Pawns & Kings
| Alter Bridge
Pawns & Kings
Pawns & Kings is the seventh studio album by American rock band Alter Bridge and the follow-up to 2019's Walk the Sky. It was released on October 14, 2022, via Napalm Records. -Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Kerrang!
Pawns & Kings is classic Alter Bridge – nice big choruses, intelligent lyrics, rock music meant to be played on big stages – but with their muscle properly tearing through their shirts. And though for longtime fans this shouldn't come as a surprise, the level to which they've dived in here still may do.
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Riff Magazine
Pawns & Kings‘ 10 tracks run the gamut with callbacks to different points in the life of Alter Bridge—from unrelenting rockers and mid-tempo melodic power ballads to expansive and technically demanding progressive rockers.
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Sonic Perspectives
"Pawn & Kings" is a fun, heavy romp from the best in the business.
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Louder
Arena rockers Alter Bridge rediscover their inner Metallica on what might be their best album yet, Pawns & Kings.
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Wall of Sound
It’s obvious that Alter Bridge have been together for 18 years because sonically they are really cohesive as a unit and just gel really well together. Pawns & Kings is a solid album that shows why Alter Bridge have an almost 20-year career that doesn’t seem to be coming to an end any time soon. It’s a great balance of light and shade throughout that further cements the band as one of the best in the alt rock scene.
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Ghost Cult Magazine
It is quite easy to overlook how long Alter Bridge have been around for, and perhaps it is also taken that whilst they have not evolved their sound hugely in that time, they excel at what they do and have delivered some spectacular moments. Pawns And Kings continues on that trend, meaning you will know what to expect going in. Alter Bridge are arena regulars for a reason, and that reason is how immediate their songs are whilst coupled with an honesty and heart which is conveyed throughout.
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Ghost Cult Magazine
It is quite easy to overlook how long Alter Bridge have been around for, and perhaps it is also taken that whilst they have not evolved their sound hugely in that time, they excel at what they do and have delivered some spectacular moments. Pawns And Kings continues on that trend, meaning you will know what to expect going in. Alter Bridge are arena regulars for a reason, and that reason is how immediate their songs are whilst coupled with an honesty and heart which is conveyed throughout.
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Brutal Planet Magazine
“Pawns and Kings” is dynamic and without equal. If the genre is a game of chess, Alter Bridge just said ‘checkmate.’
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Distorted Sound Magazine
After the decent but not overly exciting last two records, it’s safe to say to boys are back and are once again making the most ALTER BRIDGE album that ALTER BRIDGE can make. This is the band realising what they do best is just be themselves and the fans will love them for that. There’s no denying Pawns & Kings is up there with their best work.
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Metal Planet Music
Intense, heavy, aggressive, memorable dual guitar riffage in abundance, topped by trademark infectious vocal melodies, this is Alter Bridge’s best output in recent times.
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Boolin Tunes
All in all, Pawns & Kings is one of the most accomplished comebacks I’ve heard in some time. While this band never strayed too far off the beaten path, I never quite expected the Floridian quartet to hit back as hard as they did here. Heavier, proggier and more grandiose than ever before, Alter Bridge have at last written a record to rival their own greats.
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Spill Magazine
Pawns & Kings is, hands down, Alter Bridge’s strongest album in years and reflects a creative surge in the band’s songwriting as they double down on their heavier roots and rich melodicism as they further blur the lines between hard rock and metal in an effortless manner with a performance that is nothing short of stellar. In short, Pawns & Kings is a masterclass in both modern rock songwriting and performance where Kennedy and Tremonti have the audacity to make it look easy on what is perhaps their heaviest and most volatile release to date.
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Rock N Load
For nearly twenty years Alter Bridge has been one of the most consistent bands around, delivering brilliant albums one after the other and this latest offering is no different, and in my humble opinion, it tops anything they have done previously.
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Markus' Heavy Music Blog
‘Pawns & Kings’ in its entirety is extremely rich in variety. No song is like the other and yet it is the typical trademarks that tie everything together. Alter Bridge had released only good to very good albums so far. This continues with ‘Pawns & Kings’. Their new longplayer is the most mature and varied in the band’s 18-year history and you can already look forward to seeing the guys live on stage again.
