Alter Bridge - Live In Amsterdam
(DC3 Music Group - 2010)

Great band with a supreme concert here to match but I am getting p*ss*d off with the atrocious, overcompressed, dampened sound of Live Concert DVD's these days - they were miles better a few years ago - what the f*ck's going on - this here DVD is a perfect example of this. It sounds like a 25 stone fat woman is sat on it!! It gets better if you really turn it up though.

Anyway, gripe aside, they've come on a bit since I saw them a few years ago at The Octagon in Sheffield - this venue in prostitute, tulips, reefer and windmill capital is massive. New and old songs on here with highlights including excellent live staples of theirs like 'Find The Real' & 'Before Tommorow Comes'; the acoustic 'Watch Over You' featuring a lone Myles onstage and the brief instrumental of The Beatle's 'Blackbird' to their song of the same name - in fact this is the name of the 2008 Tour this gig is taken from.

'In Loving Memory' is great too, that Lead/Rhythm Guitriast, Mark Tremonti's wrote about his late mother, with Myles saying its for everyone who lost someone as well - bringing the whole band and audience together. Holy Sh*t - best number is the bluesy sliding of 'Mud Bone' with miles on a meaty old Dobro - sounds beautiful and the finishing number is a right belter too that is 'Rise Today'.

There's even a gallery and an hour long biography on the band that shows what it's like on tour for them with interviews with all the members of Alterbridge that cover just about everything you need to know about them (within reason - lol), the filming and setting up of the Amsterdam show with interviews with the crew, snippets of an incredible acoustic session for Radio in front of decent sized audience, not to mention footage of fans on stage with the band performing in soundcheck and interviews with fans waiting to get into the gig as well as singing their fave numbers.

Also included is a 13 track CD of the gig too - the DVD has 18 numbers by the way.

8/10 - would be higher if it weren't for the crap sound!

By Glenn Milligan