From Orlando, Florida comes Tremonti with their latest album called Dust. The founder of the band, Mark Tremonti, is known as the lead guitarist of both Creed and Alter Bridge. The bass guitar player is Wolfgang van Halen. His last name probably sounds familiar and that is no coincidence. He is the son of the well-known and amazing guitar player Eddie van Halen. Wolfgang left Tremonti this year. He also plays with Van Halen and he is the youngest member of that band. Mark Tremonti founded his own band because he was writing his own songs, which were probably nothing for both Creed or Alter Bridge. He was afraid the songs he wrote would never see daylight and thus began the idea of his own band.
To be honest, I did know the name of the band, but never heard anything of them. This band was a blank page for me and I did not know what to expect. However, the first song really caught my attention. My Last Mistake is an amazing song to start the album with. The fast and deep sounding guitar parts really fit into the song. The clean singing really is a good contrast to the heavy sound of all the instruments. It blew me away and immediately made me want to listen to the entire album. It sounds really melodic. The song The Cage really reminds me of Alter Bridge. No surprise there, but it’s mostly the singing that reminds me of that. It sounds like Myles Kennedy could have sung this. I like it to hear the influence the other bands Mark Tremonti played in. It shows me that those bands are sill a part of him and inspired him in his music. Once Awake sounds a bit heavier than the other 2 songs. Especially in the beginning of the song.
The contrast the song Dust has, pops out more that way. Its starts with an acoustic guitar or at least it sounds like that. It’s definitely different from the other songs. It’s a lot softer and it shows that they know how to make soft songs too. It still has their sound to it , which can be pretty hard to accomplish. The song Betray Me, which follows is a lot heavier. It shows the listener the sound they are known for. With the deep bass and fast guitar solo they continue the sound of the first 3 songs on this album. Tore My Heart Out starts out a lot softer than the song before it, but soon picks up. The start of the song Catching Fire gives me the feeling that the band Red could have made it. Never Ending sounds like it could have been a song on the latest album of Slash. Not only the way Mark sings sound a lot like the way Myles Kennedy sings, but also the guitar solo sounds Slash-like. As a big fan of Slash, I must say that this song is probably my favorite song on this album.
The album sometimes gives me the feeling of the music Ozzy Osborne makes. I really think that if you like Alter Bridge you will recognize the sound of them in this band too. It is surely a lot heavier, but I don’t have a problem with that. I did not know what to expect from this band, but I am surely surprised by them. It’s a great album and it’s easy to listen to. Hopefully their unique sound will stay with us for a long time.
Rating: 8,5/10
Written by Joshua
“Dust” track listing:
01. My Last Mistake
02. The Cage
03. Once Dead
04. Dust
05. Betray Me
06. Tore My Heart Out
07. Catching Fire
08. Never Wrong
09. Rising Storm
10. Unable To See
Record Label: FRET12, April 2016
Studio albums:
“All I Was” (2012) [review]
“Cauterize” (2015) [review]
“Dust” (2016)
Bandmembers:
Mark Tremonti (Creed, Alter Bridge): Lead and rhythm guitar, lead vocals
Eric Friedman (Creed, Daughters of Mara): Rhythm guitar, co-lead guitar on the song Once Dead, backing vocals
Garrett Whitlock (Submersed): Drums
Wolfgang van Halen (Van Halen): Bass guitar
Weblinks: Facebook / Twitter / Website
Buy the album here:
Holland: First Paradox
Norway: Nordic Mission
Lyric Video for ‘Dust’