Whitebird wrote: ↑Thu Oct 13, 2022 7:07 pm
Does anybody notice a similarity between the main riff of Dead Among the Living and the main riff of Come To life? I love it, specially on 00:17 to 00:36
Funny you should say that. This is from Apple Music:
“Dead Among the Living”
Mark Tremonti: “This was one of the songs I brought to the table. I wanted to go back to a ‘Come to Life’-style song. When I think of Alter Bridge, I think of a bunch of different flavours. One of them is a riff-driven, empowering track. It’s important for us. If you’re having a bad day, maybe it gets you motivated or helps you feel better.”
Apple Music has a review and track by track breakdown from Mark and Myles:
For their seventh album, rock troupe Alter Bridge decided to take a different approach from that of their 2019 full-length, Walk the Sky. “Before we embarked on the songwriting process for Pawns & Kings, we agreed that it was time to pull back a bit on the production relative to our recent recordings,” vocalist/guitarist Myles Kennedy tells Apple Music. “With that said, it was paramount that the riffs and melodies were strong enough to carry the weight without a lot of layers. This approach ended up making the record a little more direct and, to some degree, more aggressive.”
You can hear what he means on bombastic opener “This Is War” and the towering, staccato riffs of “Silver Tongue”, among others. “There are still moments where we take advantage of the sonic density multitracking can bring to the equation,” Kennedy points out. “Aspects of ‘Fable of the Silent Son’, among others, utilise this approach. But we were always cognizant of making sure we brought the arrangement style back around to the parameters established at the beginning of the process.” Below, Kennedy and guitarist/vocalist Mark Tremonti comment on the songs.
“This Is War”
Myles Kennedy: “This came from a dream. It was like the universe dropped it on me. It really pertains to struggles from the inside, like self-doubt, anxiety or tension. You’re waging war within yourself.”
Mark Tremonti: “The riffs, the melodies and the lyrics are just striking. Since it’s heavier, everybody assumes it was one of mine, but that started with Myles.”
“Dead Among the Living”
Mark Tremonti: “This was one of the songs I brought to the table. I wanted to go back to a ‘Come to Life’-style song. When I think of Alter Bridge, I think of a bunch of different flavours. One of them is a riff-driven, empowering track. It’s important for us. If you’re having a bad day, maybe it gets you motivated or helps you feel better.”
Myles Kennedy: “As soon as Mark sent it, I thought it was really groovy. Lyrically, it’s about somebody who gave up on life. This person fails to see his true potential, so you ultimately challenge him to live again. Our fans like this theme, and we’ve had a few of these ‘rock ’n’ roll Tony Robbins’ moments over the years.”
“Silver Tongue”
Myles Kennedy: “This is a theme I’ve touched on a few times in the past because it fascinates me. It’s about a charismatic figure who’s capable of seducing people with what he says. This figure knows he won’t be held accountable because he talks others into doing things and taking the fall.”
“Sin After Sin”
Mark Tremonti: “This is one of my favourites. It’s a captivating story that sets a powerful mood. It started with the drum loop, and I wanted to write a moody and gloomy riff over it. That’s how it came together.”
Myles Kennedy: “It’s a journey. It basically calls out someone for hiding their dark character flaws behind a virtuous facade. I’ve had enough situations in my many years on this planet to come across this sort of thing and the hypocrisy of it. The lyrical concept matched the depth of the music.”
“Stay”
Mark Tremonti: “I heard this chord progression in my head. I wrote it down and started singing over it. Myles added the bridge. It has a ‘seize the day’ message between two people.”
“Holiday”
Mark Tremonti: “This was one of the tracks that Myles brought to the table, and I think it’s one of the coolest vocal performances. It has a lot of personality. It’s a fun, upbeat rock tune. It was necessary to lighten the mood here and there.”
