Tremonti "A Dying Machine" Album Review

By: James Southworth
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

If you've listened to the hard rock band Alter Bridge at any point in your life, then you are most certainly aware of the acclaimed lead guitarist for that band, Mark Tremonti. You may have heard that name even if you aren't familiar with the aforementioned group, because Tremonti is considered to be one of the best modern guitarists around. I personally heavily agree with that sentiment, as he has always been a highlight of every AB release. So, I was of course delighted to find out that he has a side band of his own simply called "Tremonti". I don't know how I'd never heard them before, but my YouTube recommended feed showed the lyric video for Tremonti's single "A Dying Machine", and I was instantly hooked (more on that song very soon). So, how does this heavy metal band's fourth release fare? Well, in my honest opinion, not only is it an all around superb album, it is also one of my favorite releases of 2018 so far.

This album gets off to an excellent start with "Bringer Of War", which ignites the fuse for the rest of this release in a great way. We start off with some quiet acoustic guitar work, and then the song suddenly explodes with some impressively fast guitar and drum work. This song is pure fun, inviting us all to participate in a war. Even though, Tremonti says, we might lose it, it would be better to join the fight rather than turn away. I'm sure that the band is talking about a metaphorical war. While using war for symbolism is something that's been done a lot, this song is still too enjoyable to resist. The guitar solo coming near the end blew me away, and gives you a good sampling of Mark's godly talent on lead guitar. There's hardly a moment on here when I wasn't just in awe of his playing abilities. His vocals are nothing to scoff at, either. Just look at the title track for evidence of how great Tremonti's vocals are. This song was what got me hooked on this band, and it's easily my favorite off this album. Running over six minutes, this song runs the gamut of emotions. It starts off with some pounding guitar riffs, and Mark's vocals come in a delightfully aggressive way. The song suddenly shifts pace unexpectedly in the chorus, having a slow, brooding build-up. The chorus has some of the best lyrical content I've heard from any song this year: "Look at you now, you’re a dying machine/Cold and disfigured, corrupted, diseased/Again, you’ve come back, oh, I’ll die in this place/Mechanical cradle, synthetic embrace". It's chilling how compellingly Tremonti compares the emotional state of someone to a machine, showing how callous they've become to the world around them. I don't want to spoil for you all the musical movements this song goes through, because each moment in this song offers an unexpected surprise. This song is the whole package as far as a truly masterful track goes: incredible instrumentation, impassioned vocals, and emotionally haunting lyrics. Because of how much this song has spoken to me, it has high potential to be my favorite song of the year. I'm not kidding; it's that good!

You would think with the vast praises I've given to this release's title track that no other song following it could possibly live up to the expectations that track has. But, you'd be wrong. The songs following this track are very close in quality, some of the tracks being near equals, which is just impressive. "Trust" has one of the most legitimately beautiful choruses on this album. I love Tremonti's vocal harmonies that he does, and the beauty in his voice gives weight to the song's theme of trusting in people despite the hardships of your past. Something I noticed about this release is that it discusses very common themes we see in many hard rock/metal releases. But the band does such a good job of manipulating these themes into something new and refreshing. "Throw Them To the Lions" is a pure rock banger. It's not a particularly deep track, but it doesn't need to be. If you aren't singing along to this track at the top of your lungs, then I have to wonder what's wrong with you. The intensity of the album continues at full throttle with "Make It Hurt". I feel like this song has some subtle punk influences in it. The drumming in this track in particular really stands out to me; it makes the song very interesting. The chorus of this track is so freaking catchy. I was able to sing along with it only within my second listen. This track has been stuck in my head, and I don't mind that at all. Overall the first half of this album has more fun tracks (though it's not without its serious moments). That gives you time to prepare for the emotionally weighty content a vast majority of the second half of this album offers. It starts with "Traipse" which broods with a dark, menacing atmosphere. This track is probably the most intense on the album in terms of lyrical content, as Tremonti discusses how easy it is to give in to your darkest instincts. He uses disturbingly vibrant visual imagery to do so: "Cold is the light of your sun/Stripping away the love/When me and the deep become one/The rapture again is gone/Oh let me, let me down". This song is pretty unique in context of this release as a whole, making it one of my favorites.

