Lucky Star
It's got to be a good day when Guy Ritchie turns up at your door asking for guitar lessons, which in turn leads to a new career as Madonna's on-stage and studio guitarist. Coming from a heavy metal background, the musical output of the so-called Queen of Pop may not have been Monte Pittman's cup of earl grey exactly, but let's face it, turning down an offer like that would have been rather silly. No self-respecting metalhead loses touch with their roots that easily anyway, and Monte is no exception. Having joined New York legends Prong for a few years commencing their comeback in 2003, he has since gone on to write and record for his solo project, culminating in The Power Of Three, his third studio album.
As A Dark Horse enters to kick things off, the sudden thrash metal attack is unexpectedly, well, thrash metal. It shouldn't really come as a surprise; after all, the album is the product of an extended holiday to Denmark and collaboration with producer Flemming Master of Puppets Rasmussen. The heavy metal is kept somewhat diluted throughout the remainder of the album however and Pittman's smooth vocal melodies are closer to Ozzy Osbourne's tuneful caterwauls than James Hetfield's belligerent grittiness, but this was clearly never meant to be about all-out extremity.
The Power Of Three could very easily have suffered the same fate as many solo albums that have come before it; over-produced, forgettable songs, a frustrating lack of musical identity, and self-indulgent guitar solos that sound embarrassingly out-of-place.
But not Monte.
The hooks, the choruses, the riffs and the melodies: all are consistently strong and pervasive throughout, providing enough replay value to make this much more than a futile attempt at personal creativity. Channelling hard rock and grunge but with a distinct metal edge, the likes of Everything's Undone is the hit single that Foo Fighters never wrote, whilst Away from Here momentarily resurrects Life of Agony in a fit of sharp-edged melody. A particular highlight is the rollicking Blood Hungry Thirst, upping the game even further with its riff-heavy swagger and massively fun punk rock finale.
Despite the strength of songwriting displayed thus far, it is final track All Is Fair in Love and War that truly defines Pittman's talent and vision. This thirteen minute beast sees him unleash his entire creative repository upon the listener, entering with a humongous thrash metal bounce and winding down to a moody instrumental centrepiece, before concluding in a maelstrom of growled vocals and lightning fast thrashing solos. It's almost a shame that the rest of the album feels almost held-back and reserved in comparison, but the majority of songs on The Power Of Three more than hold their own, each contributing in their own way to the consistent strength displayed over the course of the hour.
Kenny from South Park once called Madge, an old, anorexic whore who wore out her welcome years ago and that now she suddenly speaks with a British accent and she thinks she can play guitar and she should go fuck herself. Whether you agree with this or not, it has no bearing on Pittman's own music, which at its best is a brilliant display of ingenuity from a true metalhead. He may have picked up a few pop sensibilities along his journey, but this merely serves to strengthen the music.