Tremonti Live Report

My penultimate live experience of the year with Mr Tremonti's solo band was a great night indeed. I nearly didn't go to this gig as I only found out about it at the 11th hour. Three supports were listed and I'll go through them quickly.

Wearing Scars were up first and they were really rather good. I heard of them a while back. They feature the guitar talents of Andy James ex of Sacred Mother Tongue. These guys were great. They really have some cool melodic tunes and in Mr James a guitarist who shreds like a mother. The singer has a great voice but walks around the stage rather awkwardly and doesn't have a metal look but he has the pipes and the band has the tunes.

Next were The Raven Age. A band I've heard quite a bit about and heard a little bit in passing. They are of course the band of George Harris son of Steve. He plays guitar in the band and not the bass as you might possibly suspect. Anyway the band doesn't resort to growls thankfully and doesn't have a whole heap to do with the emocore scene either. They play a melodic sort of modern metal with a small foot in the past and a bigger foot in the present aping bands like Trivium etc. They have some cool riffs for sure but their songs are a bit boring. They have cool sections but it never materialises into memorable metal. The odd Maiden section rears its head her and there which is cool to see and hear as the father hands the reigns down to the son. The singer is OK but he's a bit annoying as well. The sound mix was a bit muddy for TRA as well. I think the band would sound better in a small club. They just don't have the songs to carry a big hall like the Forum.

Main support were Chicagoans Man The Mighty. I've never heard of them bu Tremonti hand picked them so he must like them. They sort of sound like a more bluesy or heavy grooving Volbeat but without the cool vocals and melodies. They were OK but I failed to get into them to be honest. I was just waiting for Tremonti to blow me away.

Tremonti came on at 9.30 and played up till round about 11 which was the curfew time. They started like a house on fire with a blisteringly heavy version of the title track from Cauterize. That was a bloody amazing start. Mark's voice is fucking loud live I tell you. He really booms out the vocals just how I like it. The guitar mix was actually a little poor or they just played too fast I don't know which. It was kinda hard to tell one fast song from another. It was only when they played the slower numbers that the songs became more recognisable from the beginning.

Having said all that the band was on serious fire I tell ya. Tremonti's band are all very tight players but of course the star of the show is Mark himself and boy does he go off on his guitar! The guy shreds when needed and then plays the hammering riffage and head bangs like mad at the same time and don't forget he has to sing and remember all the words. Don't know how he does it really! Every song they played was great. The two albums don't really have any duff tunes so people were going nuts for every track with moshpits starting up on the fast tunes. Flying Monkeys is the only song I don't really like from the new CD but it sounded monstrously heavy live. The other highlights were the amazing Another Heart, The Things I've Seen from the first album, Providence and the amazing and awesome Sympathy from the new album my absolute fave song sung brilliantly by Mark. I think I might possibly like Tremonti more than Alter Bridge if that's possible. Alter Bridge is more heart rending and emotional maybe but Tremonti mixes power as well as emotion and melody into a wonderful package. A great gig indeed at a packed out venue tells you all you need to know about Mr Tremonti's capabilities as a singer front man and most of all song writer.

Cauterize
You Waste Your Time
So You're Afraid
All I Was
Radical Change
The Things I've Seen
Arm Yourself
Dark Trip
Brains
Flying Monkeys
Providence
Decay
Another Heart
Sympathy
Wish You Well

Tremonti - Cauterize - Review

Being a big fan of all things Alter Bridge and Tremonti meant I was waiting very impatiently for his follow up solo disk to drop and the signs were all good as the lead single was a tasty little morsel indeed. Now that we can listen to the whole thing it's time to do a full review of this disk.

