Alter Bridge are a band that you can be sure will put on a good show. After releasing latest album The Last Hero in October, anticipation was high for their UK tour. We hit up the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff to see if the quartet can still live up to the hype.
First up is New Zealand via Los Angeles didgeridoo metal quartet Like A Storm. Unfortunately due to the early time of doors, the crowd is not as full as everyone would have liked but that didn’t stop the quartet putting on a great show! They really kick things off with a bang as they power through modern metal classics including Never Surrender, Chaos, Love the Way You Hate Me and a superb rendition of AC/DC’s TNT which gets the crowd firmly on side. There’s a buzz around the crowd from the moment they walk on stage opening with their trademark didgeridoo solo ensuring the set is a memorable first time in Wales.
Gojira are up next. If there’s one word to describe the French heavy metallers, it’s LOUD! Tracks including Toxic Garbage Island, Silvera and Backbone have the crowd in a frenzy. This is definitely a band that you’d need to see live to believe me. By far the heaviest band on the bill but absolutely incredible nonetheless.
The Devils Bleeding, Slaytan, Still Counting are just some of the tracks by Danish heavy metallers Volbeat that have the crowd screaming along. Vocally great and a very good stage presence throughout the set.
Now the time has come for Alter Bridge. The band are recording a live CD at the show tonight as some Welsh guy who appears on the stage just before they come on told us. Thankfully for the band, the crowd are very cooperative singing every word back to Myles Kennedy. The first thing that strikes me is Myles’ use of multiple mics across the stage, bringing a much better stage presence than you see from most bands who have guitarist/vocalists. The stage set is pretty basic, with a backdrop screen playing some cool graphics as well as some marginally hard-hitting videos of flood devastation, but there doesn’t need to be fancy backdrops and props when you are as talented as Alter Bridge are. Vocally, Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti (who as Myles rightly puts it “that motherfucker can sing!”) are on top form. There’s a whole host of tracks played, satisfying every fan in the room with old classics and new arena made anthems from The Last Hero including the goosebump inducing Champion and lead single Show Me A Leader. It goes quiet for another goosebump inducing moment of a Myles Kennedy acoustic in Watch Over You. Ending the encore with Rise Today, the band are humble in thanking fans for supporting not just them but rock music in general and leave everyone in the room more than satisfied with what they have just witnessed.