Tag: Tesseract

TESSERACT RELEASE FULL PERFORMANCE VIDEO OF “NOCTURNE (P O R T A L S)” FROM P O R T A L S

THE MULTI FORMAT RELEASE OF THE AURAL & VISUAL CINEMATIC LIVE EXPERIENCE COMING 27 AUGUST 2021 ON KSCOPE.

In December 2020, TesseracT invited fans to join them in P O R T A L S – an ambitious concept created to offer an escape in a time of isolation. The live cinematic experience fused live performance with beautiful lighting and striking effects, brought together by chaptered screenplay. By taking their most daring steps as a creative force, the band offered the viewer a completely new and unique experience.

The show was a phenomenal success and garnered praise from fans and media worldwide after the band performed 14 songs spanning their entire catalogue in a performance that lasted over 2 hours, with one of the highlights being the track “Nocturne”. 

Bass player Amos Williams “Nocturne has been a firm fan and band favourite since it was released ahead of the ‘Altered State’ album cycle. As such, we threw a lot into the performance, which was matched by our production team, who really pushed the envelope with what they achieved during this track. The laser effects and lighting is powerful and emotive, and Rich’s cinematography really hits the mark. 

Every tour produces a slightly different version of this track, as our mindset waxes and wanes, but this version of Nocturne is a real high mark for us we feel; it was just so much fun to perform after not performing it for a year. So, why didn’t we close the show with this song if it was so fun? The thought did cross our minds, we figured everybody would want that. But,  we wanted to sit outside our comfort zone with an ‘encore’ of real deep cuts and fan favourites. Thus, Nocturne (P O R T A L S) was the perfect handover between the desired and expected, as well as an excellent guide for everyone as we turned to face the weird and wonderful direction of the final act. “

Kscope will present this unique event to a wider audience for the first time. The film and soundtrack will be issued on an array of formats including Blu-Ray, Triple LP soundtrack and as a limited edition deluxe 4 disc book edition on 27 August 2021.

P O R T A L S will be released on the following formats with pre-orders available HERE (https://tesseractkscope.lnk.to/PORTALS)

LIMITED EDITION DELUXE 4 DISC BOOK EDITION includes:

  • Blu-ray & DVD includes: P O R T A L S main feature • Behind the scenes documentary • Live In The Lockdown • P O R T A L S hi res audio only version (all BD/DVD audio 48/24 PCM Stereo)
  • 2CD P O R T A L S soundtrack
  • All presented in a lavish set with 40 page book containing exclusive pictures, extensive liner notes from Amos Williams and individually numbered art print

The band webstore will exclusively sell a limited number of this set with the art prints signed by TesseracT

BLU-RAY EDITION includes: P O R T A L S main feature • Behind the scenes documentary • Live In The Lockdown • P O R T A L S hi res audio only version (48/24 PCM Stereo)

3LP Gatefold / 2CD Edition / digital  – the soundtrack to the stunning cinematic live experience P O R T A L S featuring tracks spanning the band’s career to date including Nocturne, Seven Names & King

Along with the release of the livestream event, the band will be playing their first live shows in almost two years this November and December special guests to Trivium in the UK and Europe, as well as returning to North American shores in 2022 (see the band’s website for details).

Godsticks announce new album ‘Inescapable’ and Share first single ‘Denigrate’ feat. TesseracT’s Daniel Tompkins

Godsticks open 2020 with their new and most accomplished studio album, Inescapable. Their mix of heavy rock, progressive and alternative metal with a dynamic range of angular riffs and emotional depth will leave listeners reeling. The band’s sound has refined over their releases on Kscope, beginning with the technically astounding metal on Emergence to the more industrial and progressive-influenced Faced With Rage. Now, with Inescapable, the band have channelled their energy and technical ability into the melody, phrasing and vocal performance, allowing emotion to take centre stage.

The band found themselves wanting a definitive theme running through Inescapable, without turning it into a concept album, of being more open, more personal and ultimately one that shines an inquisitive light on Charles’s struggle with inner demons which gave the songs a new level of intimacy.