Opener Radical Change tumbles out of the speakers with an aggressive and typical Tremonti solo riff before Mark's vocals kick in to take the song in a more melodic direction. The song is very cool and thrashy indeed with a soaring chorus. A great way to start the album indeed with power and intent. 8.5/10

Flying Monkeys follows next and for the life of me I can't see anything great about it.  It's a slow heavy riffed affair like a heavy Metallica tune. His vocals sound good but the melody doesn't really capture me much. This song reminds me of Soundgarden for some reason. I just can't get into this song at all. 5.5/10

Title track Cauterize sees the pedal to the metal style return and hell yeah we're on that famous Tremonti riff attack whilst his vocals are again much more melodic and better than the previous track. The chorus soon arrives and it's a corker made to be sung along with. It's a super catchy refrain but the riffs are a real machine gun attack on this track. I love the pace change that leads into the chorus which allows the melody to shine bright. A totally amazing track 10/10!

Arm Yourself is another machine gun riffed typical Tremonti song with heavier angst ridden vocals before a nice powerful chorus sweeps the carpet from underneath your feet. The song has a brooding mid section whilst Mark's vocals go full crooner before that monster chorus returns to take us breathlessly to the finish line. 8/10

Dark Trip starts off like a typically acoustic driven Alter Bridge track and I can imagine Myles Kennedy singing this song but Mark himself croons and does a great job vocally himself. The song is dark and brooding as the title would suggest but the melody is so strong and memorable as heavier guitars power the chorus skywards. This dark and brooding power ballad is stirring and emotion soaked, typical of his day job actually. 8.5/10

Another Heart is the lead single and show cases what a Tremonti solo release is all about. A heavy crunching opening riff followed but a melodic vocal line that leads into a chorus to be sung from mountain tops. The melody sends chills before that riff roars out again and crushes all in its path towards the end. One of the best choruses on the album no doubt with some of the best riffs Tremonti has ever written. 9.5/10

Fall Again brings back the darkness and is again a plaintive power ballad that would sit well on any Alter Bridge album. The song soon picks up heaviness with heavy grinding riffs as Mark sings the awesome yet simple chorus and reaches the sky with emotion. A superb track packed with drama and emotion with a perfect solo as well. 9/10

Tie The Noose follows up with a typically snaking jackhammer Tremonti riff the likes of which are all over the album. You could say Tremonti has a certain style which he sticks to religiously but damn if ain't broke don't fix it. The chorus on this bad boy soon makes its first appearance and it's a typically engaging and twisted Tremonti melody that grips the listener and won't let go. The feel of the song is a bit desperate like someone is reaching the end of their tether but the melodies are truly captivating and the song is power packed to the finish whilst the tempo remains at the mid pace. 8.5/10

Sympathy is my favourite song on the whole album. The feel of the song is quite upbeat strangely enough although the lyrics are very sad indeed. The melody is somehow uplifting to me although the chorus is obviously very dark and painful lyrically. His vocal melodies on this songs are absolute perfection. Another song that would have easily been on the last or a future Alter Bridge album. Some would say why make an album that sounds just like your day job but what the hell an amazing song just needs to be heard regardless of the style. An amazing emotion packed tune. 10/10!

Providence starts off acoustically again and Mark croons over the top mournfully but the melody is glorious before guitars enter the fray and add that typical Tremonti flair to the proceedings. Another typical Alter Bridge tune I'm afraid to say and all the better for it. The song builds layers of power and emotion to its conclusion. I can imagine this song being much more fleshed out had it been an AB tune. It seems Mark cuts all unnecessary fat from his solo compositions and makes sure the song remains intact without getting bogged down in over dramatisation. Providence is the longest track on the CD and it's only 5:44 so hardly a slog. I would have probably preferred a heavier track to end with but this mini epic is a monster melodic tune in its own right. 9/10

So there we have the new Tremonti album which is just a magnificent album and great follow up to the debut. I just don't get Flying Monkeys at all and wish it wasn't on the album although it's only one song and it's not that bad, I just don't have any love for it all. The other songs sees Tremonti at his absolute best with powerhouse riffing and vocal melodies that drag the songs soaring to the heavens. he's already done the follow up so I can't imagine what that album's gonna sound like. My guess is it might be even heavier with more power still as he might be holding the powerful songs back a little bit but who knows. We'll see but for now Cauterize is a hell of ride!