What’s left to say about Alter Bridge that hasn’t been said? As a band closing in on finishing their second decade and no signs of slowing momentum, the modern rock titans have re-emerged once more with another album, once again three years on from the last offering. Having spent the second decade cementing the ascendancy of the first, they’re in an enviable position. Never quite making the same album twice yet still delivering albums which can only be Alter Bridge albums, they’ve yet to make a blunder.
Pawns and Kings comes at the point of their career where they’ve long passed the point of having to prove themselves, they’ve had the experimental period of the last album and now it’s time for the natural successor – create an album which cherry picks all the best parts of past works and condense it into one record. Album seven doesn’t feel like out-takes from the past but it is chock-full of songs which make you say “Oh, this song would be at home on AB III” or “This song sounds like it’s from The Last Hero”. It’s a format which can fall flat on its face but given their pedigree, it’s Alter Bridge taking a well-earned victory lap.
Exploding into life rather than a slow, brooding intro like the last few albums, “This is War” spits with fury as they’ve always been a band who have been at their best when ladling on the aggression without being ham-fisted about it. As frenetic drumming from Scott Philips marches the song to its end point, this is the band planting flag to announce their return in snappy fashion. Mark Tremonti and Myles Kennedy’s guitars snarl, casually keeping pace with the drums as Kennedy pulls well-worn but just as welcome lyrics from the Alter Bridge playbook – don’t give in. As they’ve always been a band that has flirted with the metal end of the spectrum, “Silver Tongue” pushes the envelope as far as they ever have as razor-sharp riffs cut through with the fierceness of a buzzsaw before the air-punching drums take over for the chorus.
Elsewhere, “Holiday” quickly becomes a firm favourite of the album, its chugging riff born to allow the track to be placed anywhere in a live set – an opener, a new track early in the set with its arena-friendly chorus, towards the tail end after a sombre moment or even closing the main set or kicking off the encore. Essentially, this is one of those evergreen songs the band have built their name on, the signature twin guitars of Tremonti and Kennedy crunching and chugging in equal measure as lead and rhythm work in perfect time for that signature Alter Bridge sound.
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“Stay” is this album’s opportunity for Mark Tremonti to take the reins on vocals whilst Kennedy fills in on the backing vocals. It doesn’t feel like a leftover Tremonti song like a couple of previous ones have and instead this feels right at home in the album, the melody built around Tremonti’s deeper rasp. Brighter tones than he’s used to working with on his leading moments (and certainly his self-titled band), it makes a refreshing change for him and shows how well his voice can sit on them, if given the chance. It comes at the perfect moment in the album, the slightly slower pace allowing for a breather before the aforementioned “Holiday”. But it’s throughout this album that Tremonti shows he still has plenty of guitar tricks up his sleeve, bringing some of his best riffs to date with a fresh technicality and precision to them without preciousness that allows them to have soul and their characteristic passion behind them.
Meanwhile, “Dead Among the Living” takes the darker tones of The Last Hero with the more open melodic moments in AB III to create a radio-friendly album cut. Hell, the song’s bridge could have easily been lifted from an AB III session as it could be right at home on that twelve year old album. Then, “Fable of the Silent Sun” steals “Blackbird”’s throne as the longest Alter Bridge song. Just as complex as that album’s title track, the wall of sound that the band produces as the song kicks into life is like a jet engine firing into life. And “Last Man Standing” channels hints of Fortress’ title track as the band slowly build their way to one of the most sonically grandiose numbers on the album.
Indeed, this is an album which could be classed as business as usual for the band but it’s very much an album about giving the people what they want. The lyrics take the standard “Don’t give in” messages they made their name for whilst simultaneously looking at the bigger picture which Kennedy started focusing more on with The Last Hero and brought into his solo work, Slash and subsequent AB albums. Much like this year’s 4, Kennedy doesn’t quite do the vocal somersaults he’s known for, finding a comfortable range and sticking within it. He never pushes too hard, even though he’s still capable of creating an even higher watermark than his vast body of work already has. But none of the songs call for it and if there’s one thing this album does better than any other Alter Bridge album, it’s putting the song first.
Whilst there’s a couple of slower numbers, there isn’t a “big ballad” moment to be found this time around but when you have two absolute gems in “Watch Over You” and “Wonderful Life”, you really don’t need to add any more to the arsenal. Instead, those tamer moments trade aggression for more complex and mature melodies, stretching them out to allow them to breathe and work their way to mighty crescendos to serve the song. It’s perfectly shown in the title track as it brings the album to a close, Kennedy’s vocals carry the weight of the world as he muses on humanity’s current status. It blends everything from the past nine songs into one last fluid flourish to create a definitive full-stop at the end of the sentence.
Pawns and Kings won’t change any nay-sayer’s mind about Alter Bridge. This is very much a greatest hits album without lazily compiling their past efforts and offering it up with some bonus content. It takes a few listens to fully warm up but when it does, it comes damn close to match that flawless run of Blackbird, AB III and their career-high of Fortress.
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Header image by Chuck Brueckmann
Pawns and Kings is released on 14th October
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