"A Dying Machine" is the 4th album by heavy metal band Tremonti. The main man behind the band, Mark Tremonti is probably more well known for being the lead guitarist in Alter bridge and previously Creed. But after 3 albums the popularity of his solo stuff is getting more and more attention. And with "A Dying Machine" his popularity doesn't see any signs of him stopping this progress.
"Bringer of war" is an excellent start. The military style drumming intro is fitting for song about war and has a nice guitar solo in it too. As you would expect there are many guitar solos on here. But Mark does not go over the top with them and let ruin the songs. "Traipse" has the best solo on it and also a big highlight for me on the album generally. He could make the solos longer if he wanted to and probably make them work too but it seems on this album as well as showing off his amazing guitar work, he is also wanting to show how much his songwriting has come on.
Title track "A Dying machine" was the first single to be taken from this album. Slightly longer than his usual tracks and has the best bridge/valley he has his done as he sings “as deep as any ocean….”. What a track. I did think with this album that Tremonti really needed to do something different as he has produced albums which although not the same, were along the same lines. With "A Dying machine" he has shown a bit more adventure. The next single "Take you with me" he did this and more. Along with the heavy riff Tremonti plays, there is also a punk rock type riff, Eric Friedman plays which goes along with it. This is a really catchy song and I would say even one of the best he has done. Another song he realeased prior was "As the silience becomes me". Another great track as he plays about with song structures a bit and has a slow build up into the track and finishes on an amazing guitar solo.
He also has become the master of the power metal ballad with tracks like "Trust" and "The First the last" . These are just so well done and his voice just suits the music. Many people who say they are not into metal I think have misconceptions about the genre that its “just noise” or “just people screaming”. This album is neither that. This is proper singing with a lot of variation in songwriting and is definetley not just noise. “Throw them to the Lions” is another classic, really hard hitting song which I think will become a popular live favourite. Another catchy number with an excellent solo on it.
The final track "Found" is one of those gems that catch you be surprise. To my knowledge Tremonti has never tried anything like this. A purely instrumental outro which is just bliss. This could go on for 10 minutes plus and I would be quite happily listen to it over and over again. What a way to end an album. I hope he explores this kind of soundscapes on future albums and really stretches his music further as he clearly has the ability and the creative gene to take his music to another level and explore this kind of post rock style more.
Overall, this really is an excellent album. I previously rated 3rd album "Dust" 5 stars and would probably rate his debut 5 stars too. But this is better than both those albums so no prizes for guessing how many stars I would award this one. So much depth, variety and overall excellent songwriting. You need to hear it for yourself.
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