“Lyrically, I’ve always shared personal thoughts, feelings and experiences but in a very ambiguous way. For Inescapable – in a conscious effort not to repeat ourselves – I thought I’d be a little more self-reflective and perhaps examine some of my inner demons. I have a strange relationship with music, and especially playing guitar. I would struggle to survive without either, but equally they have made my life mentally torturous because my own self-worth is completely wrapped up in them. I used to be very much a perfectionist in my early years, and whilst some people may wear that as a badge of honour, I eventually viewed it as huge heavy weight dragging down. It was a long time before I arrived at the realisation that perfection was impossible to achieve.” elaborates Darran Charles.

Perfectly highlighting the album’s leitmotif, the band reveal their first single “Denigrate”, “the writing of this song was a sort of analysis of my ongoing battle with perfectionism and the general feeling that nothing you do ever meets the impossibly high standards you set for yourself”. The songfeatures additional vocals from TesseracT’s gifted vocalist Daniel Tompkins to record vocal harmonies, adding an extra layer of aggression and energy.

The shoot for the quirky video, directed by George Laycock (Blacktide Audio/Visual) proved to be a memorable day for the band as Godsticks drummer Tom Price recalls “Everyone in the band was so excited about the concept, but when we arrived on set and saw a large table full of cakes, sweets, chocolate, sugar, sprinkles, honey and all manners of confectionary, the magnitude of what we had all let ourselves in for finally dawned on us! By the end of the shoot we were completely covered in everything – it was like ‘The Great British Bake Off’ meets ‘Apocalypse Now’! It was so much fun to make, but despite several spins in the washing machine I still can‘t get that sweet sickly smell out of my jeans!” Charles chimes in “It wasn’t fun, it was horrible!”

Inescapable was produced by James Loughrey (Skindred) and recorded at the famed heritage Monnow Valley studio.


Godsticks are supporting the new material beginning in April with a UK tour followed by summer festivals

2/4/2020 – Cardiff – Fuel Rock Club
3/4/2020 – London – Black Heart
4/4/2020 – Edinburgh – Opium
5/4/2020 – Manchester – Gullivers
Tickets available https://www.facebook.com/godsticks/

Inescapable will be released on CD, LP & digitally. (“Denigrate is available as an instant download on digital pre-orders) on 7th February through Kscope and is available to PRE-ORDER HERE NOW

Godsticks are:

Darran Charles: Vocals, guitars, keys, synths

Dan Nelson: Bass

Gavin Bushell: Guitars

Tom Price: Drums

Backing vocals on ‘Denigrate’ – Daniel Tompkins

Follow Godsticks:

Website: www.godsticks.co.uk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/godsticks/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/godsticksmusic/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Godsticks

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/godsticksmusic

TESSERACT PREMIERE VIDEO FOR THE NEW SINGLE “KING”

Ahead of the release of TesseracT’s highly anticipated new studio album Sonder the band have revealed their first official video, for their new single “King”.

The emotive and viscerally challenging clip, was directed by Kyle Kadow & Steven Cleavland and shot in a snowy Wisconsin following a brutal storm, which all added to the atmospheric footage as bassist Amos Williams explains “We have been very lucky to work with two cinematographers of such vision and quality as Kyle and Steven. We gave them free reign with the creation of the first story board. They chose to explore the theme of claustrophobia and how fear can control our lives. Using a luminary figure as a beacon of hope and escape for the characters.”

Listen to ‘KING’ here: https://www.tesseractband.co.uk/

Lyricist and vocalist Daniel Tompkins expands on the song’s concept by saying “Far too often we find ourselves lead into conflict and inner turmoil. Life is surely a battle, history has a bad habit of repeating itself and when living with the constraints of an onerous life it’s easy to overlook the greatest gift we’ve ever received: life itself”.

onder due to be released through Kscope on 20th April, adds significant firepower to the band’s arsenal, blending the harsh abrasiveness of One (2011) and progressive ethereal elements of Altered State (2013) with the accessibility of Polaris (2015). Sonder is streamlined, honest and direct with all the trademark TesseracT dreamy atmospherics and bending grooves. Sonder was recorded in the UK at 4D Sounds, Celestial Sounds and Project Studios, engineered by the band and Aiden O’Brien with mastering by Acle Kahney, and cover artwork designed by Amos Williams.

