Alter Bridge albums are always a careful balancing act between hooky modern rock songwriting and the crushing, precise riff work of contemporary metal. Too much metal and Myles Kennedy’s incredible voice doesn’t get the space it needs to soar, but too much rock makes the songs a bit too predictable and powerless. Alter Bridge has found itself on both sides of the line through the years, but ‘Pawns & Kings’ strikes the best balance between both extremes since their 2010 career highlight ‘AB III’. Interestingly, the material does that by simultaneously making the metal heavier and the hooks more melodic.

No one will mistake ‘Pawns & Kings’ for anything else than Alter Bridge. All the stylistic elements that make the band so popular are here in spades. The heavy, downtuned riffs of Mark Tremonti and Myles Kennedy are all over the record, the choruses are huge and hooky American-styled modern hardrock, while Scott Phillips’ rhythms are remarkably open, leaving some breathing room even under the most intricate riffs. But where the riffs and the melodies were each other’s rivals at times on the band’s post-‘AB III’ work, they balance each other out and complement each other this time around.

One thing that always stood out about Alter Bridge’s riffs is that they take the same post-Pantera direction as many full-on modern metal bands, but Alter Bridge doesn’t just take the downtuned stomping from Dimebag’s influence; they also allow for creativity like he did. ‘Sin After Sin’ is probably the best example of this on ‘Pawns & Kings’. The main riff is grounded by palm-mutes on the lowest string, but the notes in between are allowed to fly everywhere they want in a way that sounds both loose and ridiculously precise. And when offset against such strong melodies, a winning combination is found.

‘Holiday’ is the song that stuck with me first. It’s built upon an almost uptempo stoner rock-ish groove and the chorus refuses to leave your head. The lengthy ‘Fable Of The Silent Son’ is another highlight. Unlike ‘Blackbird’, now their second-longest song, it’s not a slow builder, but rather a multi-faceted mini-suite that moves through various moods with impressive ease. ‘Dead Among The Living’ is a typical second song on an Alter Bridge album in the way it is built around a highly accessible chorus, which ‘Silver Tongue’ is sort of a darker variation on. Another highlight is ‘Last Man Standing’, which marries atmospheric post-grunge with Alter Bridge’s characteristic songwriting traits.

While ‘Pawns & Kings’ doesn’t do anything radically different than other recent Alter Bridge albums, it just does everything the band is known for better than usual. At 53 and a half minutes, it also is their shortest album so far by a fair margin, which means the album doesn’t outstay its welcome and the band can focus fully on their strengths. Where I found myself skipping to the best tracks on other recent Alter Bridge albums, ‘Pawns & Kings’ is one I will be listening to start to finish whenever I can.

Recommended tracks: ‘Fable Of The Silent Son’, ‘Holiday’, ‘Sin After Sin’, ‘Last Man Standing’