ALTER BRIDGE: 'Blackbird' Details Revealed

Universal Republic recording artists ALTER BRIDGE have announced more details of their forthcoming second album, entitled "Blackbird".

Clocking in at almost eight minutes, the title track is clearly one of the masterpieces of the new album. "We felt like 'Blackbird' was the perfect song to use as the title track for this record," lead singer/guitarist Myles Kennedy commented.

"Though a majority of the album is not as dark thematically, we really hoped to draw attention to what we felt was one of the most challenging yet gratifying songs we've ever written. It was inspired by a friend of mine who passed away as the song was completed; it's a story about the struggle to move on to a better place. It was my wish for him to finally find his peace."

There are many differences between "One Day Remains" and the band's new album "Blackbird", with the most notable being the full integration of Myles Kennedy as a guitarist and songwriter. While "One Day Remains" was largely written before Myles came on board, this time around, it was a collaborative effort, with guitarist Mark Tremonti and Myles sharing the songwriting duties while all four band members worked on the arrangements.

"It's a natural evolution after three years of working together," Mark Tremonti stated. "We knew Myles was an amazing singer, that's why we hired him. What we found out when we toured the first record was that he's also an incredibly gifted guitar player and songwriter, as well as a vocalist. It would have been a crime not to utilize all that talent. We wanted to use every weapon we had in our arsenal for this album."

"Blackbird" will be the follow up to ALTER BRIDGE's debut album, the gold-certified "One Day Remains", which peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard album chart its week of release. That CD featured three consecutive hits on rock radio: ("Open Your Eyes", "Find The Real" and "Broken Wings"). The first single from "Blackbird", "Rise Today" has already gotten substantial early airplay before the official add date of July 30.

Comprised of Mark Tremonti, Scott Phillips, Brian Marshall and Myles Kennedy, three of the four members of ALTER BRIDGE made up the 30-plus-million-selling band CREED.

"Blackbird" track listing:

01. Ties That Bind
02. Come To Life
03. Brand New Start
04. Buried Alive
05. Coming Home
06. Before Tomorrow Comes
07. Rise Today
08. Blackbird
09. One By One
10. Watch Over You
11. Break Me Down
12. White Knuckles
13. Wayward One