LIVE REVIEW: Tremonti @ O2 Academy, Bristol
What should be a quiet everyday Monday in Bristol is instead plagued by a crowd outside the O2 Academy that is made up of hundreds of ALTER BRIDGE shirts and high spirits. The fact that this entire tour for guitarist Mark Tremonti has been rescheduled hasn’t diminished the electric atmosphere that surrounds the entire venue, as ticketholders wait to enter.
Starting the nights proceedings is the extremely underrated HAWXX. Though we may have missed the beginning of their set because of the massive queue that is quite literally wrapping around the building, we get there just in time for the halfway mark. They have thoroughly warmed up by this point, with their own brand of crushing rock that they bring to the table to “reform the sausage fest” – a sentiment that many bands are sure to relate to and echo. They may not be the heaviest of the three bands playing this evening but instead of letting fact this stop them, they instead use it to power on and give the audience a taste of something different with a set full of thunderous guitar riffs and haunting vocal melodies. Each member of the band has a microphone to create these beautiful four-part harmonies that are sure to make the hair on the back of your next stand up – even the extremely talented Jessica on drums is multitasking though blasting beats and adding to the eerie atmosphere – because no band is truly complete without a Britney mic, right? The queue that was outside has somehow managed to make it inside by the end of their set and give them the cheers and applause that they truly deserve.
Rating: 8/10
The second band of the night and main support for the tour is London five piece THE RAVEN AGE. They waste absolutely no time in taking command of the stage, with frontman and lead vocalist Matt James using up every inch of the stage that is already crowded in a bid to rile the audience up. He has an energy about him that gets the entire crowd singing along, regardless of whether they know the words or not. Having previously supported TREMONTI on their 2018 tour, this band seemed the perfect fit to take up the role again four short years later. In the space of half an hour they prove why TREMONTI keep coming back to them, filling the room with soaring vocal lines intertwined with bruising heavy vocals from bassist Matt Cox. This introduction of more metalcore stylings may not be the first choice for the audience assembled tonight, but they pull it off with style and by the end of their set, they have won the entire room over.
Rating: 7/10
By the time TREMONTI makes their entrance, the audience is raring to go. They immediately change the dynamic and atmosphere of the room as soon as they step foot onto the stage, bursting out with a selection of tracks from their newest album Marching In Time. This is a band that doesn’t need to beg for the audience’s attention, instead they have them enthralled before frontman Mark Tremonti can even sing a note. Its obvious that there a lot of ALTER BRIDGE fans in the audience tonight, as Tremonti himself is their lead guitarist, but this band is a wildly talented entity in their own right.
Mark Tremonti switches flawlessly between ripping guitar solos at the front of the stage and sharing his almost angelic vocals with the audience, who has no trouble in joining him with vocals of their own. Though he may be somewhat tethered to the spot by a microphone, Tremonti makes sure to interact with the other members of the band, giving the audience those special little moments that they crave. This show itself has been a long time coming with various rescheduling and it’s about time TREMONTI were able to play to a room full of some of their most adoring fans. This band is somehow able to make a small academy venue feel like an arena with a set that is full of bouncing guitar riffs, soaring vocals, and an energy that is incomparable to a lot of others at their level.
Rating: 9/10
Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Bristol from Megan Jenkins Photography here:
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