Napalm RecordsThis week, Alter Bridge frontman Myles Kennedy released a new song called “The Ides of March” — a nearly eight-minute epic that gives his upcoming sophomore solo album its name. Speaking with ABC Audio, Kennedy shares that he first came up with that phrase for the song and the album while on a walk with his wife last year at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“That phrase, at least to me, is really a warning, it’s a warning of what could come,” Kennedy explains. “At that point, when we were on that walk, I think it was March of last year, we didn’t know what was gonna come, and we didn’t know how bad things were gonna be.”
Fittingly, “The Ides of March” starts off in a dark place, before winding its way to a more optimistic vibe amid its long journey. It’s in that more positive second half where you’ll hear Kennedy’s favorite lyric on the album.
“The line, ‘Cool heads prevail in times of change,’ has become so important to me,” Kennedy says. “Anytime I’m in a situation where the world as it is is starting to get to me and it’s starting to mess with me, that phrase will come into play. It’s become very, very, very important to me, personally.”
Given the importance of “The Ides of March” song on The Ides of March album, that begs the question: Why isn’t the record being released in March?
“It was just the way the schedule worked out,” Kennedy laughs.
“We actually contemplated trying to get it out in March,” he adds. “But there was just no way with the state of the world, and all the things you need to do to set up a record and whatnot.”
The Ides of March will be released May 14.
By Josh Johnson
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