After establishing himself as the lead singer and frontman of Alter Bridge and Slash, Myles Kennedy is now at this stage of his career when his name is becoming an institution in itself. Releasing his third album, The Art Of Letting Go, he is embarking upon a massive world tour, with UK dates coming up in November. Three of the new tracks are already airing regularly on Planet Rock, so the anticipation of this album is rising as we speak.

To say that this is Myles’ best album to date would be far too simplistic. His spiralling career is a butterfly whose colours are getting bolder and brighter, revealing more sides to his versatile talent as a songwriter, singer and guitarist. His previous albums were just as brilliant and deep in meaning; but he is now digging even deeper into evaluating life’s choices and priorities, and adding an extra dimension to the messages conveyed in the lyrics.

If you want to slide on the surface and just enjoy the music, then you will, as always: Kennedy is a fantastic songwriter. He is taking a harder direction this time around, while still maintaining the mellow rock we know him for, with songs that sound more like what he does with Alter Bridge and Slash. The opening track, ‘The Art Of Letting Go’, may make you wonder if this is going to be his own instalment of Alter Bridge, while ‘Saving Face’ is “proper” rock, much like his work with Slash. The riffs in ‘Nothing More To Gain’ sound like Slash, too, with an added Queen of Stone Age vibe.

There are, as expected, cracking ballad elements in many tracks: take ‘Behind The Veil’, for example, with its acoustic intro, and ‘Eternal Lullaby’, being The Ballad of the album. Myles Kennedy is the ultimate Master of fantastic ballads, typically releasing a couple of those per album. This time around, it is just the one. With the acoustic intro and the hushed voice, you may not be able to help the goose bumps, adding to which are lyrics oozing life wisdom and humility. Epic and lyrical at the same time, this may well be one of those eternal ballads Myles will be remembered for, alongside ‘The Ides Of March’ and ‘Love Can Only Heal’.

Overall, however, Myles has taken a step back from soft lyrical rock towards harder and rawer rock. The intro to ‘Dead To Rights’ is nearly industrial, as well as some of the heavy riffs and solos midway through ‘How The Story Ends’, pretty much headbanging. In ‘Behind The Veil’, the rhythm changes halfway into the track, becoming rockier and turning into rough rock ‘n’ roll. The slow, steady instrumental sounds (literally) as if taken out of Ted Nugent’s ‘Stranglehold’.

One change from the ordinary is the lack of those signature mandolins, which I must say I do miss, as they tend to add an extra lyrical dimension to quite a few songs in the first two albums. What Myles does here is just a bit different, though, and it is all to be appreciated by his fans.

If you are into philosophy and spirituality, it is specifically worth paying attention to the lyrics. The man sure has a lot to say. These are words of wisdom from someone who’s experienced it all and processed it, choosing light over darkness and negativity. The album title captures the essence of this wisdom, but if you are on a spiritual journey yourself, you may find validation of many tough life lessons here. The lyrics address bullying, narcissism, toxicity, and call for doing the right thing regardless of what people say, taking responsibility for our actions, taking chances, going upwards and onwards.

Here are a couple of quotes worth framing:

“But, to be fair, you’re not the one you were before, not anymore.”

“Don’t tell me that the only way is down, with so much to come.”

“Do what do others as they do to you.”

And, just like that, the album, disappointingly, ends, which, somehow, comes way too soon. Time to replay it, over and over, and look forward to seeing Myles on stage again next month.

• Reviewed by Angelina Pelova.

• The Art Of Letting Go is released via Napalm Records on 11th October 2024.

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Track List:

1. The Art Of Letting Go

2. Say What You WIll

3. Mr Downside

4. Miss You When You’re Gone

5. Behind The Veil

6. Saving Face

7. Eternal Lullaby

8. Nothing More To Gain

9. Dead To Rights

10. How The Story Ends