1. Alter Bridge - Blackbird
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz_j7nVCJJ0 The band of the future, the present and the past all in one, Alter Bridge are an
all-conquering package that has gotten increasingly more groundbreaking over time. Whilst I'm sure many already wrote them off ever achieving such greatness due to the fact that three quarters of the guys in the band used to be in Creed with Scott Stapp. However, after losing him to a lacklustre solo career and getting the messianic Myles Kennedy fully onboard, it's been skyrocket-style upward movement ever since. This is exemplified entirely throughout this album, but in particular the title track, a sumptuously uplifting ballad-turned-stadium-slayer that starts out with a beautiful fingerpicked intro, and segues into some weighty chords, before the twin guitar leads of Myles Kennedy's blues roots meet the speed-metal monster-riffage of Mark Tremonti. Every great solo should be able to be analysed and pulled apart to stand the test of time, and Myles' vibrato-powered held notes build gracefully into Tremonti's accompanying flurry that encompass a small legato run and some fairly aggressive bends. Being that the song is a tribute to Mark Morse, the man who sold Myles his first guitar and has since passed away, it comes at a time where Kennedy proclaims "Someday I too will fly, and find you again", tying the entire composition together perfectly, and metaphorically creating a soundscape of freedom and vigour to compliment the lyrics. The entire piece ends with one of Tremonti's fastest runs, and one that is sure to widen many an eye when the guys play under Aerosmith at Download Festival this year. So after all that, I'm sure I've missed some you'd like to throw in, so please by all means stick your favourite solos of the 00's in the comments, and lets enjoy what was a pretty amazing decade for guitar-based music!