Tremonti's 'A Dying Machine' - Album Review

Despite becoming an arena-filling musician once again recently as a member of Alter Bridge, guitarist and songwriter Mark Tremonti has also found time over the past few years to also cultivate a successful solo career. Alter Bridge are a busy band, with fans all over the world demanding concerts in their countries, but have always seen the value in taking breaks between each touring cycle. This has allowed the members of the band ample time to rest between gruelling tours, or to dedicate to other musical ventures. Tremonti has used this time wisely over the years to branch out musically and create music that would not necessarily fit into the Alter Bridge canon and showcase some of his other influences and styles. Tremonti, and his self-titled band, roared into view in 2012 when their debut album All I Was was released. The album was far more metallic than anything Tremonti had been associated with previously, with powerfully heavy riffs and break-neck drumming courtesy of Garrett Whitlock. The album also introduced Tremonti as a lead singer, which was not something he had been known for previously. He had always contributed strong backing vocals and harmonies to his main bands, but All I Was saw his first true lead vocal performances. While not a diverse a vocalist as those he has worked with over the years, his rich, deep delivery suits his heavy solo material perfectly. All I Was was followed up in 2015 and 2016 respectively by compainion pieces Cauterize (which I reviewed here) and Dust (which I reviewed here). They were recorded at the same time and saw Tremonti, Whitlock and guitarist Eric Friedman joined by bassist Wolfgang Van Halen. The two albums showed a progression from All I Was, adding a few different styles to the tougher metal style Tremonti had established from himself. Two years on from Dust and the Tremonti band are back again with a new record label and a new album: A Dying Machine. The album is a concept album which will be accompanied by a full-length novel at some point in the future, and is easily the band's most ambitious work to date. The core Tremonti sound is present, but with a few tweaks to keep things fresh and exciting. The slightly progressive bent to the songwriting means that A Dying Machine may not be as immediate as his previous efforts, but over time I am sure this album will become a firm favourite with the fans. Van Halen chose to step aside from Tremonti a couple of years ago, so Friedman handled the bass guitar duties on the album along with his usual supporting guitar role. This was the case on All I Was, so the band's three core members are still present - which makes Tremonti feel more like a cohesive band than merely a solo project. As with most Alter Bridge-related projects in recent years, the album was produced by Michael 'Elvis' Baskette, who has got his usual powerful, and big sound out of the band.

Marching drums herald the album's opening, and Bringer of War is a powerful statement of intent. The song's main riff is heavy, with more than a little hint of Lamb of God in it's execution, but this is paired with a melodic, galloping verse that allows Tremonti to show off his vocal skills. The song moves along at a good pace, with Whitlock's drumming pushing everyone forward, while the choppy guitar riffs help to create a strong groove. The chorus feels a little smoother, with big guitar chords rather than riffs, but this helps to emphasise the vocal melodies. While the chorus is not as memorable as it could be, it still provides plenty of early hooks. The guitar solo might well be the highlight of the song however, and sees Tremonti demonstrating his metal credentials with some mean shredding. From the Sky has another great riff, and ups the tempo from the previous song to showcase some of the thrash metal influences that Tremonti includes in his solo work. The verses steam along with some tight double bass drumming and razor-sharp riffing, with more cinematic sections containing big wordless vocal melodies placed in and around the heaviness to break up the relentlessness. I like the mix of styles that Tremonti employs here, and it is good to see him incorporating the more melodic hard rock sounds he has become known for over the years with his love of heavy metal. The song is over quite quickly, and soon moves into the album's title track which is an early highlight. After a big drum intro, a crushing verse gets underway with a great mid-paced groovy riff. The diversity of the previous song remains however, with atmospheric sections complete with chiming guitar arpeggios providing light to the shade of the verses. While his voice works well against the heavier backdrops, I think Tremonti sounds at his best vocally against the murkier, cleaner parts of his songs. It is these parts that showcase his emotional vocal style, which helps to bring the songs to life and give them additional weight. The simple anthemic chorus is a real earworm too, meaning this song has a bit of everything that Tremonti's songwriting is known for. Trust opens more melancholically, with a big bassline that really dominates the entire song. It is the first song on the album that is not based around a big riff, and this gives the piece a denser, more atmospheric feel. In many respects it is the album's first ballad, and provides a nice change of pace after the tough riffing of what has come before. Despite the lack of the big riff, there is still plenty of excellent guitar work to enjoy, with hypnotic clean melodies constantly dancing around the vocals which really opens the song up. Throw Them to the Lions is another heavier piece, and easily the fastest song on the album up to this point. A driving thrash metal riff dominates the song, with Baskette's keyboards providing a slightly spooky backing. Keyboards are not used extensively throughout the album, but when they are utilised they add another layer to the song. The chorus is another powerful one, and probably the best on the album so far. It maintains the pace of the rest of the song and mixes soaring melodies with heavy riffing to great effect.

