[titan9]

Alright, I haven't followed this thread all the way through, but thought I'd toss in my two cents.

First off, I'd like to say that Uncertain has made some very valid points(some of which I agree with, some of which I don't, heh).

As much as I love Mark's songs and his ability as a guitarist, it would be foolish of me to say that he is as good, ability-wise, as a Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson or even Yngwie Malmsteem. Those are four of the greatest guitarists alive. Heck, I don't even think Mark ranks in the top 15 of greatest guitarists alive. Don't get me wrong--Mark is a very good guitarist with the potential to be one of the greats, but he has a ways to go before anyone can validly say he is one of the greatest guitarists alive.

Mark has written many awesome riffs, but there is room for improvement. Namely, when it comes to ballads. I feel Mark is capable of writing better ballads. "Broken Wings" is one of my least favorite songs on ODR. Not because of the lyrics or the intro(which is terrific). But because of the rest of the song. It bores me. I can't feel as much passion in the rest of the song.

Another thing that Mark needs to improve is his lyric writing. As a lyricist myself(and someone who appreciates great lyrics), I'm disappointed in Mark's lyrics. They're too generic, too lackluster. Mark's written some great lines(like the chorus to MOP) but, uh, the lyrics on ODR, as a whole, were subpar. I'm not talking about "Find The Real" or "In Loving Memory", but rather about the rest of the CD. I thinthink Mark needs to realize that, by himself, he really cannot write great lyrics. But when you combine him with another good lyricist, such as Stapp or Myles, you've got a great combination. This is why Creed was so good--they had a rock solid combo of Stapp's lyrics and Tremonti's riffs, as well as Brian's bass playing and Flip's drumming. This is why I'd like to see Myles writing more of the lyrics on the next album.

AB has the potential to become one of the best rock bands today. But not until they have better lyrics and better songs overall. ODR was a step toward the right direction, but there's definitely some stuff they can do to improve.