WATCH THE INTERVIEW ABOVE
Alter Bridge have steadily climbed to the forefront of hard rock worldwide. They’ve exceeded all expectations and benchmarks with over a billion streams, millions of units sold, glowing critical acclaim, real estate on the covers of Classic Rock Magazine and Guitar World, and storied sets at Royal Albert Hall, the O2 Arena and Download Festival.
On this journey, 2004’s debut LP One Day Remains bowed in the Top 5 of the Billboard Top 200 and went gold. In 2007, Blackbird’s title track took flight on the wings of the “Greatest Guitar Solo of All Time,” as voted in Guitarist Magazine, while countless fans etched its lyrics and logo onto their bodies.
These musicians have unassumingly done all of this with a quiet dedication to writing meaningful songs and performing unforgettable shows (and they’ve delivered both with almost alarming consistency). Still, the influential quartet—Myles Kennedy [vocals, guitar], Mark Tremonti [guitar, vocals], Brian Marshall [bass], and Scott Phillips [drums]—ascend to yet another level on 2022’s Pawns & Kings [Napalm Records]. It is the culmination of almost two decades together soaked in blood, sweat, tears, and the triumph earned through never giving up. It represents the bandmates’ dedication to one another and their collective devotion to a devout fanbase.
Montreal Rocks chatted with Myles Kennedy about the album and their upcoming tour, which reaches Toronto in February. No Montreal date has been announced as of writing.
You must be super excited to be getting this album out at this time in your career, right?
Everything’s looking good, as far as the release, and you know, there’s been so many stops and starts over the last few years, given the state of the world, but it looks like a go.
I keep hearing that this is a heavier album for Alter Bridge. Was that a deliberate thing, or did that just happen?
I think it just happened. I mean, I don’t know if it was intentional. I’m hearing that phrase used a lot: It’s a heavier Alter Bridge record. I think part of it is the production on it is a little more scaled down. I think it comes across a little rawer than some of our previous records where there’s a lot of layering, a lot of textures, which can sometimes, not all the time, kind of detract from that overall heavy factor. So it was a conscious decision on our part and also with our producer Elvis that we were going to focus on being, I think just a little more to the point with things, not with every single song, but I think the majority of them, we tried to hold true to that idea.
So the title track, which is the first one to come out, that’s a very defiant track, and it has this line in it. “Though we’re pawns, we could be kings.” Tell me about what does that line mean to you?
That’s a tricky one because I don’t want to go in and be too direct with where I was coming from because I always like to leave it up to the listener. Cause I feel like that can ruin it. I’ve had that happen in the past with songs where I’m like, oh, I thought it was about this, now you’ve just ruined the song for me. But I do think it’s the idea that if you’re powerless in a situation that, if you want, you can ultimately control your destiny. And I think that that is something that I believe as a kind of a mantra for just the way I view life, you know, that can apply to a number of different scenarios. But it’s definitely something that I think a lot of people can relate to. It’s very much a part of being human.
So when you have those monsters you’re trying to deal with, believing that you can be the master of your destiny sometimes can be a little clouded and a little challenging, but at the end of the day, I always somehow managed to rip that veil away and hold onto that truth. And yeah, it’s helped me. It’s helped me a lot in life.
Hope is a good four-letter word. Because we, as humans, we’ve got to have it. And so, as many of us who can pedal that four-letter word, the better hopefully for all of us.
So let’s talk about Stay. This is a ballad on the album, but it’s also Mark during the vocals. Did you lose an arm wrestling contest or something?
Haha, no, actually, that was one of those I heard the demo, and Mark put that demo up, and I was like, he sounds great. Have Mark sing it. You know, the funny thing with both of us, because as the years have gone on, he’s become more of an advocate of me playing more guitar solos. And I’ve become an advocate of him singing more. I think we both realized that because both of us can step into the other’s realm comfortably that why not use that as a strength for the band? You know, why have everybody in their little box? I should say I think it makes it more interesting for us. It keeps us, I don’t know, inspired, and I know that Mark loves singing. And during the live set, when he has some songs to sing, it gives him something to look forward to. And for me, playing guitar solos is something I love to do. We’re both very supportive of each other and always have been. That started, gosh, I don’t know, 10 years ago on some of those records, we started switching roles, and it just makes it fun.
Alter Bridge have announced that Mammoth WVH – the Wolfgang Van Halen-fronted band – will be joining them as direct support on the entire tour. Rockers Red will be playing on the first leg of the tour, and newcomers Pistols At Dawn will be playing on the second leg.
More information on tickets and VIP experiences can be found at https://alterbridge.com/pages/tour.
Jan 25 – TAMPA, FL – Seminole Hard Rock *
Jan 27 – ORLANDO, FL – Hard Rock Live *
Jan 28 – ATLANTA, GA – Coca Cola Roxy *
Jan 30 – NASHVILLE, TN – Ryman Auditorium *
Feb 1 – MONTCLAIR, NJ – The Wellmont Theater *
Feb 2 – HUNTINGTON, NY – The Paramount *
Feb 4 – SILVER SPRING, MD – The Fillmore Silver Spring *
Feb 5 – PHILADELPHIA, PA – Franklin Music Hall *
Feb 7 – WALLINGFORD, CT – The Dome at Toyota Oakdale Theatre *
Feb 8 – BOSTON, MA – Roadrunner *
Feb 10 – WATERLOO, NY – Del Lago Casino Resort (On sale soon) ^
Feb 11 – TORONTO, ON – HISTORY ^
Feb 14 – DETROIT, MI – The Fillmore *
Feb 15 – INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Murat Theatre at Old National Centre *
Feb 17 – PRIOR LAKE, MN – Mystic Lake Casino Showroom *
Feb 18 – CHICAGO, IL – The Riviera Theatre *
Mar 10 – QUAPAW, OK – Downstream Casino Resort #
Mar 11 – KANSAS CITY, MO – Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland #
Mar 14 – CHESTERFIELD, MO – The Factory #
Mar 15 – OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – The Criterion #
Mar 17 – HOUSTON, TX – 713 Music Hall #
Mar 18 – DALLAS, TX – South Side Ballroom #
Mar 20 – DENVER, CO – Mission Ballroom #
Mar 21 – SALT LAKE CITY, UT – Union Event Center #
Mar 23 – SEATTLE, WA – The Paramount Theatre #
Mar 25 – AIRWAY HEIGHTS, WA – Northern Quest Resort & Casino ^
Mar 28 – ANAHEIM, CA – House Of Blues #
Mar 29 – TEMPE, AZ – Marquee Theatre #
Mar 31 – RENO, NV – Silver Legacy’s Grande Expo Hall #
Apr 1 – HIGHLAND, CA – Yaamava Theater at Yaamava Casino Resort ^
^ Alter Bridge – Mammoth WVH
* Alter Bridge – Mammoth WVH – Red
# Alter Bridge – Mammoth WVH – Pistols At Dawn
Pawns & Kings – the band’s seventh studio album – is scheduled for worldwide release on October 14th via Napalm Records.
