Pawns & Kings (Alter Bridge - VII)

[Ubik]

Nice to see the early good reactions! Will be waiting till it's up on Spotify, enjoy all!

[SHEAKENBAKEN]

After listening to the iTunes previews for the first time I can definitely tell this record will be better than Walk The Sky for me! Bring on 9PM PST!

[Whitebird]

HOW IN THE HELL HOLIDAY WAS NOT A SINGLE? THAT SONG IT'S SO INCREDIBLY CATCHY

[rising_waters007]

Been seeing a decent number of reviews mentioning that AB doesn’t have nearly the following in the US than it does in EU… while true, I wish this would stop coming up tbh.

The more it’s talked about, I feel the worse it becomes. Writers put that thought into the reader’s head, and for what?

[Dan Dando]

If Alter Bridge songs were different times of a day then Stay would be the sun-rise. I expect it’ll be too mushy for some, but as someone who is quite fond of Alter Bridge’s sappier side, it definitely scratches that itch nicely.

[iAmDavis]

From the last two albums, I really believe that Fable is only rivaled by This Side of Fate and The Last Hero for best track. So many parts to it, and easily my favorite from this album. Overall, the only song I really am not fond of on the first listen is Season of Promise. It's gonna take more listens for that one, and I'm sure I'll end up loving it. But there isn't a song on this album that I think anything on WTS can top. This album as a whole is miles above anything on that record.

[Whitebird]

I can personally see how Godspeed, Pay No Mind and Dying Light can be better than some songs of the new album like Stay

[Crumbso]

One listen through and the songs that stand out for me are:
- Fable of the Silent Son
- Sin After Sin
- Last Man Standing

[Red_D]

Happy for everyone who is listening to the album today & slightly jealous as well Guess I can wait one more day…….i’ve managed to hold out & only listen to the title track so seriously looking forward to FINALLY getting to hear the other nine songs

[Dolo]

I've had a listen through the unheard ones.
Dead Among the Living has some cool syncopation in the intro/outro riff
Stay is just..... no. Everybody says Nickelback is guilty of writing sappy ballads, how about this one?
Holiday has butt rock written all over it, I can totally see why it was once supposed to be Myles' solo song
Fable of the Silent Son takes some listening to digest, but I think they made it complex just for the sake of making it complex, some parts just don't gel with each other really well and have no real purpose. I do like some more clever bits, like the riff 5:15 with the produced vocals. But then you have sections like 5:35 which go out of nowhere for no reason whatsoever.
This record has its moments, but aside from the title track, I don't think I will get into any of the remaining tracks entirely.

[Dan Dando]

HOW IN THE HELL HOLIDAY WAS NOT A SINGLE? THAT SONG IT'S SO INCREDIBLY CATCHY

That one gave me a Slash/Conspirators vibe. Will have to listen to it a bit more.

I can personally see how Godspeed, Pay No Mind and Dying Light can be better than some songs of the new album like Stay

I think I’d probably put Pawns and Kings below Walk the Sky, and perhaps on a par with The Last Hero. But it’s early days, personal rankings often change over time.

Overall, the only song I really am not fond of on the first listen is Season of Promise. It's gonna take more listens for that one, and I'm sure I'll end up loving it.

I feel like the chorus on that one doesn’t really soar in the way that it should. Need to give it a few more listens though.

Stay is just..... no. Everybody says Nickelback is guilty of writing sappy ballads, how about this one?

I love sappy ballads. It’s one of those things where I wouldn’t even argue with anyone who dislikes Tear Us Apart or a song like Stay, because I know they’re a couple of leagues below AB’s best work, but they still hit the spot for me. Looking forward to adding Stay to my morning walks/occasional run (lol) playlist.

[RevenantGB]

Not too sure what to think just yet, none of the unheard tracks with the exception of Fable really did much for me on first listen. But holy fuck Fable is incredible; when those isolated chords hit I just knew I'd love it.

