The Forum isn’t sold out but it is packed, and those inside can only be classed as mega-fans. Every last word heard from the stage is roared out by the faithful, each powerchord cheered.
And it’s loud… by Christ it’s loud. Even up in the balcony, leaning against the wall the reverberations can be felt. Away from his day job, Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti is very much a disciple of metal. His two records made as Tremonti force home this point with gusto. Described by its creator as “my favourite part of the set”, Radical Change thrashes like a muthafucker, while Flying Monkeys, with its bitter, angry lyric, is founded upon one of the slowest yet most brutal riffs of the night
An abundance of light and shade serves to colour the venom and volume, a mere two of the set’s selections – You Waste Your Time and current single Sympathy – bearing any real correlation to Alter Bridge. If you’ve come along to this show expecting arena-friendly fluff, you’ll leave disappointed. Tremonti his band are grimly focused in shaking the Forum to its knees. There’s no encore, just an accepted invitation to form a circlepit during set-closer Wish You Well. Aside from the absence of Wolfgang ‘Son Of Edward’ Van Halen on bass, the only real complaint is the show’s brevity. At just an hour and 15 minutes long, it’s over way too soon.
