If you really forced me to pick my absolute, clear cut, most favorite band on the planet right now I would PROBABLY say Alter Bridge. I like them a lot.
Their last album ABIII came out in 2010. Their latest and fourth album releases October 8th. It’s called Fortress. I can’t wait.
I was reading this interview with guitarist/vocalist Mark Tremonti and he made an interesting statement.
“Fortress” is a play on words, as people thought we were going to have a big castle on the cover. The real meaning is all these things in life that you feel are eternal and are never going to go away. Everything is vulnerable, and everything ends at some point.
Alter Bridge always brings philosophy and inspiration to their music. Now I’m looking at that dilapidated shack and thinking about what things I treat as eternal even though they’re vulnerable. I’m picturing myself facing an apocalypse and barricading myself into that weak shack. I would be doomed.
Most of us probably hang onto something as if it means infinitely more than reality dictates. Maybe you have something like that. I guess nothing really lasts forever except some relationships.
UPDATE: Speaking of relationships, here’s a live performance of a meaningful song.
7 replies on “What Is Your Fortress Made Of?”
I got Alter Bridge’s 1st CD (remember those) in college and sort of forgot about them. Thank you for the reminder. I’m gonna pick up the new album on iTunes today.
In that article I linked to, Tremonti says they were really scrambling to get that first album done since Creed had just broke up and they were trying to save their careers. The second album is really good and I’m a big fan of the third. Looking forward to hearing the new stuff.
I’ve never heard of them before now, but will at least check out some samples on Amazon.
Cool. I added a live video to the post.
You made me think of people who lose “everything” to a natural disaster. But great things can come after, because that’s just stuff. The stuff gets washed away and what’s revealed underneath is strength, determination, kindness, community pride…things we forget to value because they’re burried under all our stuff.
I listened to their music on Youtube and I liked everything I heard. Especially Broken Wings!
Cool. Yeah, they can rock but also do some great slower songs too. Check out Blackbird for example. Also In Loving Memory which I’m updating the post to include.
I often speak first and think second. I don’t mean to say natural disasters are a good thing or that losing one’s home/possessions/livelihood/loved ones isn’t a terrible thing to go through. Just that people who keep their focus on the most meaningful aspects of their lives (faith, family, friendships, community…), after it seems like their lives have been swept away,often go on to build something even greater than what they had before. They seem to build their lives again from the inside out. And I think our fortress is inside us, rather than the stuff we’ve stacked around us. If that makes any sense.