Sonder will be released on CD / 2CD – featuring binaural album bonus disc / black LP / Crystal Clear vinyl LP / picture disc (exclusive to the band’s webstores) and digitally (with digital album pre-order receiving “Luminary” & “King” as an instant downloads) and is available to pre order HERE

TesseracT are gearing up to begin their worldwide Sonder Tour in North America in April, with summer festivals across Europe before hitting stages in Europe towards the end of the year.

Ticket details for all shows can be found on  http://tesseractband.co.uk/

Sonder 2018 Tour Dates

North America w/ Plini & Astronoid 

Apr-19                     Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club

Apr-20                     Philadelphia, PA – TLA

Apr-21                     Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Sound Stage

Apr-22                     Greensboro, NC – Arizona Pete’s

Apr-24                     Tampa, FL – Orpheum

Apr-25                     Atlanta, GA – Masquerade

Apr-27                     Dallas, TX – Gas Monkey Bar & Grill

Apr-28                     Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall

Apr-29                     San Antonio, TX – Alamo City Music Hall

May-01                    Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theater

May-02                    Phoenix, AZ – Club Red

May-03                    Los Angeles, CA – Regent

May-04                    San Diego, CA – House of Blues

May-05                    Berkeley, CA – The UC Theatre

May-07                    Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre

May-08                    Seattle, WA – El Corazon

May-09                    Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theater

May-11                    Edmonton, AB – Starlite

May-12                    Calgary, AB – Marquee

May-14                    Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex

May-15                    Denver, CO – Summit

May-16                    Lawrence, KS – Granada

May-18                    Minneapolis, MN – Skyway

May-19                    Chicago, IL – Metro

May-20                    Detroit, MI – Majestic

May-22                    Toronto, ON – Opera House

May-23                    Montreal, QC – Club Soda

May-24                    New York, NY – Irving Plaza

 

EUROPEAN DATES W/ Between The Buried & Me + Plini

Nov-09                    DE – Cologne, Live Music Hall

Nov-10                    NL – Nijmegen, Doornroosje

Nov-11                    BE – Vosselaar, Biebob

Nov-12                    FR – Paris, Le Trabendo

Nov-13                    DE – Aschaffenburg, Colos-Saal

Nov-14                    DE – Hamburg, Gruenspan

Nov-15                    DK – Copenhagen, Pumpehuset

Nov-16                    NO – Oslo, Parkteatret

Nov-17                    SE – Stockholm, Kägelbanan

Nov-19                    DE – Berlin, Lido

Nov-20                    DE – Stuttgart, Im Wizemann

Nov-21                    AT – Vienna, Flex

Nov-22                    DE – Munich, Backstage

Nov-23                    CH – Aarau, Kiff

Nov-24                    IT – Parma, Campus Industry

Nov-25                    LU – Esch, Rockhal

More dates to be announced ..

Summer Festivals:

26/05/18 – CH, Monthey – Irreversible Festival (http://www.irreversiblefestival.ch)

08/06/18 – UK, Donington, Download Festival

22-24/06/18 – BE, Dessel, Graspop Festival

22-24/06/18 – FR – Clisson – Hellfest (https://www.hellfest.fr )

22 – 28/07/2018 – SI – Tolmin – Metal Days Festival (http://www.metaldays.net)

28-30/06/18 – ESP, Madrid, Caja Magica, Download Festival

15/07/18 – SWE, Gavle, Gefle Festival (http://www.geflemetalfestival.se/

(photo credit: Steve Brown www.stevebrowncreative.com )

TesseracT are:

Daniel Tompkins – vocals

Amos Williams – bass

Acle Kahney – guitar

James Monteith – guitar

Jay Postones – drums

 

TESSERACT ANNOUNCE EUROPEAN TOUR DATES – NEW STUDIO ALBUM ‘SONDER’ COMING 20TH APRIL 2018

TesseracT who are set to release their fourth studio album Sonder on April 20th 2018 through Kscope have announced details for their European headline tour with support from Between The Buried and Me and Plini. Vocalist Daniel Tompkins comments:

“To have such a strong support bill with us means the SONDER European Tour could be the event of 2018 for many progressive rock fans! We’re bringing an exciting new production, which properly represents TesseracT in a live environment. Joining us are our friends in Between The Buried And Me – it’s been a long time since we last toured with them and it will definitely be worth the wait. To cap it all off we’re also bringing along the mighty Plini – this will be our second tour of 2018 with him, he’s an amazing musician and gives the tour a great dynamism!”

