# Pawns & Kings

Professional ratings :
| Aggregate scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 82/100 |
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Classic Rock | |
| Distorted Sound | |
| Kerrang! | 4/5 |
| Metal Digest | 60% |
| Metal Hammer | |
| MusicOMH | |
| The Spill Magazine | |
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 lead single, "Pawns & Kings", was released on streaming platforms with an accompanying lyric video on social media. The album is the shortest album in the band's discography to date, while at the same time featuring their longest piece to date, the over eight-minute "Fable of the Silent Son".

## Track listing

All tracks are written by Alter Bridge

## Personnel

Alter Bridge
* Myles Kennedy – lead vocals, rhythm and lead guitar, co-lead vocals on "Stay", programming
* Mark Tremonti – lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on “Stay”
* Brian Marshall – bass guitar
* Scott Phillips – drums, percussion
Production
* Michael Baskette – producer, mixer, programming
* Jef Moll – digital editing
* Josh Saldate – assistant engineering
* Brad Blackwood – mastering

## Charts

Chart performance for Pawns & Kings :
| Chart (2022) | Peak position |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) | 9 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) | 5 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) | 28 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) | 66 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) | 84 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) | 15 |
| French Albums (SNEP) | 115 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) | 7 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI) | 50 |
| Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan) | 79 |
| Polish Albums (ZPAV) | 14 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC) | 4 |
| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) | 76 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) | 2 |
| UK Albums (OCC) | 6 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC) | 2 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) | 1 |
| US Billboard 200 | 35 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard) | 6 |
| US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard) | 2 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) | 8 |