Myles Kennedy: “When we messed around with it, it became appropriate for this record. From a lyrical standpoint, watching The Great Resignation might have inspired it. After 2020, it seemed as if folks weren’t as interested in going back to the way things were. They were chilling out. A lot of people were asking themselves if there’s more to life than a living. Being a complete workaholic, I can’t say I’d totally abide by the song.”
“Fable of the Silent Son”
Myles Kennedy: “You can hear somebody being honest about past mistakes and saying, ‘Don’t make those mistakes.’ It’s imparting those lessons learned through struggle to someone else, so they don’t have to endure the same pain. It’s just heavy.”
“Season of Promise”
Myles Kennedy: “This has a ’90s vibe to it. It’s the idea of passing on wisdom again. It’s knowledge learned from previous generations being fostered and passed on throughout human history. It’s important. In Western culture, I feel like younger people should listen to the older, wiser folks who have been on the planet a little longer and maybe heed their advice. I’m saying this as an old guy.”
“Last Man Standing”
Myles Kennedy: “From a guitar perspective, this one is really fun. Mark and I got into new territory, and there’s an odd time signature happening. [Lyrically], it’s basically about the ambitions of someone who’s willing to sell his soul for material gain. You see it all the time, unfortunately. Once they’ve reached the summit and the pinnacle of life as the last man standing, was it worth it? That’s the theme.”
“Pawns & Kings”
Myles Kennedy: “This is a battle cry for the underdog. You’re not only going to face what could be considered the ultimate challenge, but you’re also going to overcome it. It’s a David versus Goliath story.”
Mark Tremonti: “We were blown away when Myles showed it to us. It takes so many twists and turns. We put an Alter Bridge spin on it, but the genius of it came from Myles. It could be the best song on the record, and it’s perfect that [as the lead single] it will be the first thing everybody hears.”
Gonna disagree on that last bit from Mark, wish they'd held the title track back from the IG releases (I say after having listened to it dozens of times.)
Whitebird wrote: ↑Thu Oct 13, 2022 7:07 pm
Does anybody notice a similarity between the main riff of Dead Among the Living and the main riff of Come To life? I love it, specially on 00:17 to 00:36
Funny you should say that. This is from Apple Music:
“Dead Among the Living”
Mark Tremonti: “This was one of the songs I brought to the table. I wanted to go back to a ‘Come to Life’-style song. When I think of Alter Bridge, I think of a bunch of different flavours. One of them is a riff-driven, empowering track. It’s important for us. If you’re having a bad day, maybe it gets you motivated or helps you feel better.”
Nice catch
Kinda out of topic, but the delete of the 'magazine covers' thread it's one of the saddest things that have happened in this forum
Whitebird wrote: ↑Thu Oct 13, 2022 7:07 pm
Does anybody notice a similarity between the main riff of Dead Among the Living and the main riff of Come To life? I love it, specially on 00:17 to 00:36
Funny you should say that. This is from Apple Music:
“Dead Among the Living”
Mark Tremonti: “This was one of the songs I brought to the table. I wanted to go back to a ‘Come to Life’-style song. When I think of Alter Bridge, I think of a bunch of different flavours. One of them is a riff-driven, empowering track. It’s important for us. If you’re having a bad day, maybe it gets you motivated or helps you feel better.”
If Dead Among The Living is in Drop Bb tuning, that's gonna be the first time ever that the first two songs on an Alter Bridge album are in the same tuning. That's a good thing from my perspective, because I like when albums have a good enough flow to be played live in order, and I like when the first two songs of a live show "hang" into each other, which can only be done if the songs are in the same tuning.
I'm in love with somebody...
Found someone who completes me...
I'm in love with somebody...
Oh yeah...
And it's Lzzy Hale!
MaraCarr wrote:
It is not like a crush or a lust thing.
Only heard Stay so far of the unreleased tracks and im debating just skipping the rest. I feel so broken that none of these tracks have clicked for me.
