If The End Will Show Us How, Tremonti’s sixth solo album, had been released 25 years ago, it would have been a revelation. Back then, guitarist Mark Tremonti was a member of Creed, the late 90s arena rockers who had spent the past few years dominating rock radio and were equally loved and derided for their troubles. Compare that band’s mega-hits Higher and With Arms Wide Open to the bludgeoning, groove metal-adjacent One More Time from The End Will Show Us How, and it’s like night and day.
What few Creed fans weren't aware of at the time was that Mark was a dyed- in-the-wool metal aficionado, his tastes running from Machine Head to Celtic Frost. That love of heaviness has shaped both his post-Creed band Alter Bridge and, more obviously, his eponymous outfit, Tremonti. Much of The End Will Show Us How spotlights that more clearly than ever - the riffs are much beefier, the singing more heroic and the overall impact more immediate. The throbbing bassline of Just Too Much is accompanied by downtuned riffs and disorienting bends, while Nails borrows from the Slayer playbook, its screeching lead line hitting like a slowed-down Raining Blood. Mark never screams like Tom Araya, but his weighty baritone neatly slots in with all the heaviness.
If The End Will Show Us How were to stay in this all-adrenaline mode, it would be impressive. However, Mark can’t resist the call of some overly earnest balladry, and mid-album tracks It’s Not Over and the title track call back to some of Creed’s more sentimental moments. At least finale All The Wicked Things gets the balance right, contrasting post-grunge sensibilities with thrilling guitar harmonies and even some blackened tremolo picking. The odd saccharine misstep doesn’t sink The End Will Show Us How... it’s just that the skip button might be tapped once or twice along the way.
The End Will Show Us How is out this Friday, January 10
