Fortress [International Version] in Bloomington, MN

Despite the band's membership being at their busiest, what with
Mark Tremonti
releasing a solo album,
Myles Kennedy
working with
Slash
,
Scott Phillips
breaking ground on a new supergroup, and
Creed
touring and working on new material,
Fortress
, the fourth album from
Alter Bridge
, finds the band returning to the scene with an album that feels anything but spread thin. Given the title, the album seems to bring forth the notion of the band being a kind of creative haven for its members, a hard rock sanctuary where they're able to just pick up and rock, no matter what they might be doing with themselves on the outside. Bringing back their fine mix of melody and drive,
create a style of hard rock that really soars, exploding upward thanks to the thrust provided by
Tremonti
's massive guitar work and
Kennedy
's high-flying vocals. While the album does have its quieter, more downtempo moments,
seem aware enough of them to always pull things back toward hard rock before they go full-on power ballad, giving the album a feeling of momentum that helps to keep it moving. Given how busy the bandmembers have been with other projects, it would've been easy for them to phone this one in. Instead,
is a driving album that not only doesn't feel tired or stale, but is a monster of an album that makes a pretty solid case for being some of
's strongest and most dynamic work to date. ~ Gregory Heaney