Alter Bridge, "Pawns & Kings" - Our No. 1 Rock Album of 2022

Alter Bridge, “Pawns & Kings” – Our No. 1 Rock Album of 2022

2022-12-01

Alter Bridge – Story by Anne Erickson, photo by Chuck Brueckmann

Alter Bridge, “Pawns & Kings,” is Audio Ink Radio’s No. 1 rock album of 2022

Alter Bridge first got together in the mid-2000s, and here they are nearly two decades later, still releasing imaginative records and touring the globe. The guys of Alter Bridge no doubt have something special, and that’s one reason they’ve latest this long.

This year, Alter Bridge returned with “Pawns & Kings,” their seventh studio album. The set marked the follow-up 2019’s “Walk the Sky,” so it marked the band’s first bit of new music since the worldwide pandemic.

“Sin After Sin” is a standout, with huge guitars a mighty chorus. As for the meaning behind “Sin After Sin,” Myles Kennedy tells Audio Ink Radio, “It’s kind of calling someone out for presenting themselves a certain way kind of purely as someone who is virtuous and never in the wrong but knowing that behind that is something is very different, and we’ve all experienced people like that in our lives, so that’s what that song is about.”

Elsewhere, the album sounds like classic Alter Bridge, aka from the early-2000s. One new cut that truly sounds like it could fit on 2004’s “One Day Remains” is “Season of Promise.” The song features Kennedy’s sky-high tenor amid a sea of hard-charging guitars and rhythms. The album’s title track, “Pawns & Kings,” is another fantastic snapshot of all that is Alter Bridge, with swelling guitars and inspiring lyrics such as “Stand up and hold your ground / Don’t let the bastards grind you down / It’s time to show the devil what we are.” The song that sets off the album, “This Is War,” is another great cut, offering a deep groove that sucks the listener in from the start.

With “Pawns & Kings,” it’s obvious that Alter Bridge are only getting better at crafting truly unique, imaginative music that rocks hard. This is also a collection that begs to be performed live, which makes sense, as Alter Bridge are known for their stellar live shows. For those reasons, Alter Bridge’s “Pawns & Kings” is Audio Ink Radio’s No. 1 rock album of 2022.

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Anne Erickson

Meet the expert - Author, writer and editor Anne Erickson is a Detroit-based music reporter and radio host. She has written for the USA Today Network, Consequence.net, Blabbermouth.net, Loudwire.com and many more. Anne holds a master's degree from Michigan State University. Contact Anne at anne@audioinkradio.com.