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Napalm (Release date: 14.10.22)
In an unpredictable world of turbulence and chaos, it is reassuring to know that Alter Bridge bring regular and dependable quality. As Autumn rolls around every third year, a new studio album from this heavy mob invariably hits the racks, irrespective of the band members’ side projects.
‘Pawns and Kings’ continues a sequence of outstanding multi-tiered, intense rock and metal that began with ‘One Day Remains’ in 2004. The sound has developed and grown across seven releases, but maybe not as much as you might imagine.
The bedrock of thunderous, dark riffs from Mark Tremonti’s guitar underpinned by the booming rhythm section of Scott Phillips and Brian Marshall is a cast iron constant. Myles Kennedy continues to provide uplifting contrast with his soaring, sometimes searing, always melodic vocals. Throw in the synth loops and programming and you have a recipe for a platter with more layers and density than my old Mum’s special lasagne.
If anything, the sound on this 2022 collection is heavier than ever. Opener ‘This Is War’ and the following ‘Dead Among The Living’ have real bite and belligerence.
‘Sin After Sin’ is an early highlight. There are a couple of raw moments mid-track that made me feel like the bloke off the Maxell tape advert all those years ago. Blown away. This is a typical Alter Bridge grower. Spin it a few times and you are hooked, waiting for that stomach punch riff to hit you.
Later, a change up moment in ‘Fable of the Silent Son’ brings the same feeling. Monstrous work from Tremonti with Kennedy weaving a narrative of awakening and vindication over the top. There’s hints of many of the band’s influences here, most obviously Metallica, Sabbath and Queensryche. Clocking in at healthily over 8 minutes, the track channels a prog-metal feel to plunge us deep in to the breadbasket of the album.
There are also some commercial moments. Earlier, ‘Stay’ sees Tremonti and Kennedy share lively lead vocal duties. Their voices gel nicely on a freewheeling foot-tapper. Yes, foot-tapper. Let us not forget that next month, Mark Tremonti can be seen delivering an evening of Frank Sinatra tunes live at the O2 Indigo. Next up, ‘Holiday’, albeit slightly heavier, equally brings a melodic, catchy vocal over swelling riffage/keyboard loops.
‘Season of Promise’ is almost another of the mid-paced mainstream tunes on offer, packing a stadium chorus and massed backing vocals, but offering enough edge to smite the unsuspecting. This also showcases some of Tremonti’s sharpest, cleanest fretwork on the album to close out the track.
The writhing ‘Last Man Standing’ is typical of Alter Bridge music that throws in twists and shimmies just when you think you have them pinned down. Here it is Scott Phillips’ drum patterns, change-of-pace vocals and a series of electrifying solos that hallmark the worth of the band’s mighty song-writing.
This album has stamina. The title track wraps up the album in majestic style. ‘Pawns and Kings’ brings Kennedy’s most insistent, fast-paced delivery to a towering track of social commentary and wise counsel. The band find one more anthemic groove for the keynote chorus propelled by slab-like riffs and programming. And it’s hard not to be drawn again to the compelling counterparts of down-tuned bass and seismic drums. The track synthesises all the elements of the album into a valedictory statement piece.
‘Pawns and Kings’ is a proper five-star belter of an album crafted by a band who choose to tweak a winning formula rather than invent a new one. Often copied, never bettered. Alter Bridge are the masters of multi-layered classic metal. *****
Review by Dave Atkinson
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