Tremonti: Marching To The Other Side Of Fear

We become what we consume. Whether that be nutrition, world views, or general attitudes. If we allow collated negativity to fester, it ferments the fruit of our soul. Seeking to combat the spiritual rot, musical content has reflected a host of what humanity has confronted in an ever expanding period of time. Political turmoil, vaccination debates, riots, and the dreaded C-word. Not that one. Adding his brand of weighty riffs and devastating lyrical stories to the fray is legendary guitar-slinger Mark Tremonti. Poised to release Marching In Time, the fifth studio album with his solo band, Mark joins us during a packed press day. “The last interview went way over,” he says with a hint of a nervous laugh, despite only being a few minutes behind schedule.

Building this record started shortly after ALTER BRIDGE released Walk The Sky in 2019. Whilst continuing to develop TREMONTI’s harsher sound, there was also a keen interest creating a brand new era. Unlike 2018’s A Dying Machine, Marching In Time is not a concept record. Taking the listener on 12 individual journeys rather than one larger chronicle was a conscious decision. “It’s the same with every record, I try to make it different from what I’ve done in the past. Let it be its own thing and not another version of an earlier record,” Mark explains.

It’s this drive for evolution which steers TREMONTI’s ship into heavier waters. “It’s a sound I wanna keep on evolving,” Mark tells us. “I want to add tools to the repertoire to keep things new and exciting.” Yet, Marching In Time is not a complete separation from what’s come before. What makes a TREMONTI melody so distinctive is its willingness to dwell within moodiness. Now And Forever tells the tale of someone losing themselves within a world of brutal uncertainty. To the tune of a breakdown as crushing as these circumstances and a round toned solo which feels like a stab to the heart, this purge is beyond welcome. “The deeper I go into any kind of emotion, the better it is for me,” he confesses. “If it’s sadness, I like to get as sad as possible to get it out.”

Marching In Time is unmistakably evocative. From the luscious ballad Not Afraid To Lose to the hollowing Bleak, almost every aspect of the emotional spectrum is covered. There was one song in particular, however, which illustrated the pure subjective nature of lyricism. Drawing from the influence of speed metal such as FORBIDDEN and METALLICA, In One Piece pushes TREMONTI into borderline contempt. “That’s one I always worried about someone asking me the meaning of,” Mark laughs. The song charts a conversation between two people; one asking for mercy and the other denying them that. When the song was played to Eric Friedman [guitars], Mark’s favourite lyric “you’ll never be anything but you’re mine” became a strong talking point. “It’s cool when something like that can push an idea into someone’s head that had nothing to do with my original intention,” he smiles.

Mark’s original intention was all too clear with the aforementioned Bleak. Armed with deceivingly simple guitars and venomous verses, this is a no holds barred tirade against bitterness. Those who would gladly taint others’ good fortune because “what’s lifting me is killing you”. “Most people are great and want the best for others,” Mark begins, “but there are those few you meet in life that are disgusting people.”

Breaking the ties that bind with people who hold you back is by no means an easy feat. The same can be said for leaving places which no longer enrich your life. The thunderous single, and opening track, A World Away is described as a TREMONTI style fight song. Battling against the feeling of becoming stagnant in a cyclical life, the song encourages the listener to take that leap into the unknown in order to pursue what they want from life. “A lot of times people don’t feel capable or they’re scared to make the change. They’re afraid of the unknown,” Mark muses when we asked why people stay in those situations. “I still hate it!” He confesses, telling us about the dread he felt as a kid when moving between schools and having students gawp at him. For many of us, that fear of change follows us into adulthood. For some, it sadly means never living the life they wanted to. Sentencing themselves to living half a life. “I won’t live that way any more,” Mark states.

Having this go-getter mindset tied in with an in your face style of music, “shy” isn’t a word you would typically use to describe Mark Tremonti. A self-confessed member of the Shy Club, he refused to let this timidness hold him back when it came to performing on stage. Finding something needed to change, Mark took a novel approach to combatting his nerves. “One night, I told the guys [in the band I was in at the time], I’d give them all $100 if I didn’t go nuts on stage that night,” he laughs, going on to tell us he started the set with an out of character jump from the drum riser. The difference between the man which dominates the likes of the O2 Arena and the one laughing about the fact a TREMONTI poster used to hang in his bathroom is night and day. “I’ve never broken out of my shyness,” he says. “It’s not me on stage. It’s this alter ego I’ve developed with hard work and practice.”

It’s an incredible work ethic and love for what he does which has has added so much weight to the name Mark Tremonti. Finding success in CREED, ALTER BRIDGE, and his solo band, we ask what he believes is behind his longevity. “Gumption is the biggest thing for anyone successful; having that drive and the confidence of knowing you’ll get there if you work hard enough at it,” he answers. Racking up almost 30 years in the music industry, Mark is quick to admit none of it has ever been a given. “It’s always been a lot of work. If it wasn’t though, I wouldn’t have appreciated it as much”.

Marching In Time ends with a letter to the other love of Mark’s life; his family. The title track weaves the tale of a father welcoming a child into a tumultuous world. Adding daughter Stella to his family in March forced him to look at the world his children will inherit. “I try not to watch the news any more because it just drives me crazy,” Mark confesses. “It’s the last thing I want my kids watching.” Like many, the legacy this father of three hopes to leave his children is a simple one; “Leave this world a better place than you found it. Be happy and follow your passions.”

The record forces us to look at an ever diving world and our role within it. Sitting under the learning tree of Mark Tremonti fills us with determination to find the place we’ve dreamed of. Mark’s parting words say exactly what we needed to know; “the good side of life is on the other side of fear.”

Marching In Time is out now via Napalm Records.

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