Alter Bridge‘s new album, Pawns & Kings, is certainly “epic,” in the literal sense.

The 10-track record includes three songs that stretch over six minutes long, such as the 8 1/2-minute “Fable of the Silent Son,” and only one that comes in at under four minutes. Coupled with the album’s fantastical framing, listening to Pawns & Kings may make you feel transported to a medieval battlefield.

“There are a fair amount of journeys that hopefully the listeners will enjoy going on with us,” frontman Myles Kennedy tells ABC Audio. 

Kennedy admits, though, that the winding direction of Pawns & Kings was more of an “oops, all epics” situation than a conscious decision.

“It wasn’t something that we set out to do,” he says.

Even the radio single, “Silver Tongue,” takes some sonic twists and turns.

“I didn’t think it was going to be a single,” Kennedy shares. “I thought it would be just an album track. And I remember our manager was just, like, ‘Man, that riff! That’s a hook there, that could a single.'”

“I’m, like, ‘Eh, I don’t know,'” he laughs. “And I was wrong.”

As Pawns & Kings weaves its way through your ears, it’s held together by a steady dose of pummeling guitar riffs that provide the backbone of the album.

“We were very aware of making sure that the riffs and the skeleton of the song were strong enough on their own without adding production and a lot of the sonic fairy dust that can kind of have a certain effect,” Kennedy says. “You have to really make sure that the riffs are not just strong, but there’s a certain element to those riffs where they can stand on their own and not need other things to complement them.” 

Pawns & Kings is out now.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.