Critic's evaluation
Three years after the experimental Walk The Sky, Alter Bridge resumes studio activities to release their first unreleased material after the pandemic. Entitled Pawns & Kings, the work is the seventh studio album from the Floridian quartet and also marks their return to the stage.
A brutal and dissonant chaos, like the soundtrack of the shadows, begins to echo through the environment as a kind of call, of warning. As Myles Kennedy, with his high, shimmering voice floats through the atmosphere, a ghostly aura ripens. Clearly somber, uncomfortable and chilling, the tune sells itself for a unison and cavalier punch that is commanded by Scott Phillips' steady and precise drumming. Having Mark Tremonti's guitar solo, with its high notes brushed on the melodic surface, taking the role of an element ruled by intense cynicism and provocation, the track slips into a harrowing first verse in which Kennedy ventures into falsetto at the end of the pronunciation of certain words. Such artifice, in fact, makes the song already acquire bubblegum characteristics in the listener's memory. With an explosive, but slightly melancholic chorus, This Is War leads the listener to walk through a storyline about corruption. An activity disdained by fools in an attempt to corrupt the wise to crumble their own essence, to strip themselves of their beliefs and become a kind of indigent of knowledge, a person lacking in belonging and, above all, in self-confidence and self-love. That's why This Is War takes on a motivational character when it pronounces the verses "fight from inside and believe in something" and "don't compromise who you are", which end up sounding even like slogans, an undeniable incentive.
The punch between the string instruments and the drums manages to mix distortion and bitterness in a blackened dust that already suggests the arrival of a dense material, at least in what concerns the sonic issue. Counterbalancing ingredients of pure metal with death metal, the introduction is bathed in melodic repeats that work as the sound of light gaps breaking through the thick rock layer that shapes the environment. Flirting with the aesthetics of Coming Home and I Know It Hurts, singles by the group itself, the song shows itself harsh and dirty in its creeping walk as if representing a character tired of trying so hard to get out of limbo. Macabre and haunting in tone, Dead Among The Living describes a character who lives without brightness, horniness, or motivation. Someone lost in his own self-imposed delusion. Having a well-defined lyrical script amidst the almost dissonant melodic base, Dead Among The Living's motto is to give back the sense of purpose to the listener and, consequently, to raise the flame of self-esteem in the listener.
A sour and accelerated guitar brings flirtations with death metal in a reddish dawn of progressive chaos that erupts like smoky, insane, and syncretic flames. Powerful for the synchrony of the guitars and the extra pressure employed by the drums mainly because of the use of double pedal, it is interesting to notice that, even without a word, the sound manages to transmit anguish, despair and a screaming sense of impunity. Dark and dense, Silver Tongue is adorned by a catchy chorus in its mixed melody of hard rock and alternative metal while talking about a society lost in its unbridled sense of selfishness, greed, and invincibility. It is like a description of the Last Judgment, a solemn moment when all acts performed are judged by higher forces. And in Silver Tongue, a song that, recycling the formula of The Uninvited, the group's own single, presents characters who, representing the global community, are in no position to boast. More than that. Silver Tongue is a track that highlights, criticizes, and reflects the practice of manipulation from the perspective of the seduced.
Hollow repetitions of the tones give a hypnotic air of cynically somber anticipation to the introductory melody of minimalist first breaths. Then the Brian Marshall's bass, full-bodied, works as a bulging link between the rhythmic elements, which are added to two guitars that sound unison riffs soft, intoxicating and staggering as if already in a state of hypnosis because of the groove of the drums. Suddenly, that same timid drums take on strength and presence from a rough chopped phrase that gives way to a harshly textured instrumental, raw base, explosive and full of virtuosity. Mixing elements of doom metal, hard rock and alternative metal, Sin After Sin is ruled by a first verse whose air of suspense in its didactically penetrating narrative. It is here that Kennedy intimately inserts himself in his slightly anasalized, reflective tone that accompanies the melody in its explosively metallic transitions and its slips back into sonic concision. This is how Sin After Sin invites the listener to get entangled by a lyrical content of various interpretations. At first, it sounds like a metaphor for Covid-19's sneaky but destructive behavior. At another, it seems to discuss authoritarianism, brutality and political extremism. However, the song's reflection is on self-interested behavior in a way that even flirts with the thoughts about manipulation exposed in Silver Tongue, but here from the perspective of lying as an act of hiding one's essence.
