Isolation (Alter Bridge song)
Encyclopedia
"Isolation" is a song written and performed by Alter Bridge
, released as the first single from their third album, AB III, and is their most successful single to date. It was made available as a digital download on September 26, 2010 in the United Kingdom by Roadrunner Records
and October 25, 2010 in the United States by Alter Bridge Recordings via Capitol Records
. Musically, "Isolation" is heavy and aggressive, featuring the band's hard rock
style while retaining a catchy, melodic chorus and incorporating elements of alternative metal
and speed metal
. The lyrics explore metaphorically isolating oneself from faith and belief, a common theme throughout the record. A music video for the song was released on December 6, 2010.
The song has been met with general acclaim. Though originally released only in Britain, "Isolation" debuted at #34 on Billboard
s Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks in October, and several active rock
radio stations in the United States put the song in regular rotation several weeks before its U.S. release. In the U.S., it initially became the most-added song on active rock radio and the 21st most-played active rock radio single, with the fastest increase in rotations out of any rock song at the time. In January, 2011 the song reached #1 on active rock radio, where it remained for five consecutive weeks, and spent seven weeks at #1 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, making it the band's first #1 single.
as a "real heavy track," the song was debuted after much anticipation by Roadrunner Records
on their website on September 6, 2010 with the announcement that it would be released as the first single from AB III. It was released as a single in the United Kingdom on September 26, 2010, followed by an October 25, 2010 release in the United States by Alter Bridge Recordings via Capitol Records, a subsidiary of EMI
.
style, along with elements of speed metal
and a strong melody, which has been noted by critics. Guitarist Mark Tremonti
described the song as "a more upbeat tune, with some real metal in there – in fact it has a speed metal bridge," while emphasizing, "It has a melodic chorus, though: melody is still the most important thing for us." Myles Kennedy said about the song:
Lyrically, the song is a departure from the uplifting lyrics of most other Alter Bridge singles; it is about "the agony of feeling isolated" and how "the ability to love again can bring you out of it." Kennedy described the song as a continuation of the previous track on the album, "Slip to the Void." He said, "It's the idea that now you're isolated. You're in this new, dark place and [it is about] how you deal with that and the repercussions of that." The rest of the album is a radical aberration from the band's first two albums in terms of subject matter. The song is also unique in that the main guitar solo is performed by Kennedy instead of Tremonti, although Tremonti performs two filler solos.
, who praised it for its speed metal influence. He also praised the guitar work and the anthemic approach that the band took towards the dark lyrics. Rick Florino from Artistdirect
said that the song "rolls from a thrash breakdown into one of the catchiest refrains that the band has committed to tape." It has received an average of five stars from users on the iTunes Store
.
, directed by Daniel Catullo
, premiered on Noisecreep
on December 6, 2010. It features video clips of the band's AB III tour as well as cutscenes from their 2009 live DVD Live from Amsterdam
. It also shows some rehearsal footage and candid shots of the band interacting with fans. Instead of matching the video with the theme of the song, the band decided to create a "tribute to the fans" for the music video, of which Tremonti said:
Production
Alter Bridge
Alter Bridge is an American rock band that was formed in 2004 in Orlando, Florida by lead guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall, and drummer Scott Phillips, who are all also members of Creed. Lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Myles Kennedy, formerly of The Mayfield Four and the frontman...
, released as the first single from their third album, AB III, and is their most successful single to date. It was made available as a digital download on September 26, 2010 in the United Kingdom by Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
and October 25, 2010 in the United States by Alter Bridge Recordings via Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
. Musically, "Isolation" is heavy and aggressive, featuring the band's hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
style while retaining a catchy, melodic chorus and incorporating elements of alternative metal
Alternative metal
Alternative metal is a genre of alternative rock and heavy metal that gained popularity in the early 1990s. Most notably, alternative metal bands are characterized by heavy guitar riffs and experimental approaches to heavy music.-Origins:...
and speed metal
Speed metal
Speed metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from NWOBHM and hardcore punk roots. It is described by Allmusic as "extremely fast, abrasive, and technically demanding" music....
. The lyrics explore metaphorically isolating oneself from faith and belief, a common theme throughout the record. A music video for the song was released on December 6, 2010.
The song has been met with general acclaim. Though originally released only in Britain, "Isolation" debuted at #34 on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks in October, and several active rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...
radio stations in the United States put the song in regular rotation several weeks before its U.S. release. In the U.S., it initially became the most-added song on active rock radio and the 21st most-played active rock radio single, with the fastest increase in rotations out of any rock song at the time. In January, 2011 the song reached #1 on active rock radio, where it remained for five consecutive weeks, and spent seven weeks at #1 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, making it the band's first #1 single.
Background
Originally described by singer Myles KennedyMyles Kennedy
Myles Richard Kennedy is an American musician and singer-songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Alter Bridge, and as the lead vocalist in Slash's current solo project...
as a "real heavy track," the song was debuted after much anticipation by Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
on their website on September 6, 2010 with the announcement that it would be released as the first single from AB III. It was released as a single in the United Kingdom on September 26, 2010, followed by an October 25, 2010 release in the United States by Alter Bridge Recordings via Capitol Records, a subsidiary of EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
.