It surprised me how much I was touched by the relationship centered track "The First The Last". Maybe it's because, unlike so many of its break up song counterparts, Tremonti knows how to frame a relationship that was very important to him. You get the feeling of the full weight of this relationship as he says this person was both the first and last person he loved, and he lost everything when they left. The lyrical content is so vague as to make me think that maybe this track is about a loved one who passed away, which would make this track all the more haunting. Tremonti's vocals soar in the chorus, and he really takes them to new heights he hadn't previously explored. Following this track is "A Lot Like Sin", which isn't one of the better tracks on the album, but is fun none the less. If you're looking for a really impressive metal onslaught, then look to the almost thrash-influenced "The Day When Legions Burned". This track's pacing is incredibly fast, and boasts some of the most technically proficient guitar and drum work by the band as a whole. This song is a chance for the whole band to show off, and they don't waste the song's only 3-minute run-time. This track also has some epic Greek imagery in its lyrics, which gives you the full scale of the destruction that the character in this track desires to wreak. As the album begins to wind down, we get another major highlight in the ballad "As The Silence Becomes Me". Thankfully, the song lives up to its compelling title. This song is tragic and depressing, as Tremonti says how he used to have people who cared about him, but now it's only silence that accepts him: "Forgotten the time it takes/Years go by and I'm forsaken, oh, again/So come now and sit with me/I alone wait to meet the end/But don't you wait, my friend". This song gave me cold chills when I realized it was about death. Tremonti draws out this metaphor so subtly that you can miss it if you're not paying attention. But it's impossible to, especially with the gorgeous vocal harmonies and the beautiful acoustic guitar. "Take You With Me" is thankfully the redemption to the other track's tragedy, as it has a much brighter sound to it than any other song on this album does. It's powerful that this response song has another character (perhaps even a different side of Tremonti himself) saying that he'll take him and accept him for who he is. A big theme of this album seems to be realizing how easy it is to let other people hurt you; the person intentionally scarring you may even be yourself.  The only way to overcome the deep wounds is self-acceptance.

It's really too bad that two of the weaker tracks on this album come at the very end. "Desolation" takes away the redemptive arc that "Take You With Me" provided. Instead, Tremonti falls back down a road of doubt and self-loathing. This could be a commentary on how easy it is for us to fall back into negative tendencies, but I just don't like this track for how vague it is. It makes you feel uncertain rather than having a satisfying closure. I really think this track should've appeared in the middle of the album rather than the end. The last song on this album is "Found", an instrumental. With how much I've been complimenting the talent of the musicians, you'd think that an instrumental would be a great way to end out this album. It disappointed me just how boring this track was, through and through. There wasn't a single thing about it that compelled me; I just found myself wanting it to be over. It's only about four minutes, but that time seriously drags. This is the weakest song on the album. I'd suggest that you skip the last two tracks and instead end the album on "Take You With Me", because that gives the best possible ending for this release. Another track I have a bit of a problem with is "From The Sky". It's not horrible (in fact I have to admit it's catchy), but I don't like that it relies on "whoa"'s for its chorus. But that's more of a nitpick, because I generally enjoy the song as a whole.

Besides those two ending tracks, I honestly believe that Tremonti's "A Dying Machine" is an excellent album. The energy of this release hardly ever lets up, with tracks building up on the thematic arcs of the previous ones and expanding them. As a band, Tremonti is impressively talented on every front, from the writing to the vocals to the musicianship. If you want a metal album where you can clearly tell that the band are veterans who know what you are doing, this group is a great option. This is definitely one of my favorite albums of the year, and even has potential to end up in my top 3 of 2018!

Favorite Songs: "A Dying Machine", "As The Silence Becomes Me", "Traipse", "Trust", "The First The Last", "Make It Hurt"
Least Favorite Songs: "Found", "Desolation"