Make It Hurt is a powerful piece that is based around another powerful riff, but my favourite part is the chorus. Whitlock's fast drumming sets the pace throughout, and the rising vocal melodies really seem to push the band to bigger and better things. The song is another good example of how subtle keyboards can be used to enhance a song. The cinematic sounds used really bulk out the choruses, and in fact other parts of the song, to great effect and make a really tangible difference. Traipse is a dynamic piece that mixes slow verses with heavier choruses. Slow-burning bass and chiming guitars dominate the verses, with Tremonti's rich vocals really standing out, before the band moves into the next gear for the choruses. They are not overly heavy, but provide a nice contrast with the rest of the song. The stop start riffing works really well here and helps to bring the best out of the fairly simple chorus melodies. The First The Last is probably the most overtly melodic piece on the album, and sounds more like an Alter Bridge song than anything that has appeared on a Tremonti album previously. It still works well in the context of the album however, and provides a bit of a break from the metal riffing that dominates elsewhere. The verses chime with gorgeous guitar lines, with Whitlock's drumming providing an interesting percussive backing, while the choruses bulk out somewhat but not to the extent of many of the songs here. This is not a heavy piece, but one that is still packed full of great melodies and is sure to be a favourite of those who are not so keen on the heavier aspects of Tremonti's work. A Lot Like Sin is, in my opinion, one of the album's least interesting pieces and lacks many of the big melodies and riffs that make the other songs stand out. The chorus is decent however, but for whatever reason the melodies just do not hit home as much. I think that this says more about the quality of the rest of the album however, as up to this point the songs have really impressed. Very few albums maintain their quality throughout, and this is a song which just sees the quality dip a little in comparison to what has come previously. The Day When Legions Burned picks up the pace again, and hits the listener with a full on metal assault complete with some truly excellent riffing and drumming from all concerned. Thrash has clearly always been an influence on Tremonti's writing, and it is great to see him exercising this a lot through this album. His heavy riffs are always extremely catchy, and he manages to incorporate them into memorable songs such as this. It is a song that is over fairly quickly, but packs so much into a short space of time that it is hard not to enjoy it!

As the Silence Becomes Me is another ballad, and one that really soars and really showcases Tremonti's vocal skills. The chorus melodies are so powerful and they are likely to be stuck with you after only a single listen, but this would all be for nothing if the rest of the song was not up to standard - and thankfully it is. It builds up to the chorus perfectly, with gorgeous guitar melodies gently filling the verses, so by the time the slightly heavier chorus kicks in you are more than ready for what is to come. Great songwriting should flow perfectly, and this song is a great example of this. Everything is in service of the song, with the chorus melodies being the thing that really draw you in. While on the whole this is a heavier album, this ballad is one of my favourite songs here and one of my favourite Tremonti songs to date. Take You With Me is the album's lead single, and it shows from the off as the song is packed with polished vocal melodies and tight riffing that showcases the band's heavier side but with enough of a sheen on it to appeal to those who may not be the biggest metal fans. The verses are ridiculously catchy, with some of the best vocal melodies on the album, and actually upstage the chorus a little here in my opinion. That is not to say that the chorus is bad, as it certainly is not, but the verses here definitely win on the melody front for me. This is the sort of song that is destined to become a setlist staple for the band for years to come, and I am sure that fans will love hearing this one over and over again. Desolation is the album's last 'true' song, and it opens fairly slowly with acoustic guitar chords and a slightly strange vocal performance. Tremonti sounds a little more nasally here than he usually does, but this actually works well against the lower key backdrop that most of the song possesses. Acoustic and clean guitars dominate the song, but towards the end the song does ramp up somewhat with some stop start riffing then leads into a fluid guitar solo. Hearing Tremonti solo is a always a treat, as he is one of the best modern guitar players in my opinion, and this shredded but emotional solo really helps to bring the album to a bit of a close before the song's chorus rings out one last time. Found is the last track here, and this is a strange instrumental piece that is largely made up of spooky synths and spacey clean guitar melodies. It seems a bit strange tacking this on the end of the album, as it does not really sound like anything else here, but there is nothing wrong with it as an atmospheric closing piece. It definitely shows off a different side to Tremonti's songwriting however, as style is not something that he has really done before. Overall, A Dying Machine is a really strong effort from Tremonti that showcases the band's most diverse work to date. I like the new elements that the band have included throughout, as it really builds on what has come before and hints at what may come in the future.

The album was released on 8th June 2018 via Napalm Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Take You With Me.