TESSERACT – SONDER EUROPEAN TOUR 2018  

November 09, 2018     DE – Cologne, Live Music Hall

November 10, 2018     NL – Nijmegen, Doornroosje

November 11, 2018     BE – Vosselaar, Biebob

November 12, 2018     FR – Paris, Le Trabendo

November 13, 2018     DE – Aschaffenburg, Colos-Saal

November 14, 2018     DE – Hamburg, Gruenspan

November 15, 2018     DK – Copenhagen, Pumpehuset

November 16, 2018     NO – Oslo, Parkteatret

November 17, 2018     SE – Stockholm, Kägelbanan

November 19, 2018     DE – Berlin, Lido

November 20, 2018     DE – Stuttgart, Im Wizemann

November 21, 2018     AT – Vienna, Flex

November 22, 2018     DE – Munich, Backstage

November 23, 2018     CH – Aarau, Kiff

November 24, 2018     IT – Parma, Campus Industry

November 25, 2018     LU – Esch, Rockhal

Tickets are on sale 9th March at 9am GMT / 10am CET. See tesseractband.co.uk for details.

Expect more dates to be added over the coming months.

Sonder adds significant firepower to the band’s arsenal, blending the harsh abrasiveness of One (2011) and progressive ethereal elements of Altered State (2013) with the accessibility of Polaris (2015). Sonder is streamlined, honest and direct with all the trademark TesseracT dreamy atmospherics and bending grooves. Sonder was recorded in the UK at 4D Sounds, Celestial Sounds and Project Studios, engineered by the band and Aiden O’Brien with mastering by Acle Kahney, and cover artwork designed by Amos Williams.

 

 

TESSERACT ANNOUNCE NEW STUDIO ALBUM ‘SONDER’ COMING 20TH APRIL 2018 PREMIERE NEW SINGLE ‘LUMINARY’ & ANNOUNCE NORTH AMERICA TOUR FOR APRIL & MAY 2018

TesseracT, a band that sit outside the bounds of any genre specificity, pioneers of the ever-evolving metal scene and unstoppable force of off-kilter riffs, soaring melodies and disorientating atmospherics release their fourth studio album Sonder on April 20th 2018 through Kscope.

Sonder adds significant firepower to the band’s arsenal, blending the harsh abrasiveness of One (2011) and progressive ethereal elements of Altered State (2013) with the accessibility of Polaris (2015). Sonder is streamlined, honest and direct with all the trademark TesseracT dreamy atmospherics and bending grooves. Sonder was recorded in the UK at 4D Sounds, Celestial Sounds and Project Studios, engineered by the band and Aiden O’Brien with mastering by Acle Kahney, and cover artwork designed by Amos Williams.

Vocalist Daniel Tompkins described Sonder as “Conceptually exploring a deep and devouring sense of insignificance, which ties into the overall theme and meaning behind ‘Sonder’”. Also featured is an extended and re-worked version of last summer’s single “Smile”.

Sonder will be released on CD / 2CD – featuring binaural album bonus disc / black LP / Crystal Clear vinyl LP / picture disc (exclusive to the band’s webstores) and digitally (with digital album pre-order receiving “Luminary” as an instant download) and is available to listen to & to pre order HERE

For audiophiles, TesseracT have produced a binaural version which will be available exclusively as part of the 2CD version, this version is a 360-listening experience designed by Klang: Fabrik for headphones listening Amos Williams explains more “the concept is to push past the restrictions of a stereo headphone mix and create an accurate ‘3D’ space in which positioning outside of the normal Left Right axis can occur. This is something that every artist that uses in ear monitors on stage wishes to recreate; the real and accurate positioning of instruments. We immediately felt that this technology could be applicable to us in the studio. TesseracT loves to bring what it does in the studio to the stage, but this time it’s experimenting with bringing a live element to the studio.”

