There has arguably not been a busier time for alternative/metal gigs in our countries biggest venues. Be it Motionless in White at the start of the month, the trial by fire that was Parkway Drive last autumn, or the newly announced Shinedown in this same room come November, the AO arena in Manchester has been spoiled for choice. Tonight it was returning heroes Alter Bridge, a 20+ year heavyweight that has been selling out venues in the UK from day one, and brought monumental company with them in the shape of Sevendust and Daughtry, who have equally etched their names in hard rock lore.
Sevendust
When your opening act has a career spanning 30+ years, and 15 albums, that is a monumental statement of intent. Sevendust are beloved worldwide, but there is a particular sect in Manchester that have crowded at the very front and lose their minds in the closing notes of ‘We’ve Only Just Begun’ by Roger Nichols, and the band stride on stage and open with ‘Black’ from their self-titled record. This is the first time the Georgia metallers have been in the UK in nearly ten years, and the ear-to-ear smile of vocalist Lajon Witherspoon certainly tells a story of a good welcome back, with him insisting that all their friends in the crowd look side to side and get to know one another before starting with the meat of the set, ‘Denial’ from 1999. Real props have to be given to their latest record One though, as the track ‘Is This the Real You’ is a huge hit, especially given how the guitars of John Connolly and Clint Lowery ring out in the AO. The remainder of the set falls between their earlier albums, starting with ‘Enemy’ from Seasons, before a quick two off the Animosity. As they return to Seasons with ‘Face to Face’ to finish the set, it doesn’t feel outlandish to suggest that Sevendust are an easy heaviest band on the bill, and the draw of them in the UK is absolutely there. Give me Sevendust headline dates. Hook it to my veins.
Daughtry
There was a lot of personal investment in special guest Daughtry. I came to know of both Daughtry and Alter Bridge almost simultaneously 20 years ago. The artist has had a metamorphosis during that time, meaning that the content of latest EP(s) Shock To The System barely resembles the middle period of the band or original self-titled record. Two-part releases are not for the faint hearted, so an opening trio from the 2024 Part Two is a rocket of a way to start the set with ‘Divided’, ‘The Bottom’ and ‘The Day I Die’ all back to back. Be it the sole spotlight on frontman Chris Daughtry at the outset, or the CO2 during the latter track, combined with the raucous response from the Manchester crowd means there is a certain buzz during the set to show Daughtry is a bigger draw than given credit for. This is bolstered by a blistering cover of Journey’s ‘Separate Ways’ and the suggestivity of doing Rock and Roll royalties justice in an arena.
There is true fanfare for the self-titled material of 2006 with ‘Its Not Over’ and the acoustic rendition of allstar track ‘Home’, before remaining in the deep end with Shock To The System Part Two’s ‘Antidote’. The final sprint of Daughtyr’s time spent with Manchester is a jump rope routine of material, starting with ‘The Dam’ from the Part One EP to inject some heaviness back into the evening, before following with ‘Pieces’. The final stop off in the Platinum territory of 2006 with ‘Over You’ gets a monumental response, as well as penultimate track ‘Heavy Is The Crown’ from 2021’s Dearly Beloved. Finishing off with an encore of ‘Artificial’, one thing is clear, this was only a smidge shorter than Alter Bridge’s 16 song marathon, and not everyone gets an encore in front of 20000+ venues. Daughtry in top billing at an arena may be closer than people think.
Alter Bridge
With some light in the room during the changeover, it’s very visible how big the draw of Alter Bridge is. 20+ years will do that to a band. But sold out arenas will always be that little bit awe inspiring. The spotlights sit behind Tremonti, Marshall, Phillips and finally Kennedy as they walk out on stage, and they begin with the appropriate respect to the latest self titled record, by playing the first single from it, ‘Silent Divide’, before an iconic one-two from the Fortress record in ‘Addicted To Pain’ and ‘Cry of Achilles’ to get things off to a loud start in Manchester. The mixing of old(ish) material with the newer tracks from Alter Bridge is seamless, with the crowd getting their first taste of “Playing Aces” live. For an album that has barely been out a month, there is such a voluble response from the Northern crowd that it shows the 4 years between this and the previous release has done nothing to dampen interest. The opening third is very much a mix of two flavours, with a final dip back into Fortress for the song of the same name
‘Burn It Down’ is the first track where anyone could arguably call upon nostalgia, and even that brandished a new sort of edge to it, with Mark Tremonti taking the honours on vocals for the duration of the song, making good on his prowess built in his solo work. So instead it takes almost half a set for Alter Bridge to go truly “old school” with anything, and it was by far personal favourite track from One Day Remains, ‘Open Your Eyes’. As ever Myles Kennedy is in constant conversation with the crowd, baiting the 20k crowd to clap along to the steady tune, before they return to the latest release for “Tested and Able”, which really expressed just how Kennedy’s voice has aged like wine, the man is pitch perfect in all material and performs in a way that preserves both his voice and the performance equally without costing them anything, all the while duelling with Tremonti on guitars. The balancing of what era’s Alter Bridge were dipping into for material was almost perfect, as they allow some more time to the Blackbird record with ‘Broken Wings’, which sees Kennedy set down the guitar for a moment. While most remember the virtuoso picking of Tremonti to start the track, the bassline of Brian Marshall is amongst the smoothest to be playing in the arena this year. The peaks in chorus are truly where the room seems to come alive for the Manchester crowd… at least during this part of the set.
The sole deviation in the setlist came in the shape of personally one of my favourite Alter Bridge tracks ever. All other nights in the UK thus far have had single ‘Wonderful Life’ in this slot, whereas Manchester has ‘Ghosts of Days Gone By’ thrust into the room from 2010’s AB III with some booming work on the kit from Scott Phillips throughout the track. Kennedy takes a moment before the next song to address a fondness for playing AO Arena, and that “this room room holds a lot of really sacred, good beautiful memories”, but also quickly adding, “I’m not just saying that! I mean it”. This is all said whilst instead brandishing an acoustic guitar, and soon after the opening trills of ‘Watch Over You’ from 2007 follow to a monumental singalong from the crowd.This final third from Alter Bridge is exactly what comes to mind in the phrase “all killer, no filler”, as the back to back shots of ‘Silver Tongue’ and ‘Rise Today’ just send waves across the crowd, before arguably the song many may know the Florida outfit for, the ever-explosive ‘Metalingus’. Again, a masterclass behind the kit from Scott Phillips, combined with soaring vocals from both Kennedy and the crowd make for such an atmosphere for a song now exceeding 20 years old. It even inspires a pit in the middle for those we’re sure may have heard the track on a wrestling program or two. Kennedy is caught off guard however, as an extremely game few at the front of the crowd begin to crouch before the final part of the song, and he notices “they are just dying for it”, and thus Manchester ends up with an impromptu “Jump up” section to close the main set.
The usual proceedings pass, and the four stride back out for final offerings, first of which is ‘Blackbird’. As ever, this track is a juggernaut, even just in run time, but there’s very few places a performance of this standard could have it. Finally, and actually announced by Kennedy as the last song, is ‘Isolation’. It bathes the arena is roving white lights and CO2, and its chorus has all those curfew chasers singing the high note as hard as those on stage to bring everything to a blistering finish. All of this wasn’t just a victory lap for a band celebrating 20-plus years, it was a statement that they are still operating at arena level for a reason. In terms of scale, musicianship and emotional weight, it was one of the most complete arena shows the AO is getting this year. Guaranteed.
