Blackbird (album)

Blackbird
Studio album by Alter Bridge
Released	October 5, 2007 (See release history)
Recorded	February 2007 - May 2007
Genre	Alternative metal, hard rock, post-grunge
Length	59:17
Label	Universal Republic
Producer	Michael "Elvis" Baskette
Alter Bridge chronology
Fan EP (2005) Blackbird (2007) Live from Amsterdam (2009)
Singles from Blackbird
"Rise Today" Released: July 30, 2007 "Ties That Bind" Released: January 21, 2008 (UK) "Watch Over You" Released: January 14, 2008 "Before Tomorrow Comes" Released: April 22, 2008

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
411Mania	9.0/10[1]
Allmusic	[2]
Bullz-Eye	[3]
Hard Rock Hideout	[4]
The Metal Forge	[5]
TubeLab	9.5/10[6]

Blackbird is the second studio album by rock band Alter Bridge, released on October 9, 2007. The first single, "Rise Today", was released on July 30, 2007. The album peaked at number 13 on the Billboard 200, selling 47,000 copies in its first week on the charts.^[7] As of December 2008, Blackbird has sold 227,000 copies.^[8] Despite receiving poor marketing and generally low mainstream success, initial critical reception towards the album was mostly positive.^{[citation needed]}

Background

The band stated in early 2006 that the song writing process was two thirds complete.^[9] On February 8, 2007, the band announced that all of the album's songwriting was finished and that they would be entering the studio to begin the recording process for the new record. It was then announced on May 11, 2007 (by guitarist Mark Tremonti on www.thealterbridgenation.com), that the recording of the album was complete, the mixing has been finished, and only a few small minor things are still to be done.

On July 23, 2007, there was another official press release containing the official release date of the first single from the album, the track listing for the album and that tour dates will be released at a later date. Three days later, Alter Bridge uploaded two new songs on to their official MySpace page for fans to listen to as a taste of the new album. The songs were "Ties That Bind" and the album's single "Rise Today."

A UK version of the album was released on October 8 with two special UK bonus track titled "We Don't Care At All," a track also found on the iTunes version of the album. There is also a version of the album sold exclusively through Best Buy that contains the two bonus tracks "The Damage Done" and "New Way To Live," and a Walmart version with a bonus DVD containing exclusive interviews and an in-depth look at the making of the album.

Also, prior to the album's official release, Universal Republic Records put up a page of e-cards on their main home page on August 24, 2007, which contained the then-unreleased "Before Tomorrow Comes," "Watch Over You," "Buried Alive," and "Come to Life." They were then removed on Saturday, August 25, as their discovery resulted in many fans accessing them in a short period of time. Their accessibility online appears to have been a mistake on Universal's part, but it can also have been a unique marketing strategy.

On March 19, 2009, the band released a tabulature book for the album, containing the tabulature sheet music for every song on the album. In addition, "Come to Life" appeared on Guitar Hero: Van Halen and "Ties That Bind" would later appear on Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock .

Differences

There are many differences between Blackbird and One Day Remains, the band's 2004 debut album, with the most notable being the full integration of Myles Kennedy as a guitarist and songwriter. While a large majority of the songs on One Day Remains were written before Kennedy came on board, this time around it was a collaborative effort with Tremonti and Kennedy sharing the songwriting duties, while all four band members worked on the arrangements. All four members have songwriting credits on the album. Mark Tremonti says of Kennedy's full integration into the band:

Blackbird is also heavier than One Day Remains as well and is generally considered by fans to be Alter Bridge's heaviest album. Blackbird's title track is also widely considered to be a fan favorite.

Label changes

Alter Bridge left Wind-Up Records in 2006 due to Wind-Up pressing for a Creed reunion, which, in fact, actually later happened (all of Alter Bridge's members excluding Kennedy are also members of Creed), and subsequently signed to Universal Republic Records. The band's second label change occurred in 2010; Blackbird's follow-up, AB III, was released on Roadrunner Records worldwide, with the exception of North America where it was self-released via Capitol Records. The band dropped their contract with Universal Republic likely due to the way the label handled the release of Alter Bridge's 2009 live album/DVD Live from Amsterdam.

Singles

"Rise Today" was the first single from the album. It was officially released on July 30, 2007. The music video of "Rise Today" was released on Yahoo! on October 4, 2007. It was also made available for download on iTunes on July 31, 2007.

The single has since received a release date within the UK set for October 15, on both CD and 7" Picturedisc.^[10]

At their concert on Oct. 30, 2007 in Dallas, Texas, the group recorded a live music video for a future single, "Ties That Bind." It was later announced by Michael Tremonti that "Ties That Bind" will be released as a single in the UK and Europe and that the video will be used to promote that single. On January 2, 2008, it was announced that "Watch Over You" will be the third single from Blackbird. There is also currently a duet version of "Watch Over You" featuring Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil found on the band's MySpace. "Watch Over You" was featured in promos and during the season finale of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. The second version of the music video aired on VH1 containing clips from the show. "Before Tomorrow Comes" was released as the fourth and final single off the album in April 2008, and the third to be released in the United States.

Chart performance

Album

Blackbird debuted at #37 on the UK Album Chart, and at #2 on the UK Rock Album Chart. In the US, it debuted at number 13 on the Billboard 200 chart and #4 on the Billboard Rock Album chart, selling about 47,000 copies in its first week^[11] and 227,000 copies in total.^[8]

Singles

^ a "Ties That Bind" was only released as a single in the United Kingdom.

Track listing

^ b The title track in the track listings inside the CD itself is incorrectly written as "The Blackbird," but appears normally on the back of the CD cover.

Personnel

Alter Bridge

• Myles Kennedy — lead vocals and backing vocals, rhythm guitar, co-lead guitar on "Blackbird" and "Rise Today"
• Mark Tremonti — lead guitar and rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Brian Marshall — bass
• Scott Phillips — drums, percussion

Production

• Michael "Elvis" Baskette — producer
• Dave Holdredge — recording engineer
• Jeff Moll — digital engineer
• Brian Sperber — mixing
• Brian "Big Bass" Gardner — mastering
• Daniel Tremonti — art

Release history

References

External links

• KvltSite.com review