Marching in Time
Marching in Time gives Tremonti's familiar heavy rock sound several useful changes of emphasis. The choruses remain broad and melodic, and the guitars still move between fast metal attack and more measured riffs. What makes the record engaging is the way smaller changes in rhythm, texture and vocal delivery give individual songs a clearer character.
A World Away opens with forceful drums and bass before the guitars establish the main attack. The darker introduction and quicker riffing make a convincing start, while Mark Tremonti's singing keeps the melody easy to follow.
Now and Forever puts more emphasis on groove. Its main guitar pattern has a pulsing quality, and the riff becomes especially important towards the ending rather than simply leaving all attention to a solo. The change is modest, but it gives the song a different movement from the more familiar fast material.
Let That Be Us joins melodic guitar ideas to a harder rhythmic attack. Bleak introduces a rougher character, with a simpler guitar setting around the voice and an acoustic passage creating another kind of tension. These details keep the heavier sound from becoming entirely uniform.
The Last One of Us makes a more restrained impression. Its relatively spare ballad arrangement leaves room for the singing, and the closing guitar lead has a looser feel than the band's usual precision. Not Afraid to Lose provides another effective slower moment through an expressive vocal performance.
The title track takes a broader route to the finish. Quieter guitar passages alternate with heavier sections, allowing the melody to develop across a longer arrangement. Its scale is convincing, although the extended soloing towards the end could be shorter without weakening the song.
That is also the album's wider limitation. The playing is strong, but the repeated large choruses and substantial arrangements can still become tiring.
Even so, Marching in Time makes good use of its familiar ingredients. Tremonti deliver a strong record without needing to abandon the style that suits them.
