Reunited with Creed for a 2024 tour, Alter Bridge’s Mark Tremonti talked about Metallica’s impact on his career and music in a recent chat with Guitar World. Having been a fan of the band since teenagehood, he also explained the differences between James Hetfield’s and Kirk Hammett’s guitar playing.
While explaining how a guitar sound changed depending on the picking, Tremonti revealed that Hetfield’s style inspired his own hard guitar tunes. He then commented:
“Another difference between him and Kirk is which hand leads and how they hold the pick. Kirk uses more of his left-hand virtuosity and holds the pick like most players. James is more right-hand-led and holds the pick with his thumb, first, and middle fingers. I hold my pick that way, too! I don’t know why, but two fingers and a thumb helps me dig in harder and heavier, plus it feels like there’s more control. Now I have to play like that. I didn’t realize it wasn’t the normal way of holding a plectrum!”
Comparing the two Metallica members, the Alter Bridge guitarist added:
“They’re two very different players, but you have to remember Kirk has to keep up with James when they play those fast riffs live! Kirk is a great alternate picker. He’s also a big reason why I love Wah pedals so much; he often does those big one-string Wah runs that I love.”
Metallica’s Influence On Tremonti And His Band’s Music
Tremonti also said that Metallica’s ‘Master Of Puppets’ album, especially the ‘Welcome Home (Sanitarium)’ track, had an impact on his decision to be in a band and create his own music style. This influence showed itself in Alter Bridge’s latest album, ‘Pawns & Kings,’ as Myles Kennedy mentioned.
Last year, Kennedy talked about his bandmate’s use of his right hand while playing the guitar parts in the record and told Total Guitar:
“It’s like James Hetfield. Some guys have it. It’s aggression. When I’d go in to track my part, it was like, ‘I can’t wait to hear Mark play over the top and add his attack because it’ll help bring it to life.'”
He continued:
“I think this is maybe our most involved record. Out of all the records, if somebody listened to it cold, it’d be the hardest to grasp right out of the gate because there are so many twists and turns. As an artist, you’re trying not to let the listener go: ‘This is Alter Bridge. It will do this, and then it will do that.’ We want to keep people guessing.”
You can check out Tremonti’s recent interview here to learn more about his thoughts on Metallica.