Scott Stapp:
28th March, 2014 at The Opera House in Toronto
I have been a very patient lad and have not gone to a sketchy Russian website to look for illegal streams. I've also avoided pretty much every single review. I'm legitimately going into the rest of the album completely blind. The ONLY bit of information I have is that the "Fabled" song is very long.
Kreuger wrote: ↑Thu Oct 13, 2022 10:05 pm
Only heard Stay so far of the unreleased tracks and im debating just skipping the rest. I feel so broken that none of these tracks have clicked for me.
Don’t fret too much, Kreuger. After my first full album listen, I think I felt like maybe 6 out of the 10 tracks weren’t doing it for me. Only a few hours later, I’d change that to 3 maybe 4 at most.
The other day I chuckled to myself when I realised that In The Deep had finally clicked for me. Been reading about meditation a fair bit lately, and so the lyrics in that one became more interesting to me all of a sudden. Only took 3 years
If you think about it, this is AB’s 7th record, and it officially takes their catalogue just past 100 songs (including bonus tracks). If I come away from Pawns and Kings with only two or three big favourites, I consider that a win really.
Right, I'm in the same boat, Kreuger. None of the singles were that great, to me. Pawns and Kings was alright, but nothing at all stood out.
I have yet to listen to the rest of the album yet, but this is what ALWAYS happens. I ALWAYS dislike the singles they release beforehand before listening to the album and thinking "oh thank god the rest of the album wasn't like those songs."
I haven't heard the album yet, but that thought process has carried me to here so far. I'm hoping it doesn't let me down.
First listen. Album is OK. I think I like it a little better than the last two albums. Still so far away from the sound and specially the feeling the BB/III/Fortress-age gave me. Hard to realise each new album-cycle a little bit more that we will never get that great quality back again. Just sharing my first personal feeling after hearing this album in full for the first time. It will probably grow on me a little bit more with a few more listens.
Holy shit Stay ROCKS. It sounds like I'm watching the beginning of a slasher film from 1995 or something. I said this in our group chat, but it sounds like I'm watching the beginning of Scream.
The harmonizing Myles does in the chorus is lovely. FUCKIN lovely.
How can you hear that beautiful sound and not like this ballad? The lyrics might be cheesy, but look past it. The vocals in this song sound better than any other song I've heard on this album by a country mile.
AB23 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 14, 2022 12:33 am
Holy shit Stay ROCKS. It sounds like I'm watching the beginning of a slasher film from 1995 or something. I said this in our group chat, but it sounds like I'm watching the beginning of Scream.
The harmonizing Myles does in the chorus is lovely. FUCKIN lovely.
How can you hear that beautiful sound and not like this ballad? The lyrics might be cheesy, but look past it. The vocals in this song sound better than any other song I've heard on this album by a country mile.
Haha I’m the same way I love their cheesy ballads. They always hit me in the feels. Got me through the dark times.
I get One Day Remains vibes from this, except with Mark providing his best lead vocals in the band's catalog yet.
Just finished up my first listen of the album. Has a lot of great moments but Stay is such an amazing track. I hadn’t listened to Sin After Sin previously but loved how well the lyrics and music matched together on that one.
Fable of the Silent Son was also great. Really enjoy how much effort they put into longer songs overall on this album. Everything sounds so good. Brian’s bass really shines a lot on this album and the guitar tones are great.
Gonna take a few listens to fully digest, but my first impression of this one is really high. It’s definitely their best since Fortress.
So I held off on every released track except Pawns & Kings, so I went into this one 90% blind, which I feel was the right call. After not liking a decent chunk of TLH and almost none of WTS, I am very pleased with this album. I mainly only dislike Holiday and Season of Promise, so 8/10 songs is great for me.
I also feel like the production is a LOT better on a lot of these songs, which is fantastic for my ears.
Edit: The vocals in the bridge of Silver Tongue are fucking insane. That is all.
