I completely love that chorus.
Pawns & Kings (Alter Bridge - VII)
Re: Pawns & Kings (Alter Bridge - VII)
Aside from the ones we’ve already heard, I’m really loving Fable, Stay, and Last Man Standing. I’m stuck at work with a pair of barely working earbuds, so I’ll form a better opinion when I can listen to this properly.
I will say, the lack of effects on the vocals is different. I don’t know if it’s better, I think it’s just a bit strange to my ears after past albums. I’ll have to get used to it after several more listens I think.
I will say, the lack of effects on the vocals is different. I don’t know if it’s better, I think it’s just a bit strange to my ears after past albums. I’ll have to get used to it after several more listens I think.
Re: Pawns & Kings (Alter Bridge - VII)
Looks like Stay is in the love/hate category so far on here!For all of the hope that it brings...
Re: Pawns & Kings (Alter Bridge - VII)
Definitely. After all the people praising the chorus I listened to it again, but I hate it. The lyrics are not my thing and the melody and cadence are weird to me. But I love seeing other people enjoy it, there has always been these 'two sides' of AB (and their fans).
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CrowsOnAWire
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Re: Pawns & Kings (Alter Bridge - VII)
https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/alt ... ge-records
Alter Bridge's Pawns & Kings: this is the Rolls-Royce of Alter Bridge records
Arena rockers Alter Bridge rediscover their inner Metallica on what might be their best album yet, Pawns & Kings
4.5/5 stars
Generally speaking, Alter Bridge are at their best when balancing the physicality and heft of Metallica with the soulful emotion of a Pearl Jam or Soundgarden. While myriad other elements and influences can be factored in, the dichotomy of metallic thrust and post-grunge radio friendliness has defined every Alter Bridge record to date, and with Pawns & Kings the band couldn’t have tipped the scales towards metal more if they’d dropped an anvil on them, Wile E Coyote-style.
Whether a credit to the production of Michael ‘Elvis’ Baskette or just that the band decided to go right for the throat this time, there’s a punchiness to every track that recalls (and may even surpass) the likes of White Knuckles or Bleed It Dry. Thankfully this isn’t at the cost of anthemic potential; Myles Kennedy’s vocals are among the most inspiring and captivating in modern rock, every chorus inviting full-throated singalongs.
From start to finish, the album is taut and perfectly balanced. More impressive isthat the band have achieved this with some of the longest tracks of their career, crafting epics in every sense of the word. Opener This Is War sets the stage with apocalyptic choirs and almost blast-beat drums, and things escalate from there as the singalongs get bigger and the riffs harder across Dead Among The Living, Silver Tongue and Sin After Sin.
Even ballad Stay has a lively heartbeat that ensures no momentum is lost, and Mark Tremonti’s shuffle to lead vocals is a tantalising hint at what could lie in store for the band. With the same band members playing together for almost 20 years now, there is an inherent sense of intuitiveness and comfort to the way Alter Bridge fit together.
Guitarist Tremonti slings arena-sized riffs, Scott Phillips punctuates those riffs with drum beats that feel like a punch to the face, and bassist Brian Marshall injects almost sludgy levels of low end into the heavier moments, while Kennedy soars above it all with his golden-throated vocals.
It’s a familiar formula, but one that has enabled Alter Bridge to be elevated to playing massive venues around the world. Pawns & Kings isn’t anything radically different for Alter Bridge. Rather, it perfects every element of the band’s sound and ensures everything is top-of-the-line. Make no mistake about it – this is the Rolls-Royce of Alter Bridge records, and a high-water mark to which all rock hopefuls should aspire.
Alter Bridge's Pawns & Kings: this is the Rolls-Royce of Alter Bridge records
Arena rockers Alter Bridge rediscover their inner Metallica on what might be their best album yet, Pawns & Kings
4.5/5 stars
Generally speaking, Alter Bridge are at their best when balancing the physicality and heft of Metallica with the soulful emotion of a Pearl Jam or Soundgarden. While myriad other elements and influences can be factored in, the dichotomy of metallic thrust and post-grunge radio friendliness has defined every Alter Bridge record to date, and with Pawns & Kings the band couldn’t have tipped the scales towards metal more if they’d dropped an anvil on them, Wile E Coyote-style.