The rain is ceasing. The dense, dark clouds are giving way to bursts of light that illuminate the sodden grass. Adding a glow to the dull and depressing atmosphere previously dominated by the rain, the scenery now has an air of calm and a comforting sense of pacification. All thanks to the way the guitar, in a melodic and moving distortion, moves like an angelic waltz, recovering the look of hope in those people who, before, were confused by the hypnotic sense of social exclusion. Chilling for its softness of sound, Stay shows itself as a powerful ballad from Pawns & Kings, a material that, with great sensitivity, stimulates the listener to undress from everything that consumes the purity of its essence. Pain, fear, hate, sadness. When there is forgiveness united with a sense of gratitude there will be overcoming and peace of mind. Stay is simply an ode to well-being and the confidence that, in the end, all will be well. Despite having a melodic design tailored to Kennedy's velvety timbre, Alter Bridge's proposal in Stay is to cause a counterpoint between sweetness and bitterness. Defending this precept, who guides the lyrical scope is Tremonti, a member who finally accesses his sensitive and emotional side, something very distant from his already consecrated hymns Waters Rising and Forever Falling.
Sounding like a siren, the guitars are divided between the bass and the purposely chaotic highs. Invited to explode in a new rhythmic division by the drums with cadenced blows and increasing speed, the instruments end up building a melody that flirts, even, with the rhythmic structure of The Devil's Bleeding Crown, Volbeat's single. Graced by vocal overlays located almost in the melodic aisle, the introduction has an interesting sense of insatiability mixed with empowerment. Rhythmically infectious in its bass punches and drum-dominated structure, Holiday has an indescribably exciting and energetic aura. Curiously cheerful and catchy, the song somehow dialogues about the deadly sins. Featuring a character mesmerized by the vagaries of man, such as lust, greed and consumerism, it exposes the agonizing need for emotional balance, here metaphorized by peace of mind, amidst the corruption of the individual by the deceptively wise. In this respect, therefore, Holiday suggests that it is a kind of continuation of both This Is War and Silver Tongue.
Not only the aroma, but also the ambience has Celtic details. With an uncomfortable suspense and a slightly melancholic-reflective tone, the song that begins is based on an introspective structure. With the guitars as a soundtrack that amplifies the literary and penetrating content of the lyrical plot, the track is filled with overlapping vocals that enhance the harmony while amplifying the perception that the track tells the story of a character in a typically fabulist way. Not surprisingly, Fable Of The Silent Sun brings a lyrical figure immersed in the reality of his own resurrection. Forgiveness, overcoming the past, change itself. Life is seen under other lenses, but not because of this, life ceases to be worthy of fighting for the maintenance of its beauty. The silent son is a metaphor for what is inside each individual that makes him/her keep in the line of living. Fable Of The Silent Sun is an epic track, and its long duration does not make one realize that it consists of the longest on the album.
Curious or not, the sonority that the guitars build creates great kinship with the melodic-rhythmic aesthetics of Foo Fighters songs. Inserting alternative touches, the new ambience promises to be a kind of second ballad next to Stay, but with much lower levels of commotion. Still, its main highlight is the contagion issue in the airy verses, something obtained thanks to the way Kennedy puts himself. With its melodramatic chorus, Season Of Promise talks about legacy and, above all, inheritance. It sounds simple enough, but such questions on the track lead the listener to reflect on their own actions and question whether they honor the teachings left by their own ancestors. This is where there can be remorse, sadness and disappointment, or joy and satisfaction with oneself. In fact, like Stay, Season Of Promise succeeds in moving mainly because of its lyricism. Another touching chapter from Pawns & Kings.
