ALTER BRIDGE to Release Walk The Sky 2.0 Featuring New Song “Last Rites” Written During Covid-19 Lockdown Plus Six Live Tracks

In Stores November 6, 2020 via Napalm Records | Pre-Order Here: https://smarturl.it/WalkTheSky2.0

Watch the Official Video for New Single “Native Son” Here:https://youtu.be/A514cEfnbcA

Since the band announced the cancellation of their entire 2020 touring schedule, Alter Bridge has taken time to do what they are known best for – creating. Never a band to take a lot of personal time off, the band reviewed live recordings from their shows in January/February 2020 to pick a few of their live favorites of songs from their latest album Walk The Sky. This led bandmembers Myles Kennedy, Mark Tremonti, Brian Marshall and Scott Phillips to begin sharing ideas for a new studio song. Those collective ideas would yield a new, original song entitled “Last Rites” – a track written, recorded and completed entirely during the Covid-19 lockdown.  The final version of “Last Rites”, along with live versions of “Wouldn’t You Rather,” “Pay No Mind,” “Native Son,” “Godspeed,” “In the Deep” and “Dying Light”, will form the new 7-song EP, Walk The Sky 2.0.

The new Walk The Sky 2.0 EP is now available for pre-order in various configurations. These include a Jewelcase CD (available worldwide), Jewelcase CD + t-shirt (Napalm Records exclusive worldwide except North America), CREAM colored Vinyl Gatefold LP (available worldwide), and a limited edition Inkspot Yellow/Black Marbled Vinyl Gatefold LP (Napalm Records Mailorder only). The album will also be available in a digital bundle with the original Walk The Sky and Walk The Sky 2.0 together as well as a limited edition 2-CD Earbook with both versions included (Napalm Records Mailorder only).

All versions of Walk The Sky 2.0 can be ordered here: https://smarturl.it/WalkTheSky2.0.

The tracklisting for Walk The Sky 2.0 is:

1)     Last Rites

2)     Wouldn’t You Rather (Live)

3)     Pay No Mind (Live)

4)     Native Son (Live)

5)     Godspeed (Live)

6)     In The Deep (Live)

7)     Dying Light (Live)

In other news, Alter Bridge are releasing a new single from their latest album, Walk The Sky, entitled “Native Son,” which has racked up over five million worldwide streams to date, and is currently impacting at radio. In celebration of this announcement, the band have released an official video for the song. The video – an animated short created completely using stop-animation techniques and incorporating origami to create a unique visual effect – starts by following a dark figure set in a prairie farmland setting. The viewer finds the character struggling to survive as that backdrop then morphs and gives way to industrialization and a city overtaking the original landscape. The visuals echo the lyrical sentiment of: “I’m a native son in a foreign land. I’m just living in a world I can’t understand.”

The video for “Native Son” was created by Stefano Bertelli and can be seen here: https://youtu.be/A514cEfnbcA

Alter Bridge burst onto the music scene in 2004 with the release of their gold-selling debut, One Day Remains. In 2007, the band released Blackbird, the album that elevated the band’s profile worldwide. The epic solo in the title track “Blackbird” was voted “Greatest Guitar Solo Of All Time” by Guitarist Magazine. ABIII was released in 2010 and the single “Isolation” gave the band their first #1 single. In 2013, the band reached an elevated creative and critical plateau with Fortress. It bowed at #12 on the Billboard Top 200, moving over 30,000 copies first-week and earning unanimous tastemaker praise. The record garnered perfect scores from Total Guitar and KERRANG! as well as acclaim from BillboardThe GuardianLoudwireUltimate Guitar, and many more. In between sold out tours in Europe and North America, the guys appeared on VH1 and graced the cover of Classic Rock Magazine who labeled Fortress, “The best thing they’ve ever done,” while Eddie Trunk called it, “A top 10 album of the last 10 years.” 2016’s The Last Hero gave the band their first Top 10 album since their debut. Alter Bridge has appeared on The Tonight Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live and their music has been used by the WWE, Major League Baseball and NASCAR to name a few. The band recently released the video and audio of their career highlight, Live At The Royal Albert Hall, featuring Alter Bridge backed by the 52-piece Parallax Orchestra led by conductor Simon Dobson. Alter Bridge released their latest album Walk The Sky (Napalm Records) to critical acclaim and career milestone chart success. The latest album brought the band their first ever #1 on Top Current Albums chart. The band’s newest release found a home at #1 on over a dozen charts around the globe and in December 2019, Guitar World magazine voted Mark Tremonti the Guitarist of the Decade. Alter Bridge are showing no signs of slowing down. 

Blu-ray Review “Rites of Passage”

Actors: Christian Slater, Stephen Dorff, Wes Bentley, Ryan Donowho
Directors: W. Peter Iliff
Rated: R (Restricted)
Studio: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Release Date: October 16, 2012
Run Time: 102 minutes

Film: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 1.5 out of 5 stars

“Rites of Passage” packs a decent cast including Christian Slater, Stephen Dorff and Wes Bentley. Not A-list but definitely notable stars. The story itself takes too long to get started and ends up not delivers much before its close. There is some decent laughs, even though they are not really warranted. It ends me being a bit too formulaic for me, personally. I would say if you have nothing better to do on a rainy day, this might be worth a rent but its not special.

Premise: An anthropology student, invites a few of his classmates, and their professor to his family’s abandoned ranch – once a sacred Chumash burial ground – to recreate an ancient ceremony. There they meet Nathan’s psychotic older brother and his drug fueled friend. The students then embark on a rite of passage that no one will ever forget.

The Blu-ray presentation is good enough and holds up for the format. The 1080p video works well for the film. The audio included is a sharp DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. The special features are lacking quite a bit. There is only a short “The Making Of” featurette and a trailer included. So if you are looking for commentary or anything decent to companion the film, you will be disappointed.

Film Review “The Last Rites of Joe May”

Directed By: Joe Maggio
Starring: Dennis Farina
Distributed by: Tribeca Film
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 103 minutes

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

I was originally asked to review this film to prepare for a review with star Dennis Farina. So I had no idea what it was or what to expect and I was real happy I watched this film. It is quite the gem and Farina is a one man show that plays one of his best character roles to date. The film is yet another recent gem from Tribeca Film following recent films I’ve seen “The High Cost of Living” and “Janie Jones”.

Joe May (Dennis Farina) is a guy who gets out of the hospital finding that his life is turned upside down. His apartment is re-rented, his belongings are gone, his friends have forgotten him. Joe is an aging short money hustler, who has been looking for his big break around every corner. With his health fading and options running out it is Joe has one last chance to achieve greatness.

Dennis Farina is known for playing the tough guy…someone you don’t want to mess with but this role was made for Dennis Farina. Dennis is vulnerable but still tough and he still kick an ass. The roles I can recall for Dennis Farina have him in a supporting role and this one really gives him a chance to shine. The role was pretty physical as well and I give him a lot of credit in fact. Overall it is a very tight drama with a great story and notable performances.