Whether a credit to the production of Michael ‘Elvis’ Baskette or just that the band decided to go right for the throat this time, there’s a punchiness to every track that recalls (and may even surpass) the likes of White Knuckles or Bleed It Dry. Thankfully this isn’t at the cost of anthemic potential; Myles Kennedy’s vocals are among the most inspiring and captivating in modern rock, every chorus inviting full-throated singalongs.
From start to finish, the album is taut and perfectly balanced. More impressive isthat the band have achieved this with some of the longest tracks of their career, crafting epics in every sense of the word. Opener This Is War sets the stage with apocalyptic choirs and almost blast-beat drums, and things escalate from there as the singalongs get bigger and the riffs harder across Dead Among The Living, Silver Tongue and Sin After Sin.
Even ballad Stay has a lively heartbeat that ensures no momentum is lost, and Mark Tremonti’s shuffle to lead vocals is a tantalising hint at what could lie in store for the band. With the same band members playing together for almost 20 years now, there is an inherent sense of intuitiveness and comfort to the way Alter Bridge fit together.
Guitarist Tremonti slings arena-sized riffs, Scott Phillips punctuates those riffs with drum beats that feel like a punch to the face, and bassist Brian Marshall injects almost sludgy levels of low end into the heavier moments, while Kennedy soars above it all with his golden-throated vocals.
It’s a familiar formula, but one that has enabled Alter Bridge to be elevated to playing massive venues around the world. Pawns & Kings isn’t anything radically different for Alter Bridge. Rather, it perfects every element of the band’s sound and ensures everything is top-of-the-line. Make no mistake about it – this is the Rolls-Royce of Alter Bridge records, and a high-water mark to which all rock hopefuls should aspire.
Re: Pawns & Kings (Alter Bridge - VII)
Man, I wish the main riff to Dead Among the Living was an expansion of that really cool intro section. It transforms into Come to Life 2.0 for the main riff but I thought the intro was more interesting.
Re: Pawns & Kings (Alter Bridge - VII)
Well it is a continuation in some form, but it does sound very different indeed. Wouldn't have minded them bringing it back in the bridge for instance, or as a heavy tremolo riff. Bridge riff is a bit too 'simple' for my taste. The chorus of that song is pretty great though!
Re: Pawns & Kings (Alter Bridge - VII)
I think I'm disappointed BECAUSE I like the rest of the song. It's annoying because I feel like I can hear the beat that would play under a more full version of the intro. It's a great section that could have played awesomely with some harmonised guitars. The riff that's there in place is a little to similar to existing songs for my taste.fix wrote: ↑Fri Oct 14, 2022 6:06 amWell it is a continuation in some form, but it does sound very different indeed. Wouldn't have minded them bringing it back in the bridge for instance, or as a heavy tremolo riff. Bridge riff is a bit too 'simple' for my taste. The chorus of that song is pretty great though!
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Timotheus
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Re: Pawns & Kings (Alter Bridge - VII)
The vocal melody in the chorus of Season of Promise is 100% Calum Scott's You Are The Reason. Absolutely love it though.
anguyen92 wrote:Oh well. Deal with it.
Re: Pawns & Kings (Alter Bridge - VII)
WE WAIT FOR THE HARVEST
For all of the hope that it brings...
Re: Pawns & Kings (Alter Bridge - VII)
Seasons is giving me serious Outright vibes the more I listen, wandering why I liked it so much!
Re: Pawns & Kings (Alter Bridge - VII)
Oh wow, I went to hear it and it’s actually the same melody, damn.
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joshuabeau
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Re: Pawns & Kings (Alter Bridge - VII)
The bridge in Stay is just so damn good. The harmonies with Myles and Mark *chefs kiss*
"It's so hard to know where it's gonna go
Will you please give me a sign
That everything's gonna be alright." Love that.
