By Paul Southwell
American guitarist Mark Tremonti, best known as the formidable lead guitar force behind the successful hard rock bands Alter Bridge and Creed, has also found time during his hectic schedule to create a solo venture that consists of decidedly heavier material. Naming his band after his surname is a statement of intent and admission that the four piece band is notably the fruits of his musical overview as opposed to a vanity project. The band’s third album, Dust, follows up the linked 2015 release Cauterize and is also a collection of songs that came about during the same sessions for the second album.
“I’m very proud of the way it turned out and doing the solo band is all about getting out these things that have influenced me over the years,” says Tremonti. “After we recorded and mastered the records, I thought the order of songs needed to be changed on Dust but that is the only change made. Once we’ve recorded and tracked things, it is a huge deal to get back into the studio so we left it as is. The heavier stuff is easier to describe as solo project songs but for the mellower aspects I leave up to the rest of my band to make it sound different. The rhythm sections of Tremonti and Alter Bridge are very different.”
The future of the band’s music will no doubt involve new styles, sounds and influences but as it is early days, the simple joys of live performance are one angle that helps matters for tighter songwriting. “We know that a lot of the heavier songs are fun to play live so we made sure there were good, high energy songs on the album,” confirms Tremonti. The influences heard currently include Iron Maiden, Anthrax Metallica, Meshuggah and even a hint of Slayer without alienating their own fan base. “Oh, I love Slayer and I like to get just as heavy as anybody else out there but my favourite part of any song is to have the melody to remain strong so I try to combine those two worlds,” explains the guitarist.
Any budding guitar heads will be treated to a vast array of guitar techniques on this latest album. However, the solos that Tremonti unleashes, as dazzling as they are, sit within a song based context. “The albums are based on good songs and I think that if there is too much soloing going on, that hurts the song. I’ve done an instrumental but I prefer songs with vocals and strong melody that has one solo break that is not too self-indulgent. When we practiced these songs we made one take demoes and made sure that I could sing over any guitar parts that I was playing. Still, it is kind of second nature.”
Creed and Alter Bridge have been hugely successful international bands but Mark is disciplined enough to keep solo material ideas away from his main bread winning band and vice versa. “When I have an album coming up, everything I am doing goes into that album,” states Tremonti. “When there is not enough time to work on every idea you’ve worked on, then some of the best of those ideas spill over into the next record so you never quite know where it might end up. I hear Myles [Kennedy – Alter Bridge vocalist and Slash’s vocalist] working on Slash stuff but I just tell him I dig the parts. He’s got to write new good material.”
Asked if he is ever tempted to borrow one of Slash’s Les Paul guitars, Tremonti points out his signature PRS line of guitars are keeping him more than happy in coaxing all the tones he needs. “I grew up playing a Les Paul but ever since I’ve had my signature guitar, I really haven’t experimented with a lot of other guitars. I have to play these guitars in my show. It is my guitar and I love it so there is no real reason to go out and experiment with others. I’ve always been an alternate tuning guy for new voicings but on this record I wrote a song on a seven string guitar and used two or three new tunings as well.”
Amplifiers on the other hand, are wide and varied to give the album a range of sounds. It also helps to have world class musicians in your band. “I will bring in all of my favourite amps and we’ll have a whole day where we do an amp shootout,” admits Tremonti. “I took in maybe ten or twelve amps which we narrowed down to five and then depending on the track, we would mix them up to suit the song the best. Wolfgang [Van Halen – Tremonti and Van Halen bassist] brings in his own amps and I don’t mess with his bass tone. I just mess with my guitar tone. I write the music and put it to the band and we’ll arrange it together. But, I don’t tell people what their tones should be or what parts they should play. They kind of follow along to my parts. They are all great at what they do so it is very easy.”
Mark is certainly not worried about being compared to either Eddie Van Halen or Slash given his band member associates are in bands themselves with such rock guitar deities. “I think our styles are so different. Slash is much more of a bluesy player whereas I am more of a metal player. Eddie is Eddie. I’d be proud of being compared to him but we are all very different. I was more influenced by speed metal when I was a kid but now as an adult I am more influenced by bluesy stuff and am getting into the right hand, country style but keeping a rock feel to it.”
Aware of the changes in audience tastes and that stage productions with pyrotechnics are probably best left back with the Creed era. “There was a time for that but I don’t see a place for pyrotechnics with Tremonti or Alter Bridge. Maybe lasers, a better light show or a video screen but pyro starts to get a little dated sometimes when it is not done correctly.” Speaking of stadium bands, linking up with Van Halen’s son and bassist Wolfgang for Tremonti’s band happened via simply hanging out. “He was a fan of Alter Bridge and wanted to come to a sound check,” says Tremonti. “When I was in LA he invited me to come and check out Van Halen practice where they played their whole new Van Halen record. We stayed in contact ever since.”
As such, the solo band continues to grow without interference, “The solo band is my project that I started to be the outlet for my vision,” clarifies Tremonti. So, it is definitely the core of it but I don’t tell band members how to play their parts or how to make their tone but the song ideas originate from me. There is not really one song on the album that encapsulates everything that the band is about. My favourite song on the record is Dust, because that is the song that has the deepest place in my heart.”
Dust is scheduled for release on 29 April 2016 via Fret 12 Records/MGM.
Dust: Track Listing
1. My Last Mistake
2. The Cage
3. Once Dead
4. Dust
5. Betray Me
6. Tore My Heart Out
7. Catching Fire
8. Never Wrong
9. Rising Storm
10. Unable To See