Composition
"Isolation" is four minutes and thirteen seconds long on the record, and was edited down to three minutes and fifty-two seconds for radio airplay. Unlike most Alter Bridge singles, it is very heavy and aggressive, both musically and lyrically, and showcases the band's hard rockHard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
style, along with elements of speed metal
Speed metal
Speed metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from NWOBHM and hardcore punk roots. It is described by Allmusic as "extremely fast, abrasive, and technically demanding" music....
and a strong melody, which has been noted by critics. Guitarist Mark Tremonti
Mark Tremonti
Mark Thomas Tremonti is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the lead guitarist of the American rock bands Creed and Alter Bridge. He is a founding member of both bands...
described the song as "a more upbeat tune, with some real metal in there – in fact it has a speed metal bridge," while emphasizing, "It has a melodic chorus, though: melody is still the most important thing for us." Myles Kennedy said about the song:
Lyrically, the song is a departure from the uplifting lyrics of most other Alter Bridge singles; it is about "the agony of feeling isolated" and how "the ability to love again can bring you out of it." Kennedy described the song as a continuation of the previous track on the album, "Slip to the Void." He said, "It's the idea that now you're isolated. You're in this new, dark place and [it is about] how you deal with that and the repercussions of that." The rest of the album is a radical aberration from the band's first two albums in terms of subject matter. The song is also unique in that the main guitar solo is performed by Kennedy instead of Tremonti, although Tremonti performs two filler solos.
Critical reception
"Isolation" received positive feedback from several professional reviewers, including Rob Laing from MusicRadarMusicRadar
MusicRadar is a website for musicians. It covers information pertaining to artists and music, special features, product news and reviews, music lessons and a social network service in the style of Facebook and Myspace...
, who praised it for its speed metal influence. He also praised the guitar work and the anthemic approach that the band took towards the dark lyrics. Rick Florino from Artistdirect
ARTISTdirect
Founded in 1994, Artistdirect, Inc. is an online digital media entertainment company. It owns several websites including Artistdirect.com, UBL.com and the Artistdirect Network...
said that the song "rolls from a thrash breakdown into one of the catchiest refrains that the band has committed to tape." It has received an average of five stars from users on the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
.
Chart performance
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Rock Songs Rock Songs Rock Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks the airplay of songs on alternative, mainstream rock and triple A radio stations. The first chart was published in the issue dated June 20, 2009. "Know Your Enemy" by Green Day was the first number-one song. The Rock Songs... |
5 |
| Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1 |
| Alternative Songs | 20 |
| Active Rock Active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:... |
1 |
| Canadian Active Rock | 16 |
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
, directed by Daniel Catullo
Daniel Catullo
Daniel E. Catullo III, is an award-winning, 20-year entertainment industry veteran. Dan Catullo is Co-Founder /CEO of DC3 Music Group, LLC, a Production and Distribution Company, specializing in 3D Films, Music Videos and Live Concert DVDs, where he also serves as executive producer, producer and...
, premiered on Noisecreep
Noisecreep
Noisecreep is a hard rock and heavy metal music news and media website based in the United States. The site was created by AOL Music in March 2009....
on December 6, 2010. It features video clips of the band's AB III tour as well as cutscenes from their 2009 live DVD Live from Amsterdam
Live from Amsterdam (DVD)
Live from Amsterdam is the first concert film and live album by American rock band Alter Bridge, recorded on December 7, 2008 at the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands and released to extremely positive reviews on September 12, 2009 via Amazon...
. It also shows some rehearsal footage and candid shots of the band interacting with fans. Instead of matching the video with the theme of the song, the band decided to create a "tribute to the fans" for the music video, of which Tremonti said:
Personnel
Musicians- Myles KennedyMyles KennedyMyles Richard Kennedy is an American musician and singer-songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Alter Bridge, and as the lead vocalist in Slash's current solo project...
— lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar - Mark TremontiMark TremontiMark Thomas Tremonti is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the lead guitarist of the American rock bands Creed and Alter Bridge. He is a founding member of both bands...
— lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals - Brian MarshallBrian MarshallBrian Aubrey Marshall is an American musician and songwriter best known as the bassist and co-founder of the rock bands Creed and Alter Bridge. He also co-owns a bed and breakfast called Mango Moon in Costa Rica.-Early life:...
— bass - Scott PhillipsScott Phillips (drummer)Thomas Scott "Flip" Phillips is the drummer and co-founder of the bands Alter Bridge and Creed. Phillips grew up in Madison, Florida. He started out playing in a band called Crosscut at 18. In 2004, he joined Alter Bridge with fellow then-former Creed members bassist Brian Marshall and lead...
— drums
Production
- Michael "Elvis" Baskette — productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
- Brian Sperber — mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
- Ted JensenTed JensenTed Jensen is an American recording engineer. Jensen is the chief mastering engineer at Sterling Sound. He started his career as a mastering engineer in 1976 and is currently the most active Mastering Engineer in the industry...
— masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...