TESSERACT – Altered State (2013)

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British quintet TESSERACT began as the studio project of guitarist Acle Kahney but slightly he transformed the event into a full band. The group soon garnered the attention of Century Media Records, publishing the first album in 2011.
Soon after they lost several singers in fairly quick succession, but pushing on, TesseracT picked up the Best New Band award from the 2012 Progressive Music Awards, and recruited new vocalist Ashe O’Hara in the same year.
“Altered State”, to be released next May 27, is an album which proves TesseracT’s worthiness to win that trophy, showing they have something quite different to offer from the contemporary UK prog related scene in general.

TesseracT is named as one of the leading and defining bands of the ‘djent movement’, described as featuring heavily distorted, palm-muted guitar chords alongside virtuoso soloing and characterized by its progressive, rhythmic and technical complexity.
Beyond the taglines, TesseracT aren’t preoccupied with this, instead focusing on what is important in the context of songwriting, and for “Altered State” this means mostly clean guitar tones and ambiance in a traditional progressive metal context but rhythmically different. Even stripping back all the melody and reverb, TesseracT still operate with abstruse templates and time signatures as confidently as most bands would with 4/4.
The music in this disc can be summed up in a few words: Beautiful. Majestic. Emotional.
Although many folks wouldn’t consider it to be metal, I see it as the opposite side of the spectrum that metal has been placed, but still contained within it. This album is all about atmosphere, progression, and a different kind of heaviness you don’t find in many other bands.

It is everything else that makes this particular band shine though. In Ashe O’Hara, for example, they have found an absolute gem. His varied, passionate delivery suits perfectly the progressive needs of TesseracT, then when the music starts getting heavier and faster, his voice gets a kick of aggression as well. Even on long, unpredictable tracks like “Of Mind ; Exile” he steals the show here with his presence.
The guitar combo of Kahney and Monteith prove to be a tasteful symbiotic six-string force, able to go from sharp riffs during the polyrhythmic moments to relaxed passages of clean tone.
Much of the clever complexity within TesseracT’s music is thanks to Jay Postones’ (drums) and Amos Williams’ (bass) mastery of their instruments. The facile intricacy that these two men display may well make them one of the better rhythmic duos in modern rock music and tilts the sound of this band to a new level. Just check “Of Energy ; Singularity”.
Talking about the songs, “Altered State” can be described as a ‘one song album’; it’s a concept work with four stages: Of Matter, Of Mind, Of Reality and Of Energy, reflecting the scientific law of the conservation of energy. It’s hard to pin down exactly what’s different between these sections – but there’s definitely some kind of ordering going on here, with shifts in style as they move through towards the end.
TesseracT is not your typical band, and they surprise us all the time. There’s a couple of compositions featuring saxophone providing even more texture and originality to this fascinating piece of music. While the guitars are thus a shortcoming of the record, every other instrument is perfectly in its uncalculated place.
When the music feels as if it should have just happened this way, “Altered State” does reach spaces not many acts are able to achieve.

“Of Matter” is the first section to start off the album, beginning with “Proxy” in a very quiet and gentle way, introducing Ashe and his serene yet fragile vocal style. You will be confronted with electronic ambience combined with dynamic instrumental insertions which come and go as the album progresses, but not annoyingly so.
This is continued into “Retrospect” where the aforementioned frail emotions continue. Heavy grooves enter and do a great job keeping the pace fresh and interesting. This is one of my favorite tracks, as Ashe demonstrates his classic influences which creates a mesmerizing experience. There is a vocal passage that really caught my ears and it combines with the astounding vibe from the rest of the band, you can’t help but be amazed at the work put into it.
“Resist” rounds out this first part, acting as a sort of closing although there is the continuation of the sound from before that comes in later on.
Second section “Of Mind” contains the almost commercial “Nocturne”, which wields a fantastic fusion of synths and driving rhythms once more. It moves from a crunching aggressive start to an atmospheric, bass-driven midsection, before it punches you back into turmoil. Ashe somehow is able to increase his range which may be the result of the addition of more emotion and energy. This shows that the album was turned into four sections for a reason.
“Exile” is another instant favorite, being one of the more heavier tracks and longest onf the album. The band is able to keep it interesting especially at the end with strong riffs layered with some enlightening lead guitar.

“Of Reality” opens with “Eclipse” which does somewhat of a 180 turn creating a track that differentiates itself with a darker tone. I’m not sure if there are electronic layers put on top of the guitar work in this track or if it could possibly be a guitar with a similar tone to what has been used before in the background. Either way, it sounds great.
“Palingenesis” comes off as very unique, even for a short track, as it has layered, contrasting vocals (which may be heard earlier in the album, it is just more apparent here) and provides that feeling of ‘elevation’. “Calabi-Yau” is another track that feeds off of the previous and provides the listener with an amazing saxophone solo by guest Chris Barretto.
To round off the album, “Of Energy” shows off two tracks that end it all perfectly. Spanning eight minutes, in “Singularity” you’ll come across a song that loves to change pace and add in all the ingredients that have already transpired from previous tunes.
“Embers” ends everything on a good note, providing another saxophone appearance but much more restrained than before helping in installing a calm, beautiful ending.

At first glance, I should say that “Altered State” isn’t for everyone. Wrong. You must listen this CD. This album provides a whole new view, whether it is about music genres, composition, playing, etc.
“Altered State” is a fascinating work of art and is set in redefining progressive music. Forget about time signatures or different sounds, TesseracT is going for something much more with this recording.
In fact, all the description above only gives you a minimal idea about the music to be discovered here. It needs to be experienced, it’s almost impossible to put it into words.
In the tech department, production & mix is excellent, the craftsmanship and attention to detail is overwhelmingly good, as is the delivery.
“Altered State” is unequivocally worth your time, intriguing, unpredictable, entertaining, delivering moments of brilliance and genuine musical achievement.

01 – Of Matter ; Proxy
02 – Of Matter ; Retrospect
03 – Of Matter ; Resist
04 – Of Mind ; Nocturne
05 – Of Mind ; Exile
06 – Of Reality ; Eclipse
07 – Of Reality ; Palingenesis
08 – Of Reality ; Calabi-Yau
09 – Of Energy ; Singularity
10 – Of Energy ; Embers

Ashe O’Hara – Vocals
Acle Kahney – Guitar, Keyboards, Programming
James Monteith – Guitar
Amos Williams – Bass, Backing Vocals
Jay Postones – Drums
Chris Barretto – guest Sax

Pre-Order:
www.amazon.co.uk/Altered-State-Tesseract/dp/B00CEYTQH8