"It's so hard to know where it's gonna go
Will you please give me a sign
That everything's gonna be alright." Love that.
Re: Pawns & Kings (Alter Bridge - VII)
First attempt rating:
This is War - 8/10
Dead Among the Living - 7/10
Silver Tongue - 8/10
Sin After Sin - 8/10
Stay - 6/10
Holiday - 7/10
Fable of the Silent Son - 10/10
Season of Promise - 8.5/10
Last Man Standing - 8.5/10
Pawns and Kings - 7.5/10
ALBUM RATING - 8/10
I'd initially rank it above TLH and WTS but below Fortress/ABII/Blackbird
This is War - 8/10
Dead Among the Living - 7/10
Silver Tongue - 8/10
Sin After Sin - 8/10
Stay - 6/10
Holiday - 7/10
Fable of the Silent Son - 10/10
Season of Promise - 8.5/10
Last Man Standing - 8.5/10
Pawns and Kings - 7.5/10
ALBUM RATING - 8/10
I'd initially rank it above TLH and WTS but below Fortress/ABII/Blackbird
Re: Pawns & Kings (Alter Bridge - VII)
Well, I awoke at 6am and listened to the whole album in the dark on my headphones. First impressions and total score 6/10:
This Is War - Favorite guitar solo and bass lines.
Dead Among The Living - Made my brain hurt trying to get the main groove. It happens sometimes where it sounds twisted up.
Silver Tongue - Love the climbing part of the riff.
Sin After Sin - I've said enough about this one already.
Stay - I don't remember it at all.
Holiday - See above.
Fable Of The Silent Son - Some really great parts in here. My favorite Myles singing on the album especially the whispered parts.
Season Of Promise - Most uplifting song. I actually smiled and felt happy.
Last Man Standing - The standout track for me. Immediately perked me up and I said to myself, "this is different!"
Pawns & Kings - Middle of the road for me. I like the latter part of the song where things get more aggressive.
This Is War - Favorite guitar solo and bass lines.
Dead Among The Living - Made my brain hurt trying to get the main groove. It happens sometimes where it sounds twisted up.
Silver Tongue - Love the climbing part of the riff.
Sin After Sin - I've said enough about this one already.
Stay - I don't remember it at all.
Holiday - See above.
Fable Of The Silent Son - Some really great parts in here. My favorite Myles singing on the album especially the whispered parts.
Season Of Promise - Most uplifting song. I actually smiled and felt happy.
Last Man Standing - The standout track for me. Immediately perked me up and I said to myself, "this is different!"
Pawns & Kings - Middle of the road for me. I like the latter part of the song where things get more aggressive.
_^:Tangled in your trance and I'm certain:^_
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Timotheus
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Re: Pawns & Kings (Alter Bridge - VII)
Here's my little review:
First I feel obliged to mention that I think the four pre-released singles were incredibly strong. I think at least three of those are in the top 5 of the album for me. I'm not always super positive below, but please keep that in mind.
Dead Among The Living: The intro makes me feel like I'm 14 years old again, playing Runescape and listening to the soundtrack of Scorpion King. The main riff is very reminiscent of Come To Life, as others have mentioned several times before. There's a little stop in there that echoes that stop in the CTL outro riff.
This is kind of a default Alter Bridge song, but compared to the “default” songs they’ve put out over the last 3 records, this is definitely one of the better ones.
Stay: I am an AB ballad enthusiast. Godspeed was one of my favorite tracks on the last record. But I don’t think this is a very good song. It’s basically Godspeed, but every little aspect that made Godspeed good is missing here.
It’s growing on me though. Its upbeat vibe works well after Sin After Sin. But frankly, I think it should have been a Tremonti song. I haven't heard an actual ballad from AB since Lover (I'm not considering Godspeed to be a ballad), and I really miss that side of Alter Bridge.
