Releasing a self-titled album more than two decades into a career typically indicates that the artist feels that the record encapsulates their essence. And that’s exactly how Alter Bridge feels about their eighth studio album. “It’s self-actualization,” guitarist and vocalist Myles Kennedy tells Apple Music. “We’re really leaning into what we are and have been for 20-plus years. We’re not exploring any new territory necessarily. We’re just doing the thing that has been throughout every record, and we’re doing it unapologetically.” That said, Kennedy and his bandmates—guitarist/vocalist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall, and drummer Scott Phillips—tried not to let the success of their 2022 album Pawns & Kings affect the writing process. “If you let expectations get to you, it’s hard to keep the creative juices flowing,” Kennedy says. “So I just try to stay in my little bubble and be unaffected by things. I feel like that’s the best way to be a good antenna and really listen to what the universe is trying to tell me.” In this case, the universe told him to try to avoid the political and personal divisions that affect us all. “How do you deal with being drawn into any sort of drama or toxic environment?” he asks. “The theme of disengaging and just walking away comes up a lot. But it’s easier said than done.” Below, he comments on each track. “Silent Divide” “That was a riff that I had sitting around for a little while, and I did a real rough demo. Mark really liked it, and when we brought it to the band, it kind of evolved into this really fun arrangement that I’m super proud of. It’s a good way to introduce the record. It establishes that the weapon is silence: If someone’s trying to provoke you, don’t respond. Don’t play into it. Just walk away. That’s the best way to deal with it.” “Rue the Day” “Lyrically, it kind of addresses what we were just talking about. If you choose to step into that world, you’re going to live to rue the day. You’re going to regret it. It’s funny because we didn’t plan that when we were doing the order of the record. I never even thought about that until just now, how it answers the narrative from the first song. Musically, it was a demo that Mark submitted. It’s got one of those riffs that gets stuck in your head. It’s going to be a fun one to play live.” “Power Down” “This came from a riff that was written right after I was informed that we had a huge bill for our HVAC system. I remember just being really frustrated. After I wrote the riff, I was sitting on my couch, and I just earmarked it and I put ‘Effing boiler.’ That was how I knew to revisit it. I was like, ‘Where’s that effing boiler riff?’ Lyrically, it’s the idea of stopping to smell the roses and slowing down, but it certainly applies to getting off your device. It’s something that I’ve been working on now for a while, and it’s made a big difference. I highly recommend it.” “Trust in Me” “This is another one of our tunes where we integrate both Mark and I singing, which has become a hallmark for us. I think I sing the verses and then he sings the chorus. As a singer, I really like it because it allows me to have a little break in the set. Mark has really evolved into a wonderful singer. I think if you ask him, he probably would tell you he loves singing just about more than anything. Ironically, I love playing guitar more than singing. The grass is always greener on the other side.” “Disregarded” “The lyric is basically about if you’ve ever felt marginalized or discounted; it’s kind of the anthem for that. We’ve all been there. I feel like musically, it’s got a weird vibe that works. There’s just something kind of haunting about it that I enjoy personally. I’m really happy with how the chorus turned out. It’s one of my favorite choruses on the record.” “Tested and Able” “Mark put this together initially for his Tremonti project. But at the last minute, he pulled it off that record. He felt the chorus wasn’t strong enough yet, but he was so into the riff and what he had done with the verse. So he sent it to me, and we all got together in the room and the rest of the song came to be. To me, it kind of reminds me of that heavy metal Morse code [staccato guitar riffs] that has really become a thing in contemporary heavy music. I hear a little bit of Sevendust in there, and that’s going to be a fun one to play live, because it’s just going to be a lot of head-bopping.” “What Lies Within” “Lyrically, it deals with people who invent a persona. They portray themselves a certain way, but there’s also another side to that, the reality of who this entity is. The trick is, how do you navigate that and kind of circumvent dealing with that dynamic?” “Hang by a Thread” “The intro, the verse, and the pre-chorus were all things I’d stumbled onto when I was working on The Art of Letting Go, my last solo album. But I felt like I didn’t have the big payoff chorus yet, and I also felt the song would probably be better suited for Alter Bridge. So I saved it. I’m glad I did, because once we got together in the studio it really elevated the song. Because I use an open-G tuning, it’s reminiscent of a song we had on Blackbird called ‘Watch Over You’ and then a song called ‘Wonderful Life’ from AB III. It’s funny how just tuning a guitar a certain way can have such a profound effect on the sound. I learned that from listening to Jimmy Page, Chris Whitley, and my friend Ian Thornley from Big Wreck. Alternate tunings are the best.” “Scales Are Falling” “This one was another demo that Mark had. I think it was the first thing that I heard of all the demos he submitted. As an American, I’d never heard the phrase ‘the scales fell from my eyes,’ but I was watching UK television years ago and someone said it. I came to understand it’s like once you realize the reality of the situation, and I thought that would be interesting to explore in a song. It’s kind of similar to ‘What Lies Within’ in that something can be portrayed a certain way, but the reality is much darker.” “Playing Aces” “My favorite riffs are generally the ones where I’m frustrated when I’m writing them. We were somewhere in Germany last year, and we lost power. So, I’m in this hotel room with no lights. I’m sitting in this dark room, hungry, and I came up with the riff. Thank goodness we lost power that day. But the narrative on this one is way different than the rest of the record. It really harkens back to one of the themes on a number of previous Alter Bridge records, which is betting on yourself. The riff sounded like it should be the soundtrack to that kind of song.” “What Are You Waiting For” “This is one of my favorite tracks that Mark turned in. I really love that riff. It’s just intense and angry. Of all the songs, this one has a certain amount of piss and vinegar. The lyric goes back to what we were talking about earlier—how to deal with it when you’re being provoked. The chorus almost sounds like you’re challenging someone to a fight at first, but then the last line is ‘But I choose to disengage.’ That’s such a theme throughout this record.” “Slave to Master” “It technically took seven years to write this, because the genesis goes back to probably 2018. I knew it was going to be something that would work well with Alter Bridge, but I didn’t come up with the rest of the parts until halfway through last year. Then Mark had other sections, and we put it all together. That’s why it’s nine minutes long—it’s technically two songs in one. Lyrically, it addresses how technology is changing the world. I know that’s a theme that a lot of people are exploring because I think a lot of us are concerned where it’s headed. But it’ll be fun to play live. Mark and I take these obscenely long guitar solos.”