One could say that Alter Bridge is "new" Creed, as the line-up is same with the exception of singer (Scott Stapp is replaced by Myles Kennedy). As I mentioned on my review of Creed's Greatest Hits, the journey of Creed ended in 2003... Enough about past, let's get back to Alter Bridge and their debut album "One Day Remains". Although Alter Bridge's 'One Day Remains' sounds somewhat similar to Creed's albums, there are some differences. For example, both Mark Tremonti's playing and composing skills have improved (the material is both diverse and felicitous in every way). Especially Tremonti's lead breaks are fortuitous.

The music on 'One Day Remains' is mainly a blend of melodic rock and groovy metal. The material is quite balanced as there are few ballads among the heavier songs. It's still quite similar to Creed (which isn't surprising at all, as the instrumentalists are the same). Alter Bridge vocalist Myles Kennedy has quite high, limpid voice (occasionally he even reminds me of Enchant's Ted Leonard). He is definitely the right choice for this band. The material on this album is steady quality-wise, but if I must name a listening recommendation: The last track "The End Is Here" just crowns this album... It's really great song and it provides the album with an ending it deserves. However, every song on this album deserves its place.

Ben Grosse produced, recorded and mixed this album with proficiency... The sounds are clean for the most part — background distortion was audible only few times due to bleeding from noise gate (just an assumption) and/or too high levels while recording. Tom Baker handled the mastering at Precision Mastering, Hollywood. He should have rolled off the levels just a bit lower, as there was a clip on "Broken Wings" at 4:39. Other than that, Baker handled his job well.

There's not much left to say... Alter Bridge's 'One Day Remains' is exceptionally strong debut album. To quote the third song title: "Open Your Eyes", Alter Bridge is definitely worth checking out.

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- MAGE (13.01.2005)

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LINE-UP:
Phillips, Scott: Drums Marshall, Brian: Bass Tremonti, Mark: Guitar, Vocals Kennedy, Myles: Vocals Muhoberac, Jamie & Blumpy: Keyboards & Programming
Producer:	Grosse, Ben
Mixing by:	Grosse, Ben
Mastering by:	Baker, Tom

	TRACKLIST:
	01. Find the Real 02. One Day Remains 03. Open Your Eyes 04. Burn It Down 05. Metalingus 06. Broken Wings 07. In Loving Memory 08. Down to My Last 09. Watch Your Words 10. Shed My Skin 11. The End Is Here