Fable: This is a spectacular song in its totality. I love the way it's structured, and that it's not the usual AB epic. I've read complaints that some of these changes are too drastic and are there just to be there, but I don't agree with that. I think it works really well. I have one problem with this song: the introductory part is absolutely ruined by the backing harmonies.
I can't figure out why they decided to do that. It’s supposed to be intimate and introspective. It takes 1 sentence for the harmonies to start and they never leave. There are some high notes in the background that are so bombastic that it just takes away from the intimacy of the section. I don’t even think Myles sounds good in those backings.
I'll get over it, but I think it's a wasted opportunity, especially in such a good song.
Holiday: What the fuck is this song, lol. I appreciate the idea of this song. I like the staccato opening riff, and the shuffle groove. I also like the idea that they don't take themselves terribly seriously on this song. But yea... Can't say it worked out fantastically to be honest. This really should’ve been a Slash song. I’m hoping it will grow on me. Still, props to them for trying something new.
Season of Promise: This is a great song. The chorus is extremely catchy *cough Callum Scott cough*. And I absolutely love the backings from Mark. The second verse, for instance. It makes it hard to understand why they don’t use Mark’s voice more and make Myles harmonise with himself 90% of the times. When Mark does it, it just sounds so much better and authentic.
Last Man Standing: This might honestly be one of my favorite songs on the album. I love absolutely everything about it. The delay main riff, the vibe, the bridge, the solos…
Conclusion:
Top 1: Pawns & Kings, Fable
Tier 2: Last Man Standing, This Is War, Sin After Sin
Tier 3: Season of Promise, Silver Tongue, Dead Among The Living,
Tier 4: Holiday, Stay
The album slows down a bit in the middle for me with Holiday and Stay, but for the rest I think it's a pretty strong record.
First I feel obliged to mention that I think the four pre-released singles were incredibly strong. I think at least three of those are in the top 5 of the album for me. I'm not always super positive below, but please keep that in mind.
Dead Among The Living: The intro makes me feel like I'm 14 years old again, playing Runescape and listening to the soundtrack of Scorpion King. The main riff is very reminiscent of Come To Life, as others have mentioned several times before. There's a little stop in there that echoes that stop in the CTL outro riff.
This is kind of a default Alter Bridge song, but compared to the “default” songs they’ve put out over the last 3 records, this is definitely one of the better ones.
Stay: I am an AB ballad enthusiast. Godspeed was one of my favorite tracks on the last record. But I don’t think this is a very good song. It’s basically Godspeed, but every little aspect that made Godspeed good is missing here.
It’s growing on me though. Its upbeat vibe works well after Sin After Sin. But frankly, I think it should have been a Tremonti song. I haven't heard an actual ballad from AB since Lover (I'm not considering Godspeed to be a ballad), and I really miss that side of Alter Bridge.
Fable: This is a spectacular song in its totality. I love the way it's structured, and that it's not the usual AB epic. I've read complaints that some of these changes are too drastic and are there just to be there, but I don't agree with that. I think it works really well. I have one problem with this song: the introductory part is absolutely ruined by the backing harmonies.
I can't figure out why they decided to do that. It’s supposed to be intimate and introspective. It takes 1 sentence for the harmonies to start and they never leave. There are some high notes in the background that are so bombastic that it just takes away from the intimacy of the section. I don’t even think Myles sounds good in those backings.
I'll get over it, but I think it's a wasted opportunity, especially in such a good song.
Holiday: What the fuck is this song, lol. I appreciate the idea of this song. I like the staccato opening riff, and the shuffle groove. I also like the idea that they don't take themselves terribly seriously on this song. But yea... Can't say it worked out fantastically to be honest. This really should’ve been a Slash song. I’m hoping it will grow on me. Still, props to them for trying something new.
Season of Promise: This is a great song. The chorus is extremely catchy *cough Callum Scott cough*. And I absolutely love the backings from Mark. The second verse, for instance. It makes it hard to understand why they don’t use Mark’s voice more and make Myles harmonise with himself 90% of the times. When Mark does it, it just sounds so much better and authentic.
