Pawns & Kings

Pawns & Kings
Studio album by
Alter Bridge
ReleasedOctober 14, 2022
RecordedMarch 28 – May 17, 2022
StudioStudio Barbarosa (Orlando, Florida)
GenreAlternative metal, hard rock, progressive metal[1]
Length53:37
LabelNapalm
ProducerMichael Baskette
Alter Bridge chronology
Walk the Sky 2.0
(2020) 		Pawns & Kings
(2022)
Singles from Pawns & Kings
  1. "Pawns & Kings"
    Released: July 18, 2022
  2. "Silver Tongue"
    Released: August 1, 2022
  3. "Sin After Sin"
    Released: September 8, 2022
  4. "This Is War"
    Released: October 4, 2022
  5. "Holiday"
    Released: January 10, 2023[2]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic82/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Classic Rock[5]
Distorted Sound[6]
Kerrang!4/5[7]
Metal Digest60%[1]
Metal Hammer[8]
MusicOMH[9]
The Spill Magazine[10]

Pawns & Kings is the seventh studio album by American rock band Alter Bridge. It is the follow-up to 2019's Walk the Sky. It was released on October 14, 2022, via Napalm Records. It was ranked as the second best guitar album of 2022 by Guitar World readers,[11] who also ranked the solo of the title track as the 5th best guitar solo of 2022.[12]

Background

In September 2021, guitarist Mark Tremonti revealed that he and Alter Bridge would be recording their seventh studio album during the spring of 2022, with a tentative release date some time in the fall. Tremonti and Myles Kennedy subsequently began pre-production on the album in January 2022,[13] with recording taking place during the April with Michael "Elvis" Baskette once again as producer after producing the previous five Alter Bridge albums. During a radio interview in the May, Tremonti revealed that the album would be entitled Pawns & Kings and would be released on October 14.[14] In a subsequent interview, he explained how Baskette felt that Tremonti and Kennedy's stylistic preferences over time had changed so much that he could not recognise which member of the band was responsible for which music.[15]

The album was officially revealed, including its artwork and tracklist, on July 18. The cover shows a bridge with the date the band was formed on the left side of the bridge and the release date of the album on the right. The lead single, "Pawns & Kings", was released on streaming platforms with an accompanying lyric video on social media.[16] The album is the shortest album in the band's discography to date, while at the same time featuring their longest piece to date, the over eight-minute "Fable of the Silent Son".

Track listing

All tracks are written by Alter Bridge

Pawns & Kings track listing
No.TitleLength
1."This Is War"4:03
2."Dead Among the Living"4:52
3."Silver Tongue"4:18
4."Sin After Sin"6:42
5."Stay"4:37
6."Holiday"3:58
7."Fable of the Silent Son"8:22
8."Season of Promise"4:51
9."Last Man Standing"5:33
10."Pawns & Kings"6:18
Total length:53:37

Personnel

Alter Bridge

Production

Charts

Chart performance for Pawns & Kings
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[17] 9
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[18] 5
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[19] 28
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[20] 66
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[21] 84
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[22] 15
French Albums (SNEP)[23] 115
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[24] 7
Italian Albums (FIMI)[25] 50
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[26] 79
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[27] 14
Scottish Albums (OCC)[28] 4
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[29] 76
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[30] 2
UK Albums (OCC)[31] 6
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[32] 2
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[33] 1
US Billboard 200[34] 35
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[35] 6
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[36] 2
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[37] 8

References

  1. ^ a b "Alter Bridge – 'Pawns & Kings'".
  2. ^ "Rock Future Releases". AllAccess. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  3. ^ "Pawns & Kings by Alter Bridge". Metacritic. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  4. ^ "Alter Bridge - Pawns & Kings Album Reviews, Songs & More AllMusic". AllMusic.
  5. ^ Hobson, Rich (October 14, 2022). "Alter Bridge's Pawns & Kings: this is the Rolls-Royce of Alter Bridge records". Classic Rock. Retrieved October 18, 2022 – via Loudersound.
  6. ^ Ray, Graham (October 11, 2022). "ALBUM REVIEW: Pawns & Kings - Alter Bridge - Distorted Sound Magazine". Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  7. ^ Ruskell, Nick (October 14, 2022). "Album review: Alter Bridge – Pawns & Kings". Kerrang!. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  8. ^ "Alter Bridge's Pawns & Kings: More colossal anthems from the modern kings of arena rock". 10 October 2022.
  9. ^ "Alter Bridge – Pawns & Kings Album Reviews musicOMH". 14 October 2022.
  10. ^ Harris, Gerrod (14 October 2022). "SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: ALTER BRIDGE - PAWNS & KINGS - The Spill Magazine". The Spill Magazine.
  11. ^ Horsley, Jonathan (21 December 2022). "The best guitar albums of 2022". Guitar World. Future plc. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  12. ^ Horsley, Jonathan (14 December 2022). "The 10 best guitar solos of 2022". Guitar World. Future plc. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  13. ^ "Alter Bridge To Enter Studio In April 2022". September 28, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  14. ^ "Alter Bridge's Seventh Album Gets Official Title, Release Date". Blabbermouth.net. May 4, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  15. ^ "Mark Tremonti on Alter Bridge's Upcoming Album 'Pawn & Kings': 'We're Very Proud Of It'". Blabbermouth.net. July 11, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  16. ^ "Alter Bridge Drop 'Pawns & Kings' Title Track, Reveal New Album". Loudwire.com. July 18, 2022. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  17. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. October 24, 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  18. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Alter Bridge – Pawns & Kings" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  19. ^ "Ultratop.be – Alter Bridge – Pawns & Kings" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  20. ^ "Ultratop.be – Alter Bridge – Pawns & Kings" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  21. ^ "Alter Bridge Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  22. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Alter Bridge – Pawns & Kings" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  23. ^ "Top Albums (Week 42, 2022)". SNEP. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  24. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Alter Bridge – Pawns & Kings" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  25. ^ "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 42 (dal 14.10.2022 al 20.10.2022)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  26. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums – Week of October 19, 2022". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  27. ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  28. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  29. ^ "Top 100 Albums Weekly". PROMUSICAE. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  30. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Alter Bridge – Pawns & Kings". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  31. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  32. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  33. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  34. ^ "Alter Bridge Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  35. ^ "Alter Bridge Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  36. ^ "Alter Bridge Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  37. ^ "Alter Bridge Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 25, 2022.