Last edited by DCooper727 on Fri Oct 14, 2022 1:24 am, edited 2 times in total.
Fabled is the best song they've made since at least Fortress, but more likely all the way back to Words. That song has you sit down and takes you through a history of rock music. It feels like a damn lecture. That rocked.
The rest of the album was really forgettable, though I liked the vocals in Stay a lot. Pawns and Kings was alright too. But a lot of the songs just have really forgettable melodies, to me. It feels like the song is about to go in a certain direction and it's JUST about to connect with me, and then the melody goes in a weird, opposite direction and it just kills the vibe. It's like expecting something magical and getting more of a fart in the face.
I just listened to the entire album. Honestly, I think that any opinion I say could easily be changed with multiple listens. So, I'm going to hold off on reviewing the album until I've listened to it more.
I'm in love with somebody...
Found someone who completes me...
I'm in love with somebody...
Oh yeah...
And it's Lzzy Hale!
MaraCarr wrote:
It is not like a crush or a lust thing.
Alright, so listened for the first time and honestly - the singles are my favourites with one exception haha! That's going to sound unbelievable for some people, I'm sure. ;-) Also, since this is written after one or two listens, things might change.
'War' is a great and heavy start, great solo as well. Those Myles layers are great as well, very unique. Like it very much!
Could definitely feel the Come to Life vibes in 'Dead', nice and heavier song but not really something that stood out to me.
'Silver' I secretly really liked when it came out (thanks to the memorable riff) and jammed along with it a lot.
'Sin' is a Mark song and I love that vibey, brooding and dark sound that it has. Also love the harmonies of Mark (especially just before the outro solo), just love the sound of them together. Glad I resisted listening more than once to this song, still feels fresh.
Which brings me nicely to 'Stay', a song I won't be revisiting much I'm afraid. Although vocals sound great, it's just not my kind of song - polar opposite of what I like from AB. And that's fine, I know a lot of people love this.
'Holiday' has a cool groove, was kind of surprising. Catchy chorus, kind of more 'happy' but not in a bad way. Don't mind the Myles/'Slash' vibes it has, because I think Myles does that very well. Glad the bridge is a bit heavier, love the way that 'lead' came in before the bridge 'climaxed'. Cool song, might be a grower or might stay in the mid-pack for me. We'll see.
Well well, here we go. 'Fable' start of really nice, with a great clean finger picking part - which had some old school rock vibes (think Led Zeppelin/Beatles). Then it picks up a bit with a doomy bendy riff which I liked. After that we get another part after a little atmospheric break, which has a very cool riff - almost has a little Queens of the Stone Age vibe for some reason. It goes along nicely with some more parts coming along. Solos were cool, interchanging between Myles and Mark. Does feel a little bit pieced together, but the vocals connect it nicely for me. As far as 'epics' go it might not be my fav, but it might grow. Also on this album, it sits nicely in the middle of the ranking I think.
'Season' I knew in 10 seconds that was not going to like it. The riff, the way the drums came in, I just cringed. Not my thing, falls in the category of Twilight and Tear Us Apart - songs that I listened to maybe 2-3 times. Guitars sounded crunchy at those open chords in the verse though.
'Last Man' is the surprise of the album for me. That pre-chorus grabbed my attention in the best way possible, finally something a bit weird and surprising haha. And the bridge was fantastic as well, great riff and two - or three (since the first one has a break) great solo's. And there's Mark and Myles harmonizing again. The transition from the bridge was a bit awkward, but other than that I love this one!
'Pawns & Kings' I listened to a bunch when it came out, and really had to leave that song alone for a bit because I was afraid of over-listening. But I LOVE this song. And have grown far from tired.
So I really enjoyed the album, just two songs I don't care for. And a few absolute bangers, I'll take it. Also love the way the album sounds compared to the previous two albums. Kick-drum is a bit overpowering, but vocals, guitars and bass are loud and clear to me.
