mainstream rock press look to championing a new band as the forthcoming headliner for the upcoming generations, Alter Bridge have already started receiving much positive coverage - and for very good reason. Fronted by one Myles Kennedy - a man who after schooling himself as a jazz teacher would go on rehearse with Led Zeppelin's reunion tour and front Slash's current outfit - they've gone from strength to strength with every album, so far managing to maintain rocket-powered uphill momentum with each release. That's not to mention the band themselves are built from the ashes of Creed, as whilst Scott Stapp has gone on to have a fairly middling solo career, guitarist Mark Tremonti - who himself is an absolute powerhouse of riffs, solos and musicianship - drummer Scott 'Flip' Phillips and bassist Brian Marshall joined up with Kennedy back in 2004, the resulting debut album ushering in the next stage of their collective careers. But where do you begin when scratching at the surface of what's now become four incredibly well-produced, multi-layered hard rock albums? Maybe you noticed the guys embarked on their first arena tour last year and wondered just how that came to be, or perhaps you attended this year's Download festival and saw their phenomenal set just underneath Aerosmith; one step from the top-spot? Well we've got you covered, each track here is something that's either a landmark achievement for the band themselves, something you should learn the words to for the upcoming tour next month, or both.
10. Isolation
For fans of: Whoppin' great big riffs. Let's kick off with something that'll rattle a few teeth. Isolation was the lead single from the severely underrated third album, a body of work that conceptually told the tale of a lost soul searching for something to cling onto in a sea of negative thoughts and self-doubt. It's easily the band's darkest work, but with each song feeding into the next you'll get more out of it the more you listen to each track in sequence. The song itself actually sat atop various rock charts a few months after its release when word got out about that quintessential combination of uber-sick riff and a stadium-sized chorus. Sitting two songs into the album it tells the story of our protagonist as he battles his inner demons, although it has to be said these lyrics make for some great sing-a-long moments too. With a brilliantly tight solo from Myles instead of Tremonti that's caked in bluesy-swagger, it starts with a really cool inverted lick that seems to fold in on itself only to fire back up and down the strings and end on some vibrato-laced bends. In short this was one of many songs that put the band on the map with a gigantic AB-embroidered flag, and they've remained there ever since.