TesseracT – Odyssey (Century Media)
Sunday, 10th May 2015
Adjectives like experimental, groove, and progressive have been lobbied about regarding this UK metal band TesseracT since their foundation in 2007. Regaining Daniel Tompkins as a vocalist following a 3 year departure, Odyssey is the first live album in their career, coming on the heels of an impressive album and EP catalog over the past 4 years. Pioneers of the djent movement, the band composes songs with ambiance and hooks at heart – using dynamic subtleties to encourage audience involvement as the sonic multitude engulfs you.
Polyrhythms keep drummer Jay Postones and bassist Amos Williams clearly on the time signature chop clock, bristling with this battering ram mentality that makes “Deception – Concealing Fate Part Two” an early crowd pleaser. Guitarists Acle Kahney and James Monteith use jagged interplay to cut through the internal maze of these tracks, often giving clean quiet reflection before plunging head first into the next mathematical proposition such as what takes place on “Perfection – Concealing Fate Part Four”. Overall the band is not as abrasive as Meshuggah, keeping their sound in more of a comfortable mid-range tonality that creates a progressive ambiance that is spacious and of another galaxy.
Daniel as a vocalist has an unwavering penchant for drawing out notes in an alternative, psychedelic meets Tool-like manner. One listen to “Of Matter- Resist” or the 10:41 closer “Acceptance – Concealing Fate Part One” where a trailing high pitch note can often be held out for 10 seconds or more. 11 songs and just over an hour plus later, you feel renewed as TesseracT certainly embody a progressive metal template, but never exhaust through intricate, mathematical concepts that float beyond the most seasoned, schooled musical sect.
So this could be a good primer if you are not well versed in the band – and proof that polyrhythms and djent can co-exist into shorter songwriting bursts that hook into the brain for long term pleasure.
