Pawns & Kings (Alter Bridge - VII)

[Schulzy]

(For way too long)
(It's not our fault)

Such a missed opportunity not having Mark come in and sing these parts.

Eh? Am I missing something or is that not Mark?

First time I listened I thought it was Myles with an effect on his voice. Now I’m not sure

It's 100% Mark.

I really wish they would have Mark do more backing vocals. Myles sounds great harmonizing with himself, but there is a sound that they can only achieve when it's Myles and Mark together, and that's definitely happening here. I've really enjoyed the last few albums, but if I had to nitpick, it would be that I'd like to hear more Myles/Mark harmonies than Myles/Myles harmonies. Especially when they play live, it makes a huge difference having those backing vocals.

Yes, yes, yes, and more yes!

[nagpo]

i like the music but not the vocals/lyrics

[Mr. Slash]

They released 3 songs from the new album so far. I enjoy all 3 of them. What happened to this band? I would have never expected that they would ever get out of their comfort zone again.

[Timotheus]

I really enjoyed the song. It reminds me a bit of Flying Monkeys, Show Me A Sign and The Other Side.

The first 40 seconds or so (basically the intro) are super cool. Love the bass and drum part. The riff itself is also super effective and nicely executed. It's a rather unique riff coming from them, which I appreciate.

The verses are great as well. The chorus could've been repeated one less time (goes for many AB songs really), but I think it works really well. It fits the vibe of the rest of the song, and I love the way it works around the main riff.

I don't miss a guitar solo. I think the lead guitar at the end served the song well.

[RevenantGB]

They released 3 songs from the new album so far. I enjoy all 3 of them. What happened to this band? I would have never expected that they would ever get out of their comfort zone again.

This is the key takeaway in my opinion. Sin After Sin has yet to "click" for me and I certainly don't love it just yet, but the fact they're clearly out of their comfort-zone/taking risks again is really reassuring.

[fix]

A 6:41 song without a ‘real’ solo, that’s interesting!
Love the riff and that they used it as a chorus. Also like the ‘darker’ feel. The verses were nice and more stripped down than I’ve heard from them in a while. Only listened twice, because I’m going to wait till the album. But so far I got a good feeling from the different singles, even like the more ‘generic’ Silver Tongue - which is great fun to play on guitar. P&K is still my fav of the three though.

[iAmDavis]

I'm really blown away by the polarizing views on this song thus far. It's a good thing though. If we all agreed all the time, that would be boring. Hopefully everyone comes around to the song and enjoys the rest of the album!

[TenaciousBe]

It's interesting to me that some are thinking Sin After Sin (as well as the other two songs) are AB being "out of their comfort zone," when I listen to them and hear them nestled quite snugly in their AB sound. There's nothing wrong with that, obviously, as I've been following this band for nearly 20 years, but I'm not hearing the growth and development and experimentation that I did with Walk The Sky. Similar to Tremonti - Marching In Time is a great record, but it feels very much like a "put all the other Tremonti records in a computer and let an AI bot write a Tremonti album." Especially after the huge leap forward in creativity that we saw with A Dying Machine. So far, this AB album feels a bit the same way. I don't want to say it's a backstep, but it feels like very standard AB fare. As I said, that's not a bad thing, it just doesn't feel like anything new and groundbreaking and exciting. Maybe the rest of the album will prove me wrong. And maybe these songs will grow on me (Tremonti's album did for sure).

It's the same for other bands though. I felt that with some of the recent Foo Fighters albums. Same with the latest Shinedown album that they released a few weeks ago. They're good, but when you've lived with their other big hits and albums for years, anything new is going to sound and feel derivative of their past work. And if they stray TOO much from it, then it doesn't feel like they're being themselves. Aw hell, I'm ramblin' again...

[maximzub]

It's interesting to me that some are thinking Sin After Sin (as well as the other two songs) are AB being "out of their comfort zone," when I listen to them and hear them nestled quite snugly in their AB sound. There's nothing wrong with that, obviously, as I've been following this band for nearly 20 years, but I'm not hearing the growth and development and experimentation that I did with Walk The Sky. Similar to Tremonti - Marching In Time is a great record, but it feels very much like a "put all the other Tremonti records in a computer and let an AI bot write a Tremonti album." Especially after the huge leap forward in creativity that we saw with A Dying Machine. So far, this AB album feels a bit the same way. I don't want to say it's a backstep, but it feels like very standard AB fare. As I said, that's not a bad thing, it just doesn't feel like anything new and groundbreaking and exciting. Maybe the rest of the album will prove me wrong. And maybe these songs will grow on me (Tremonti's album did for sure).