Building on their phenomenal success with worldwide tours in support of Polaris over the last two years, as both headliners and as special guests for the likes of Megadeth, Meshuggah, DevinTownsend Project and Gojira, TesseracT area gearing up to take Sonder to worldwide audiences beginning in North America in April.

On this tour they will be supported by Plini (https://www.facebook.com/PLINI ) and Astronoid (www.facebook.com/astronoidband/ ) with the first show in Boston on 19th April and the tour culminating at New York’s Irving Plaza on 24th May.

“North America is where TesseracT first took off and is always the leg of the album cycle that holds the most sentiment to me. There are a lot of good memories made and good friends discovered along those long and bumpy roads. This time we’re lucky enough to share the road with two boundary pushing bands: Astronoid, a wall of euphoric noise who have a bright and noisy future ahead of them. And Plini, with his genre defying effortless virtuosity. It’s going to be a fun tour for us, especially as we’ve got a bunch of new tunes to add to the set!” Amos Williams.

For full routing see www.tesseractband.co.uk

European summer festivals have already been announced, followed by a headline tour of UK & European and Australia.

08/06/18 – UK, Donington, Download Festival (headlining the Dogtooth Stage)

22-24/06/18 – BE, Dessel, Graspop Festival

22-24/06/18 – FR – Clisson – Hellfest

28-30/06/18 – ESP, Madrid, Caja Magica, Download Festival

TesseracT are:

Daniel Tompkins – vocals

Amos Williams – bass

Acle Kahney – guitar

James Monteith – guitar

Jay Postones – drums

White Moth Black Butterfly (TesseracT + Skyharbor members) unveil 2nd album ‘Atone’ / Sign to Kscope

Kscope are extremely proud to announce that White Moth Black Butterfly have joined the label’s roster and the release of the band’s new album ‘Atone’ on 1st September.

White Moth Black Butterfly features a team of songwriters & producers based worldwide, all at the height of their own scenes. The members met through working on Skyharbor, one of India’s biggest rock bands – Daniel Tompkins, vocalist with UK’s premier progressive rock band TesseracT (also on Kscope); New-Delhi based Skyharbor songwriter and producer Keshav Dhar; US based producer and string arranger Randy Slaugh who has previously worked with the likes of Devin Townsend, Architects & Periphery. Randy wrote and tracked string arrangements for Skyharbor‘s second album ‘Guiding Lights’, and as their relationship grew, he was invited in as a third song-writer. White Moth Black Butterfly’s line up is completed by UK singer & lyricist Jordan Turner.

On bringing White Moth Black Butterfly into the Kscope family Daniel Tompkins comments “WMBB signing to Kscope is nothing short of a privilege. We feel we have truly found the right home, where we can grow and develop with the help of a respected and hardworking team of people.”

White Moth Black Butterfly are a contemporary pop project with progressive and experimental music at its heart; initially created by Daniel Tompkins as a creative outlet aside from his writing with TesseracT to indulge in his other musical influences ranging from Massive Attack, Enigma, Sigur Ros, David Bowie, Michael Jackson to Tool, Dredgand Thrice.  On the evolution of White Moth Black Butterfly Daniel explains “What started out as a creative outlet has blossomed into a fully-fledged musical project. Writing music with Keshav, Randy and Jordan has been an inspiring and invigorating process and one that has allowed us to explore new sounds through contemporary vocal work and organic instrumentation.”  

 Their new studio album ‘Atone’, the follow up to White Moth Black Butterfly’s 2014 self-released debut ‘One Thousand Wings’; which was recorded across the globe at studios in India, the UK, US and Taiwan, is masterfully built on organic, textured and cinematic soundscapes, with two opposing themes of loss and hope.

Tompkins explains – “Whilst songs like “Tempest” and “Atone” focus on faith and forgiveness, others like “Rising Sun” and “An Ocean Away” linger on love and nostalgia; throwing the listener into a bygone world of having less and caring more. The front cover artwork captures the beauty of nature and the harsh realities of life: power and dominance. White Moth Black Butterfly represents that very same struggle.”

