MARK TREMONTI Talks ALTER BRIDGE's Lineup Stability: 'We Never Argue. It's A Very Democratic Band'

ALTER BRIDGE guitarist Mark Tremonti has shared the reason his band has yet to undergo a lineup change now 18 years into its existence.

In a recent interview with BLABBERMOUTH.NET, Tremonti was asked to explain the dynamics of ALTER BRIDGE, which, since its 2004 inception, includes Tremonti, vocalist/guitarist Myles Kennedy, bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips. "We never argue," he said. "It's a very democratic band. Everyone respects and gets along with one another. Everyone knows what everybody likes and dislikes. We get along great. I'd much rather have a musician that was a six out of ten but a ten out of ten as a person than the opposite. That being said, I'm lucky. All the guys in ALTER BRIDGE are a ten out of ten."

Tremonti also weighed in on how he handles the rejection of his songs for ALTER BRIDGE and how the band works to find common ground. "A healthy thing for this band is side projects," he said. "If I bring in something I love to the band and get a lukewarm reaction, it's, like, 'Oh well. I'll use it for my solo band.' As a songwriter, you have to have thick skin. You spend a lot of time putting these songs together and they mean a lot to you, or you wouldn't present them. Anytime you get a cold reaction, it's hurtful. You build that thick skin. You have to realize when you put a song together and somebody doesn't like a part of it, maybe you need to re-work that part and get another opinion."

The guitarist then talked about the songwriting approach behind ALTER BRIDGE's new "Pawns & Kings" studio album, which is a more guitar-driven effort than its "Walk The Sky" predecessor. "The only goal we had was to take the production and make it sound like a straightforward rock band," Mark said. "A lot of the times, you won't hear under a lot of records the synths and strings to boost the songs to make it more lush and atmospheric. We cut all that out and made it guitars panned and left and right, drums and bass. The only things you wouldn't get live are some of the layered vocals. When Myles harmonizes with himself super-high, I can't hit those notes. I can only harmonize the notes I can hit."

"Pawns & Kings" was released on October 14 via Napalm Records. The follow-up to 2019's "Walk The Sky" was once again recorded at Studio Barbarosa in Gotha, Florida with producer Michael "Elvis" Baskette, who has previously worked with SEVENDUST, MAMMOTH WVH and Slash, among others.

In August, ALTER BRIDGE announced the North American leg of its 2023 "Pawns & Kings" tour. The 30-city trek — split into two legs — will kick off on January 25 in Tampa, Florida and wrap on April 1 in Highland, California. MAMMOTH WVH — the band fronted by Wolfgang Van Halen — will be direct support on the entire tour. Rockers RED will also play on the first leg of the tour and newcomers PISTOLS AT DAWN will appear on the second leg.