Live At Wembley (Includes DVD) (CD)

A memento of their largest ever headlining show, Live at Wembley sees Orlando post-grunge quartet Alter Bridge fulfill their career-long ambition to perform at the famous London venue. Recorded in November 2011, this 14-track collection omits seven tracks from the night's set list, but there's still enough evidence to show that the Creed offshoot made the most of its dream gig. Unsurprisingly, Alter Bridge's second live album (following 2008's Live from Amsterdam) is dominated by their most recent studio effort, 2010's loosely conceptual AB III, from the gutsy '70s classic rock-inspired "All Hope Is Gone," to the propulsive fuzz-laden metal of "Isolation," to the pummeling atmospherics of "Coeur d'Alene." But while their third studio album may have given them their U.K. breakthrough, their earlier material is met with an equally rapturous response from the sold-out crowd. "Find the Real" and "Metalingus," the two contributions from 2004 debut One Day Remains, showcase Mark Tremonti's shredding riffs at their bulldozing best, as does the rather exhibitionist dueling guitar solo showpiece that opens up the singalong encore of "Rise Today"; the sprawling "Blackbird," which frontman Myles Kennedy dedicates to a late friend who sold him his first guitar, is performed in all its eight-minute proggy epic glory; while fans get the chance to hold their lighters in the air with the stripped-back acoustic renditions of "Watch Over You" and "Wonderful Life." Their audience in the U.S. may be dwindling, but Live at Wembley suggests that their slow-building success in the U.K. is only likely to increase. ~ Jon O'Brien, Rovi