Last Man Standing: This might honestly be one of my favorite songs on the album. I love absolutely everything about it. The delay main riff, the vibe, the bridge, the solos…
Conclusion:
Top 1: Pawns & Kings, Fable
Tier 2: Last Man Standing, This Is War, Sin After Sin
Tier 3: Season of Promise, Silver Tongue, Dead Among The Living,
Tier 4: Holiday, Stay
The album slows down a bit in the middle for me with Holiday and Stay, but for the rest I think it's a pretty strong record.
anguyen92 wrote:Oh well. Deal with it.
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CrowsOnAWire
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Re: Pawns & Kings (Alter Bridge - VII)
Currently pegging the album at about an 8/10. Very impressed.
The highpoints are Fable, Last Man Standing, This is War, Pawns & Kings.
The songs just below would be Dead Amongst the Living, Silver Tongue, Sin After Sin.
The simply good songs are Stay and Seasons of Promise
The lowpoint (if you can even call it that) is Holiday. It's not a bad song by any means, but definitely the weakest on the album in my opinion.
The highpoints are Fable, Last Man Standing, This is War, Pawns & Kings.
The songs just below would be Dead Amongst the Living, Silver Tongue, Sin After Sin.
The simply good songs are Stay and Seasons of Promise
The lowpoint (if you can even call it that) is Holiday. It's not a bad song by any means, but definitely the weakest on the album in my opinion.
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slasherbridge
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Re: Pawns & Kings (Alter Bridge - VII)
I need to listen a few more times to give a solid judgement on it, but my initial thoughts are as follows:
1. I feel about this the way I felt about Walk The Sky initially- and that bodes well because I would probably put WTS at around the 4 spot in terms of ranking their albums. It took a while, but it grew on me. I have the same feeling on this one.
2. Best sounding record from a production standpoint. Every instrument comes through clearly. Even Brian’s bass is clearly audible. All of the Elvis haters can take a break on this one because it is a well-done piece of audio.
3. The vocal performances really stand out to me. It’s very obvious that Mark has been putting in the work with his voice because he sounds fantastic on Stay. Even Myles had a few moments that blew me away, and I didn’t think he could impress me anymore with his vocal prowess (bridge to Silver Tongue, anyone?)
4. I tend to pick one song that I gravitate to and listen to a shit ton when a new album comes out. For this album, that song is This Is War, so if I had to pick a favorite, it would be that one at the moment. Other standouts for me: Sin After Sin, Last Man Standing, Pawns & Kings.
Those are my thoughts as of now. Frankly, I’m such a fanboy that it would be difficult for them to put something out I don’t like. But objectively, I think this is a solid effort and I really love that my ears don’t feel tired after listening to it front to back, unlike one of their prior albums that gave me huge ear fatigue (one guess as to which one I’m referring to).
1. I feel about this the way I felt about Walk The Sky initially- and that bodes well because I would probably put WTS at around the 4 spot in terms of ranking their albums. It took a while, but it grew on me. I have the same feeling on this one.
2. Best sounding record from a production standpoint. Every instrument comes through clearly. Even Brian’s bass is clearly audible. All of the Elvis haters can take a break on this one because it is a well-done piece of audio.
3. The vocal performances really stand out to me. It’s very obvious that Mark has been putting in the work with his voice because he sounds fantastic on Stay. Even Myles had a few moments that blew me away, and I didn’t think he could impress me anymore with his vocal prowess (bridge to Silver Tongue, anyone?)
4. I tend to pick one song that I gravitate to and listen to a shit ton when a new album comes out. For this album, that song is This Is War, so if I had to pick a favorite, it would be that one at the moment. Other standouts for me: Sin After Sin, Last Man Standing, Pawns & Kings.
Those are my thoughts as of now. Frankly, I’m such a fanboy that it would be difficult for them to put something out I don’t like. But objectively, I think this is a solid effort and I really love that my ears don’t feel tired after listening to it front to back, unlike one of their prior albums that gave me huge ear fatigue (one guess as to which one I’m referring to).