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The Moshville Times
Pawns and Kings won’t change any nay-sayer’s mind about Alter Bridge. This is very much a greatest hits album without lazily compiling their past efforts and offering it up with some bonus content. It takes a few listens to fully warm up but when it does, it comes damn close to match that flawless run of Blackbird, AB III and their career-high of Fortress.
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MNPR
Nearly 20 years into their celebrated career, one thing is for sure – Pawns & Kings offers a musical snapshot of a band that shows no signs of slowing down and continues to push itself creatively for the whole world to see.
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V13
As always, Alter Bridge has delivered an outstanding record and whilst I cannot say it is their greatest triumph to date (its competition is strong), it is most definitely on par with the likes of Blackbird and Ab III. Of course, there are other great tracks on this album I have yet to cover, so I strongly recommend giving Pawns & Kings a spin at the earliest opportunity; you won’t regret it!
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Sputnik Music
This could’ve easily been a return to form, their magnum opus even, but Alter Bridge are still playing it too safe. The triteness of their sound has escalated to a boiling point, and it seems they may have already reached their peak long ago.
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Tuonela Magazine
All things considered, “Pawns & Kings” is an album whose method of appeal is simply about being a collection of hard-rock perfection. With the band’s impressive track record, I’m sure all the fans were already keyed to a certain pitch of interest upon the album release, what with a good few killer singles heralding that something awesome was in the making. Now, with the album finally out, these hard-rock alchemists once again lure us into their charmed circle with a body of work that’s arguably their best to date.
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My Global Diner
‘Pawns & Kings’ leaves us wanting more, so much more. With some 53 minutes in total on offer, in a world where attention spans are 15-25 second Tik-Tok videos, to leave us asking for more is a skill indeed.
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Get Ready to Rock
‘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.
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The Razor's Edge
There is no mistaking this is an Alter Bridge album. If you weren’t a fan of the band prior, then this record will do little to change your mind. But for those open to something different and for the millions (and millions) of existing fans this is an album of the year contender.
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Rocked
Even if not mind-blowing, the good moments shine and the band is still laying down solid work. Pawns & Kings is a good match from Alter Bridge.
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Rock Sins
Typically, this is where we would surmise what we’ve just heard into a bite sized chunk. Though this proves slightly difficult with Pawns And Kings. As with any album it comes with its positives and negatives. ALTER BRIDGE have indeed returned to their strengths and have produced arguably the best record since Fortress.
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Buzz
back and armed with fan-pleasing, stadium-filling songs.
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Metal Digest
Undoubtedly, ‘Pawns & Kings’ will do very well and it will as always be fantastic in the live environment, but yes, this album really is just average at best.
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Metal Wani
A fearless, furious, and forgiving exploration of the human condition, “Pawns and Kings” proves itself an important album in the Alter Bridge oeuvre.
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musicOMH
Sporting sharp vocals, compelling riffs and potent lyrics, this is a stellar release from the Florida rockers.
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Unsung Melody
Yes, this is an album purely of Alter Bridge. Again, nothing unexpected here, but it’s still a ton of fun to listen to, and will make a great addition to anyone’s workout playlist. If you’re not a fan already, there’s probably not much here that will change your mind, but you might still enjoy it.
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Full Pelt Music
The story of Alter Bridge is truly unique and it’s a testament to the talents of those involved that this far into their career, even with multiple side projects, they can still deliver a album as magnificent as this!
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Headbangers Lifestyle
Alter Bridge is back with a vengeance and with their best album so far. This CD will not leave my CD-player for months to come!
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Yours Truly
The new album is a solid balance of light and darkness throughout which further cements the band as one of the best in the alt-rock scene.
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The Dark Melody
It is obvious that Alter Bridge have been together for 18 years because sonically they are very cohesive as a unit and fit together very well. “Pawns & Kings” is a solid album (despite the bumps in the album) that shows why Alter Bridge has a career spanning nearly 20 years that doesn't seem to be coming to an end any time soon. It's a great balance of light and shadow that further cements the band as one of the best in the alternative metal scene.
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Fireworks Rock & Metal
This release will give the band new fans, due to the powerhouse and intense duelling twin guitar attack. Tremonti is quoted on Blabbermouth, “I think if you are a fan of Alter Bridge, you’ll dig this record”. I simply cannot sum it up any better than that.
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