This is the second album from British Prog metallers TESSERACT. Also the only album to feature Ash O’hara on vocals, after the departure of Dan Tompkins who would return to the band later. Weirdly all-round crazy person Chris Barretto (ex of Periphery and Monuments), appears on two tracks. This is the double grey vinyl edition, and conveniently each side is split into themes, Of Matter, Of Mind, Of Reality and Of Energy. Technically there is only four tracks on the album, but they are split into sections. All the themes deal with change.
Starting things off with Proxy, and a clean almost ethereal vocal from O’Hara that grows into a superb choppy low-end djent groove that TESSERACT are famous for. A superb opening piece that blends into Retrospect, great vocal melodies and some superb off time grooves. This theme ends with the epic Resist, such an atmospheric piece with great melody and layered vocal.
Side 2 Of Mind starts with the single Nocturne with that superb low end riff, and into a soaring vocal and then back to that riff – such a great song. This is metal but not as we know it Jim. Absolute awesome stuff. I dare you not to bounce around which ever room you are in when that groove kicks in. One of the best djent tracks written. Not finished with this side yet as the choppy groove of Exiled finishes this side out.
On to Of Reality and opening piece, Eclipse, with huge doomy chords and that almost angelic vocal and that trademark TESSERACT choppy groove. Hell we’re nearly in jazz territory here. If you are a die hard 4/4 fan there is not a lot for you here as the time signatures are all over the map – as next track Palingenesis demonstrates perfectly. The first appearance of the aforementioned Barretto appears next with Calbi- Yau, but on saxophone not vocals.
Flipping over onto the last side, Of Energy, with the other single release, Singularity, starting things off – it dawns on me that there is no one like TESSERACT that do this as good as they do. The album finishes beautifully with the killer, Embers.
They have evolved since the Periphery-esque doodlings of their first album, and they now have a groove and a sound of their own. There is some great playing on here from Acle Carney and James Monteith- Guitars , Amos Williams – Bass, and Jay Postones on Drums. If you like your music to last beyond that initial burst of the thrill of listening to something new for the first time, and you want to keep coming back to it and get that feeling of wonder then – Tesserract- Altered State could just be for you.
9.5/10 from The Grooveman.
