Pawns & Kings (Alter Bridge - VII)

[Schulzy]

Man, this album has aged so well.

Can you tell me more? What do you mean, young Max? Like wine, cheese? I went back and listened to it a week or two ago (along with Walk The Sky) after a very long break period. It's still a 6 out of 10 for me (similar to Walk The Sky and The Last Hero). My song rankings haven't changed and I still really like certain ones and can barely listen to/tune out others. I just feel like Alter Bridge's albums have become really inconsistent and while I look forward to them I just don't have the same feeling I did when Blackbird, ABIII, and Fortress came out.

[anguyen92]

I enjoy Pawns & Kings and I enjoy Walk the Sky and I can go ahead at any given moment when I feel like it to listen the album front to back and enjoy the songs a lot.

The thing is, these guys are now in their 50s. Moving forward, if people have expectations for them to pull off the best album they've ever made in their 50s, they are setting themselves up for disappointment. I'm not looking for the best album AB has ever made in the present time. I expect them to put top effort and deliver something that is a good representative of who they are now (not who they were around 2007-2013) and I think they did just that with Walk the Sky and Pawns & Kings which I like and have a lot of those songs on repeat on Spotify (The Last Hero, not as much).

[maximzub]

Man, this album has aged so well.

Can you tell me more? What do you mean, young Max? Like wine, cheese? I went back and listened to it a week or two ago (along with Walk The Sky) after a very long break period. It's still a 6 out of 10 for me (similar to Walk The Sky and The Last Hero). My song rankings haven't changed and I still really like certain ones and can barely listen to/tune out others. I just feel like Alter Bridge's albums have become really inconsistent and while I look forward to them I just don't have the same feeling I did when Blackbird, ABIII, and Fortress came out.

So I posted that shortly after listening to Stay. I listen to six out of the ten songs on the album regularly, Stay being one of them, but I usually do not take the time to appreciate all the subtle nuances in the songwriting and recording, which is what I did then. I still like Stay just as much if not more than I did back when it was first released. The same can be said for Dead Among The Living and Silver Tongue. My liking for This Is War and Pawns & Kings has just grown exponentially. All five of those songs are in my top 10 Alter Bridge songs right now.

Holiday is the sixth song that I still listen to regularly, and while it is not up to the level of the other five songs, I still really like it and appreciate it for its laid-back style. I have not listened to the rest of the album in a while, but even though I may dislike Sin After Sin and Fable Of The Silent Son individually, I still cannot help but think that those two songs along with Season Of Promise and Last Man Standing fit really well in the context of the album.

[gbruin]

I like Stay and Holiday just as much as when I first heard them, which is not very much at all. But about all of the rest of the P&K has gotten better for me, so there's that.

But I'm with Schulzy above...those first 4 records. There was something so organic and sincere and passionate and brilliant and unique about each song and each of those albums as a whole for me. When I click on Alter Bridge in my iTunes, I still play those albums way more than I play the more recent 3. I don't have any expectations they'll soar that high again.

[Crumbso]

Man, this album has aged so well.

Can you tell me more? What do you mean, young Max? Like wine, cheese? I went back and listened to it a week or two ago (along with Walk The Sky) after a very long break period. It's still a 6 out of 10 for me (similar to Walk The Sky and The Last Hero). My song rankings haven't changed and I still really like certain ones and can barely listen to/tune out others. I just feel like Alter Bridge's albums have become really inconsistent and while I look forward to them I just don't have the same feeling I did when Blackbird, ABIII, and Fortress came out.

So I posted that shortly after listening to Stay. I listen to six out of the ten songs on the album regularly, Stay being one of them, but I usually do not take the time to appreciate all the subtle nuances in the songwriting and recording, which is what I did then. I still like Stay just as much if not more than I did back when it was first released. The same can be said for Dead Among The Living and Silver Tongue. My liking for This Is War and Pawns & Kings has just grown exponentially. All five of those songs are in my top 10 Alter Bridge songs right now.

Holiday is the sixth song that I still listen to regularly, and while it is not up to the level of the other five songs, I still really like it and appreciate it for its laid-back style. I have not listened to the rest of the album in a while, but even though I may dislike Sin After Sin and Fable Of The Silent Son individually, I still cannot help but think that those two songs along with Season Of Promise and Last Man Standing fit really well in the context of the album.

It's funny. Because I agree with you in that it's grown on me well but I'm diametrically opposed to you on the songs I like .

I could take our leave Stay and Holiday. To me, Dead Among the Living feels like a rehash of Come to Life and Still Remains. Silver Tongue I like for Myles' performance in the bridge though.

However, that run of the last four songs feels like vintage, grade-A Alter Bridge. Almost recaptures what I feel is a bit lost from the previous two albums.

Isn't it great how subjectivity can lead to such agreement and disagreement?

[Schulzy]

However, that run of the last four songs feels like vintage, grade-A Alter Bridge. Almost recaptures what I feel is a bit lost from the previous two albums.

Isn't it great how subjectivity can lead to such agreement and disagreement?

I would agree, with the exception being Pawns & Kings - the song. They give us bits and pieces of what I love so much about them and that's what I CLING TO. I think Greg said it too, I just don't have expectations at this stage of their careers to be blown away...either with the albums or live concerts. And I've learned to live with that after how disappointed I was with The Last Hero (I didn't go to see them on that concert run). It was the longest stretch between live shows 2014-2019 for me. And then this time around it was almost as long - 2023. I will still purchase anything they put out, buy a new shirt or two, and try to see them at least once on the tour.