Alter Bridge, Enjoy Destroy @ Astoria, Soho, London
26th January 2007
After an already amazing day of catching up with old friends and more than a couple of units already flowing through my bloodstream I roll down to the comforts of the Astoria. I was very excited about this gig pretty much because they have been booked for what now seems like 3 years! finally walking into the venue the support band were just out on stage.
Enjoy Destroy
Enjoy Destroy play a meld of pop punk all with riffs way above the punk station, which border upon classic rock land. Fast paced straight out rock and roll good times came in the way of Mactier and Screamer. Their centrepiece was a fantastic power ballad destined for the stadium and festival crowds. LBJ mixes huge power chords with a mega catchy chorus and guns and roses-esque picking. For an unknown support band they were awesome, keep a keen eye on these guys!
Myles Kennedy
Alter Bridge is the brainchild of the lead guitarist Mark Tremonti who is probably most famous for his exploits in the christian rock band Creed. Parallels to creed are floated about aplenty with the same music making unit but with Myles Kennedy taking vocal duties which rival that of ex-creed frontman Scott Stapp. But gladly that is where the parallels end with Alter being a rock force to be reckoned with on their own terms!
Alter rip through the best tracks from their first 2 albums with highlights coming thick and fast with mammoth heavy guitars and free flying vocals from Kennedy’s booming rock infested lungs. Half of the crowd were clearly there for one thing, stand and gape in awe at Tremonti wielding his guitar expertly. This was displayed by one half of the venue (we shall call this T-Side) was absolutely rammed with hardly room to breathe and the other being an enjoyably comfortable, if my cat hadn’t been confiscated by security, i would have surely been swinging it.
Tremonti & Myles Flail the Frets
To give those T-side some good press there was a damn good reason for being there with Mark on top form pulling out all the towering riffs and nailing each wailing wah solo with expert ease. Set highlights included the soaring rock anthems in the shape of Broken Wings and Rise Today blindingly performed with amazing vocals. Latest album blackbird also provided some cracking moments on tracks like Rise Today and Ties That Bind. This was mature grown-up American hard rock with a metallic edge and the appreciative crowd was here to witness a great show. Proving once and for all they have stepped out of the creed’s Shadow, long may the Alter Bridge revolution continue…
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