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, who also ranked the solo of the title track as the 5th best guitar solo of 2022.
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, 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. 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.
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 same day, the album's titular lead single, "Pawns & Kings", was released on streaming platforms with an accompanying lyric video on social media. At a length of 53 minutes and 37 seconds, Pawns & Kings is the shortest album in the band's discography to date.
Track listing
Personnel Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. Alter Bridge Myles Kennedy – vocals, guitar, strings, keyboards, programming Mark Tremonti – guitar, vocals, lead vocals on "Stay" Brian Marshall – bass Scott "Flip" Phillips – drums
Additional contributors Michael "Elvis" Baskette – production, mixing, strings, keyboards, programming Jef Moll – engineering, digital editing Josh Saldate – engineering assistance Brad Blackwood – mastering Daniel Tremonti – cover art Janus Music Mgmt. – band photography, album booklet art, layout
Charts + Chart performance for Pawns & Kings Chart (2022) Peakposition Australian Albums (ARIA) 9 Italian Albums (FIMI) 50 Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan) 79 Swedish Physical Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 14
References