On June 9, 2015, "Cauterize", Tremonti's second solo album, was released.
If in the album "All I Was" review we told you how Mark Tremonti hatched from the egg to embark on his own independent path, but the "chick" that hatched from the egg turned out to be a "dinosaur", then this dinosaur grew and on this album became a formidable T-Rex that threatens the whole "Jurassic world" ".
If you thought that on the debut album "All I Was" Tremonti released all his aggressions with materials that did not fit the musical line of "Alter Bridge" and "Creed", then in this album, he takes it one step further and unleash atomic energy that burns all things in its path. Tremonti simply unleashes all restraint here and fire his soul into the album.
Make no mistake, anyone who listens to this album will hear the influences from the world of thrash metal on Mark Tremonti and especially of "Metallica" and "Testament", on which he grew up on. But not only that, we were able to notice also the influences of "Pantera" and even of "Gojira", the youngest in the bunch. Do not believe? Listen to Tremonti's guitar starting at 1:00 in the opening song "Radical Change".
But that's not all. In this album, Tremonti begins to formulate his immortal formula, the private DNA of his own compositions. Tremonti's unique formula blends modern thrash metal with melody. If you listen to his songs, especially from this album on, you will surely be able to identify a number of salient elements that characterize most of them. They will usually start with cruel "Speed" riffs and even thrash metal ones, Tremonti will pour his unique melody over them and then paint them with complex rhythms and a lot of dynamics, moving from very fast sections to "mid-pace" rhythms and back again. He will take the listener into the eye of the storm, later pull him out of there to a calmer area, and then, without any prior warning, he will throw the listener back into the raging tropical storm and leave him there exposed, without protection, without a lifeline.
In order to carry out his plot, Mark Tremonti gathers around him a tough and threatening gang no less than "The Chainsaw from Texas" (he is not really from Texas), in his own right. This album forms the backbone of the band that will accompany Mark Tremonti on future albums, including Eric Friedman on bass and guitar and Garrett Whitlock on drums, both from "Submersed" which disbanded in 2008. And this time Wolfgang Van Halen is joining the band as a permanent member as a replacement for bassist Brian Marshall.
This album is the first of two albums recorded together in the same sessions. Tremonti recorded enough material for two albums in these sessions. He did not want to release a double album, so he chose to release two albums balanced in dynamics, number of songs and structure, with the album "Dust" being released a year later, in 2016.
The influences on Tremonti can be felt already in the opening track "Radical Change". The fast-paced thrashing, sounds like a riff that "Metallica" left on the editing table on one of their albums. Tremonti never hid this band's influence on him and always noted that he used to play their riffs for hours to get better in his guitar playing. "Flying Monkeys" takes it in a slightly different direction, heavy and "tired" relative to the opening song, and when Tremonti sings "I'm inclined to take my time, I'll take this to the grave…" you can understand why he chose to lean on a slow doom in this song. We return to the nervous and fast thrash with the theme song "Cauterize" and when we get to the slow and catchy chorus everything is already clear, the Tremonti formula works great. As we near the end of the song Tremonti's guitar and Wolfgang's bass soak up a relaxed atmosphere and just like on the album cover it's like Mark Tremonti's troubles had sunk along with the setting sun. "Arm Yourself", returns again to the brutal thrash attack with a frenetic guitar and drum beats that sound like machine guns, Tremonti is getting armed because "Today this will be done...". "Dark Trip" takes us to a more melodic and melancholy atmosphere, which fits well with the words. A song full of excellent harmonies that reminds us a bit of the days of "Creed", combined with blues touches in the solos. "Another Heart" was the first single released from the album, and you can also understand why. It features all strong sides of Tremonti, metal riffs, good melody, catchy chorus and an excellent guitar solo, designed to market Tremonti to the masses. "Fall Again" takes us back to the softer moments of Tremonti, his clear voice, his vocal range, his precision in singing, just unbelievable that for years he hid behind the guitar and in most cases perform only background vocals. "Tie the Noose" is another daring, punch in the face face song written about the riots that took place in Ferguson, Missouri, following the police officer killing of Michael Brown. "Sympathy" shows the uniqueness of Tremonti in the metal world. While the lyrics of many metal bands express anger and protest, Tremonti pours into his songs, positive content with a message of hope. The album ends with "Providence" which is one of the most moving songs that proves once again that on the one hand Tremonti's music can be kicking and biting, and on the other hand more light and accessible.
For Listening: Spotify, Apple Music