It's the same for other bands though. I felt that with some of the recent Foo Fighters albums. Same with the latest Shinedown album that they released a few weeks ago. They're good, but when you've lived with their other big hits and albums for years, anything new is going to sound and feel derivative of their past work. And if they stray TOO much from it, then it doesn't feel like they're being themselves. Aw hell, I'm ramblin' again...

At some point, you gotta realize that a band that wants to stay true to their original sound is going to put out music that sounds a lot like their previous work. It doesn't mean they're losing the ability to be creative. Far from it, actually, because being able to write over 100 songs (just Alter Bridge, to say nothing of their million other projects) is definitely a display of creativity.

I think Tremonti streamlined their songwriting on A Dying Machine and kept that style for Marching In Time. That's why I like them better than their first three albums. As for Alter Bridge, I'm glad there isn't anything overproduced on this album so far. It's probably Elvis's best mix ever. The songwriting can be derivative of their past work, but the style of their past work is what sets them apart as a band and gives them their own identity, so why change it?

[AB4Lyfe]

Eagerly awaiting the reactions videos for this one. Didn’t really for Silver Tongue, but this one, yes.

[joshuabeau]

https://youtu.be/8gyL3MeQZQs

New Myles interview with Matt Pinfield. Really good interview. Goes into a little more detail on some other songs including about how Pawns & Kings and Holiday almost didn’t make the album.

[anguyen92]

Oh snaps, it's from KLOS. That's the Classic Rock station in the LA area. I didn't think they would ever promote AB in some ways.

Edit: Oh wait, I see KLOS actually went back to being a modern rock station. "In late January 2020, KLOS switched back to mainstream rock and changed their slogan to "Southern California's Rock Station"; the station reintroduced post-1990s rock into the playlist while still maintaining a heavy focus on classic rock tracks."

No wonder I saw some LA shows from modern bands listed on Ticketmaster that had the "presented by KLOS." tagline.

[AB23]

Still hasn't grown on me, but that's dope that so many of you guys like it. It's all good. It feels like they don't really feel like they have their own "sound" so they continue to change. Like I said yesterday, they think they're making heavier, more progressive, and better quality music. I just think that they continue to stray further and further from the simpler stuff that I thought they excelled at playing.

I'm a big boy. I'll be alright. Who cares if I (or anyone else) isn't a fan? Surely some of you have read the Youtube comments random people have posted... I'll never be satisfied!

If it sounds like I'm always negative, it's more just that the band is going in a different direction. I swear they could've farted into a mic 15 years ago and I would've paid for the freakin vinyl. There's no such thing as "objective" when it comes to evaluating art. It's clear that tons of people love it, so how can I possibly fault the band? I may not be the target audience anymore, but they seem to be doing just fine.

So screw me!

[AB4Lyfe]

Chris I feel like I’ve seen this exact message from you for each of the last four records.

[AB23]

In sum, it might not be my thing, but im glad if it's yours.

[TenaciousBe]

I do have to say this - my previous reactions to the songs happened as I'd listened to them individually. Each one coming out a few weeks apart, I tend to just listen once or twice and put it away so I don't wear those songs out before the album is released. Well, last night at work, I put the 3 new songs on and they really do feel more cohesive and hit harder as a group of songs rather than individual outings.

I'm sufficiently excited for the full album now. BRING IT TO ME.

[rjiparsons]

I do have to say this - my previous reactions to the songs happened as I'd listened to them individually. Each one coming out a few weeks apart, I tend to just listen once or twice and put it away so I don't wear those songs out before the album is released. Well, last night at work, I put the 3 new songs on and they really do feel more cohesive and hit harder as a group of songs rather than individual outings.

I'm sufficiently excited for the full album now. BRING IT TO ME.

Did this exact thing on the way to work this morning and completely agree...as a whole, the album is coming together really well now.

[Crumbso]

I keep getting the intro to Sin After Sin confused with the intro to Trust by Megadeth. That drum pattern is so similar :

[Dolo]

I keep getting the intro to Sin After Sin confused with the intro to Trust by Megadeth. That drum pattern is so similar :

Yeah, my thoughts exactly. Is there another AB tune that starts with a drum groove other than Metalingus? We Don't Care At All comes to mind as well.

[VigilantSteve]

I keep getting the intro to Sin After Sin confused with the intro to Trust by Megadeth. That drum pattern is so similar :

Yeah, my thoughts exactly. Is there another AB tune that starts with a drum groove other than Metalingus? We Don't Care At All comes to mind as well.

Zero? I can't remember for sure as I haven't listened to the song in quite some time...though I think it is more of a drum fill than a groove.