[Crumbso]

I flippin' love Fable of the Silent Son on repeat listens. The lyrics are fantastic, they resonate with me hugely, and the song is dripping with atmosphere, helped by a very heartfelt-sounding delivery from Myles. It's pretty simple but also complex at the same time, a bit like Blackbird is. However, it's not Blackbird, very much its own thing. I do get the feel that this was a team effort from the whole band, rather than brought in.

The main thing is it takes its time to develop an idea and sits with the grooves, letting them breathe for a good amount of time, whilst exploring a song structure that is different but feels natural to me. Not many others so far have entered consideration for top-tier AB songs for me but this one does. Time will tell how I feel about it with time though.

[anguyen92]

Fable of the Silent Son takes some listening to digest, but I think they made it complex just for the sake of making it complex, some parts just don't gel with each other really well and have no real purpose. I do like some more clever bits, like the riff 5:15 with the produced vocals. But then you have sections like 5:35 which go out of nowhere for no reason whatsoever.

Interesting, because I've read various posts over the course of time from people regarding songs like Fortress, The Last Hero, and in Tremonti's case, Marching in Time, where people say there's nothing too complex about those songs where it's basically a standard radio structure song (but they added some depth and solos to beef up the structure). Now that AB actually attempted to do a long song outside of that mold, it's complex for the sake of making things complex?

This is the issue I have with people saying "AB needs to experiment more," because you then get people thinking, "This experiment isn't working out as I hoped," but that's the main concept of experimenting. It's not all going to be a success and people have to be mentally prepared if they failed in constructing a song outside of their bubble.

[Dolo]

Fable of the Silent Son takes some listening to digest, but I think they made it complex just for the sake of making it complex, some parts just don't gel with each other really well and have no real purpose. I do like some more clever bits, like the riff 5:15 with the produced vocals. But then you have sections like 5:35 which go out of nowhere for no reason whatsoever.

Interesting, because I've read various posts from people regarding songs like Fortress, The Last Hero, and in Tremonti's case, Marching in Time, where people say there's nothing too complex about those songs where it's basically a standard radio structure song (but they added some depth and solos to beef up the structure). Now that AB actually attempted to do a long song outside of that mold, it's complex for the sake of making things complex?

This is the issue I have with people saying "AB needs to experiment more," because you then get people thinking, "This experiment isn't working out as I hoped," but that's the main concept of experimenting. It's not all going to be a success and people have to be mentally prepared if they failed in constructing a song outside of their bubble.

I've never said Fortress, The Last Hero or MiT aren't complex, I think they are quite special in terms of song structure for AB/Tremonti standards. Experimenting doesn't imply just throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks. This is what seems to me that the process for FotSS was. I was already worried when Mark mentioned that this song had like 15 parts to it, that never really repeat. This experiment didn't really work out in my book, and it's definitely not 'the most well-crafted AB song' as some reviews suggested.

[Timotheus]

Last Man Standing is so cool. That bridge followed by those solos is a thing of beauty.

I have many feelings about this album. Shall share them after a few more listens.

[GassMoney92]

At first I was worried about Fable of the Silent Son, being it was the longest track and hyped up as the “epic journey” on the album in a lot of reviews. However, after my first listen I had nothing but excitement and goosebumps the whole time. Then I listened to it again and was blown away again, this time while reading the lyrics as it’s playing. The storytelling just really resonated with me and seriously almost brought me to tears. I know that sounds dramatic, but I had such a powerful feeling from that song. The full voice wail from Myles on the outro sealed the deal for me.

[AB23]

I like ballads. I wish they'd freakin do it more. If your criticism of Nickelback is that they write too many ballads, then you're not trying very hard.

[AB4Lyfe]

I like ballads. I wish they'd freakin do it more. If your criticism of Nickelback is that they write too many ballads, then you're not trying very hard.

You’re going to love Stay and Season of Promise. Trust me bro.

[AB23]

They write almost all heavier, metal, what they call "progressive" music now. It's like 80% of the stuff they release, and it increases with each new album. I don't really understand how any fans of that music could criticize a couple of ballads on the album. It's like 2 songs, guys, lol. It's like the last remaining link to ODR/BB that we have.

Frankly, I wish they'd cater to that crowd more than they do.