TesseracT has made a good name for themselves in the world of progressive metal. Alongside such bands like Periphery, and Between the Buried and Me, TesseracT has proven, in their relatively short career in the mainstream, how artistic and complex metal can be; being able to speak so many good things about a band that’s only released one LP so far is saying a lot. However, it does give added pressure, and unfair expectations on their newest release, Altered State. Hopefully, they can continue to live up to the wonderful reputation they have already achieved.
One thing I love about bands like TesseracT is that it’s difficult to listen to their albums without paying close attention. You lose a ton of nuances and direction in the songs when you stop paying attention for just a little bit. And nowhere is this more true than on Altered State; not to mention that this album technically only has 4 songs. The album is divided into 10 individual tracks, but is comprised of just 4 whole songs split into different movements. Personally, this really just forces me to just pay attention, because I know I’m just going to miss something if I don’t. Altered State is simply meant to be listened to.
Altered State marks the first full release with new vocalist Ashe O’Hara. While he still reaches many high notes throughout the album, it’s definitely more of a rounder tone than the sharper voice of Daniel Tompkins on the previous LP, One. Movements like “Of Mind – Nocturne”, however, is a strong display of his mighty pipes in action, and stands up well to the previous voice work of Tompkins.
The entire song "Of Matter" also affirms right away the band’s djent elements. Their djent sound is one of the major driving forces in their trademark sound and on this album as well. And just as in any self-respective progressive album, the polyrhythms are numerous and always exciting. It just keeps you on your feet and keeps you engaged in the overall picture. But I think the greatest force on this album is definitely the ambiance. Altered State has a masterful achievement in creating large spaces and ethereal atmospheres in every single movement.
The album reaches so many different atmospheres as it progresses, it’s really amazing. Whether the guitars are riding high notes with extreme reverb and delay, or O’Hara’s magnificent harmonies, or even from a saxophone from guest musician Chris Barretto, you just feel surrounded by TesseracT's ambiance. Even the moments when there isn’t much guitar or vocal layering, like on the intro of “Of Reality”, you still feel pulled into their world. You might expect all of that atmosphere to get trying and boring as the album goes on, but honestly I really can't get enough. They transition from low and slow to fast and sporadic so seamlessly you really just don’t notice it; you basically just go with it.
The last track, “Of Energy” in particular has great moments of dynamic contrast all throughout. It is worth mentioning that Altered State definitely favors these atmospheres and passages over more of the common metal elements that were even present in the previous album. One still had a few good double-bass passages and things of that nature, but Altered State definitely relies more on the ghostly moods and the djenty polyrhythms. If you’re already into prog metal, but this would be your first exposure to TesseracT, then this will probably not faze you one bit.
Altered State is a supreme demonstration of serious musicians putting out serious work. This is definitely not an album to pick up when you just want to rock out around your room in your underwear. If I may continue to throw out more douchey comparisons, Altered State is more like an experience. You can’t just listen to one movement, or even one song; you really just need to hear the whole thing. And I think TesseracT probably feels the same way, since Altered State in its entirety has been posted on YouTube for several days now before the official release. Go check it out if you’re unsure about it; you really have nothing to lose but tons to gain if you end up enjoying it.
9.0/10
Altered State (Full Stream)[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmR0gkojHDs[/youtube]
"Of Mind – Nocturne"
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqLPb0_ygKk[/youtube]
