By Simona Mihalca 
Would you expect a self titled Alterbridge album in 2026, as if it was anything but 2014? I would not say so, yet here we are. The last we had seen of them was “Paws and Kings” in 2022, their hardest (dare I say it? In a broad sense? Yes) one so far. It contained bangers, yes (I remember “Silver Tongue”!) but, overall, it did not strike me as nothing new on the scene, even though a slight interesting drift in the group’s career (or is it that I just prefer to remember them as depressed as fuck?).
The path into this new era starts off with “Silent Divide”, a symphonic metal reminiscing title that will prove to be as unnecessary dramatic and as Tremonti as it gets. The lyrical and empathetic singing in the infamous Myles Kennedy way (you still get to understand every single word! That is rare) builds up to a series of musical crescendo that is in perfect style with the Tremonti trademark: hard riffs, harder tempo.
Shortly after comes “Rue the Day”, a catchy, polished in a post-covid way, classic Alterbridge hit. The riffs are there, atmosphere is there, melancholia and rage unite in beautiful, meaningful, spot on short phrases. Breathe it in and breathe it out: it can be both a tough sweaty times at the gym empowering bop, or just another milestone in the band’s landscape, as I will admit it is a great unison of both old times and a new twist.
We are little into the new creation, yet the vibe is clear: hard, strong, not pumping as much as melodic. Myles’ voice is on the main as usual, sharp and acute as ever. The lyricism does not hesitate to jump off from one sound to another, creating full on stories and poems or just overall phrases that make sense as a whole: you might smirk, yet it is not a given. The chorus is often vividly marked, yet it does not come off as one liners but more as emphasis on the main focus of every song. To be fair, the middle tracks provide a decent corpus, though not that much different in mood if you ask me (you are not but I am the one doing the writing. Ha!). It has to be said, Myles changes his vocals quite often in terms of modulation and rhythm. This often helps convey the chorus, which is a gripping hook most times, but not all. For example, “Trust in Me” sounded to my ears as anything they did before. Nothing bad, nothing new, except for the guitar scale and that 2000 pop voice.
“Disregarded”, place number 5, promises a lot with a spoken and distinct intro, yet it kind of fades out in yet another high note and occasional stop. Some words feel oversaid, but I guess it mostly is the riffs underneath it, never stopping, that smother the difference in between the strophe, bridge and chorus. “Tested and Able” is an easy listen as in it will kinda creep you out from how easily you just let it play. “What Lies Within” is, in my opinion, catchy. Not only that, it feels like a great single, for the variety of rhythm and short, cutting lines describing decently mental illness and pain (or maybe that is just me). I had to fact-check and they indeed chose it as one of the leading single: wise choice.
“Hang by a Thread” spoke to me due to both the toned down instrumental and country-vaguely inspired guitar plus chorus. The lyrics added a wrecking layer to it, which left me thinking of Myles’ solo album, one that I very much loved. It is easily one of my favourite tracks on the record but that is mainly because I always pick up the stripped down, self-loathing beautiful lyricism ballad (I am a Nightwish fan alright). As it often happened with Alterbridge, though, it is not all loss and despair, but you get a hopeful undertone that can help you with the fact that you cannot kill yourself after all. “Scales are Falling”, on the other hand, enters with a slow, clear scale (ha!) that gives way to Myles’ distorted voice singing of a tale that will remind you of Edgar Allan Poe. Somehow. There is a lot more daddy trauma if you ask me.
Closing off the album, you have “Playing Aces”, “What Are You Waiting For?” and “Slave to Master”. The first one stays true to the mood of the whole creating: strong guitars, heavy riffs, ups and downs but then banging ups, and Myles’ singing topping it all. It is good: it does not stand out, but not all of us need to. Do you?
“What Are You Waiting For?” is kinda sexy, honest. And in fact, it concerns anger, lies and confrontation (do not come for me). The lyrics are wise and I would have personally chosen this as a single as well, because it gets stuck even after only one listen. The last one does more than justice to the band itself: a 9-minute long that, as often happens, proves to be the length at which both the vocalist and the other musicians shine. There is a thousand different emotions, carried on by the different tempos, the shifting moods (going from slow to silence to rolling drums). If you even want to give only one chance to “Alterbridge” as a whole work, go listen to this. Some fans have called it a ‘masterpiece’ and I honestly do not feel like I can wholly disagree.
Overall, the latest release finds the band true to its core, not completely changed but willing to try on new things, while also sticking what they know works well (see the ending). But now, just give it your own take!
Review by Michela Sereni