Mixing the suspenseful melodic essence of Breathe, their own single, Alter Bridge curiously brings a sonic aroma that harks back to the rhythmic aesthetic of Creed in Last Man Standing. As with Fable Of The Silent Sun, the song has a touch of Celtic fabulous suspense in its intriguingly sinister melody. With a spiky cadence, the song has a catchy movement while having a lyrical evolution that suggests chaos. With a penetrating chorus filled with a guitar riff typical of Tremonti, Last Man Standing is a song that questions the resistance and weakness related to manipulation and addiction, not by chance that the most striking verses are "when you're the last man standing" and "but the first to sell your soul". Flirting with the same melodic structure as Where Fishes Go, single from Live, Last Man Standing also brings with it the law of action and reaction.
An intoxicating softness comes with a breeze of wind thanks to the subtlety with which Kennedy's guitar and voice move synergistically. Suddenly, the listener is surprised with powerful, metallic and thunderous explosions coming from the almost brutal synchrony between Phillips' drums and Tremonti's guitar. Then the bridge between intro and first verse is pronounced under an eerie, almost ghostly melody that flows into a rhythmic, catchy, alternative metal beat. With a guitar solo flying over the harsh sound with sharp and embryonically melodic lapses that work like hope rising above chaos. No wonder the title track features some of the most uplifting, encouraging, and motivational lyricism of Alter Bridge's career. In a post-pandemic context, the title track works as a breath of fresh air as it excites the listener to show self-confidence, courage, focus and determination in achieving goals, and most importantly, an unbridled thirst for life built by a commanding and fearless posture. Even though the refrain is melancholic in tone, there is a kind of call to life and perseverance that impregnates the deepest core of the individual.
There is no experimentalism as in Walk The Sky. On Pawns & Kings there is, yes, the maturation and the building of a high consistency to the alternative metal that made Alter Bridge's name. And here, on the new album, that maturation is accompanied by a surprisingly motivational and moving lyrical plot.
Mixing drama, harshness, and melody, the group's seventh chapter has a latent reflective-social bias. The curious thing about this is that at several points the lyrical biases harken back to the religious lens of Creed's storylines. Similarities aside, the quartet's new album exudes an intense sensitivity.
And speaking of sensitivity, Pawns & Kings surprises by bringing Mark Tremonti accessing his emotional side and demystifying his own bad boy image regimented by his mostly brutal and rough riffs. Probable or not, the explanations for such an event may be the experience of fatherhood of a special baby and the immersion in the field of Frank Sinatra's classical music.
It is a fact that Stay brightened the album with its moving melody, but it must be said that the whole album was linearly constructed with lyrical plots that talk to each other from beginning to end. And the main legacy of its 10 discussions was the discussion about life and man's attitudes.
Again backed by the so-called fifth element, producer and mixing engineer Michael "Elvis" Baskette, Alter Bridge managed to build an album that is moving, exciting, energetic, raw and reflective in equal measure. And in this, it is possible to notice the mixture of alternative metal, hard rock, death metal and alternative rock in the rhythmic recipe of their songs. All connected perfectly with the lyrical messages and reinforcing the group's sound consistency.
Closing out the technical scope of Pawns & Kings comes the cover art. Signed by Dan Tremonti, it features a skulking pawn on a podium coiled by a snake. There alone, the artist has managed to synthesize the entire discussion of manipulation and deceit that permeates the album. Moreover, in the background there is a bridge, which suggests a kind of end of a cycle and the beginning of a new horizon, since it goes back to the artwork of One Day Remains, the group's debut album. As a bridge connects different sides, it is like a questioning to the listener himself: which side will be chosen? he seems to ask.
Released on 10/14/2022 via Napalm Records, Pawns & Kings is about being in control of one's own destiny. About the human thirst for power and the relationship between the dominated and the dominator. It is a sensitive and moving work that puts legacy and inheritance on the same playing field as the present ruled by human actions governed by interest, falsehood, and selfishness.