The first song from ‘Atone’ the band are releasing is entitled “The Serpent”, here is a teaser:

Co-singer Jordan explains the concept behind the song – “The Serpent is an exploration of the temptations that lurk within each of us, and the internal fight that we partake in when they arise. The battle between good and evil consciences is fought throughout the song, drawing attention to the cunning games that a tempter can play.”

Atone will be released on CD, LP and digitally (all digital pre-orders receive “The Serpent” as an instant download), all formats are available to pre-order here http://found.ee/WMBB_ATONE

White Moth Black Butterfly online:

https://www.facebook.com/whitemothblackbutterfly

https://www.instagram.com/whitemothblackbutterfly

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5bjUhKTjzpd7U6PHYBOOd8

TESSERACT RELEASE “SMILE” – THE NEW SINGLE & LYRIC VIDEO BAND BEGIN NORTH AMERICA TOUR WITH MEGADETH & MESHUGGAH

To coincide with TesseracT starting their North America live dates with Megadeth & Meshuggah today the band have released a brand new single and lyric video for the song “Smile” :

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE OR STREAM “SMILE” https://tesseract.lnk.to/smile

Vocalist Daniel Tompkins explains the lyrical concept & inspiration behind the song

Lyrically ‘Smile’ carries a strong and forward sense of irony as we explore and darkest side of the human condition. The song will witness the manifestation of an ’entity’. Consciousness survives through constant manipulation only to propagate pessimism and hopelessness. Our entity observes, consumes and evolves, bearing witness to human existence, mimicking our presence in colossal form.

Recorded at both 4D Sound Studios, Brighton and Celestial Sound Studios, Notts UK and produced by Acle Kahney during late spring this year “Smile”, described by the band as their most collaborative track of recent times, here, the vocals play a key part in shaping the structure of the song, the bass shaping the verses, so, allowing the band to explore new perspectives. Bassist Amos Williams explains further “We chose this track as although it is part of a greater theme, and is in fact towards the end of a story arc, it stands alone very well. We have a solid idea of where we would like to take this track on the next album as it is in no way finished. It is merely one step in a journey. 

The verses and choruses stand very far apart from each other. There is a tension we wished to build through a minimalist approach, with small phrases that repeat against accompanying parts of different lengths. These undulate, seemingly getting lost against the nonconventional phrasing of the drums. All this is nothing new to TesseracT fans, but this time we have looked to really align the lyrical and musical messages. “

After building up a rabid and loyal fanbase across North America with their previous tours with the Devin Townsend Project, Gojira and multiple headline runs the band are stateside again for a monumental tour with Megadeth & Meshuggah.

Guitarist James Monteith enthusiastically comments “We couldn’t be more excited about going back to the US, the shows are always amazing out there and the fans are some of our most enthusiastic and loyal. There’s also the added bonus of touring with two of the most important metal bands ever! Megadeth and Meshuggah are major boundary pushers in the genre and we’re massive fans of them both, so it’s a real honour to share a stage with them. And not to forget Lilake who are doing some cool things too, so all in all, it’s going to be the highlight of our year”

Beginning in Big Flats, New York on Friday 23rd June the tour takes the band through Massachusetts, Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and ending in Pennsylvania on July 11th. TesseracT will also be performing at Amnesia Festival, Montebello, Canada on 24th June, as well as a series of headline shows in Indianapolis, Nashville, Memphis, Buffalo and Amityville

For more details, full routing, summer festivals including the UK’s Arctangent Festival, shows in October in Holland & Russia –  tickets https://www.facebook.com/tesseractband

TesseracT are:

Acle Kahney – Guitar

James Monteith – Guitar

Jay Postones – Drums

Daniel Tompkins – Vocals

Amos Williams – Bass

TesseracT online:

https://www.facebook.com/tesseractband

https://www.instagram.com/TesseractBand

https://twitter.com/tesseractband

https://www.youtube.com/user/Tesseractproject

http://tesseractband.co.uk

http://www.kscopemusic.com/artists/tesseract

TESSERACT DEBUT REIMAGINED “SURVIVAL” SINGLE / POLARIS TOUR EDITION “ERRAI” DUE 16TH SEPTEMBER FEATURING 4 RE-IMAGINED POLARIS TRACKS

Errai

(‘Errai’ artwork)

TesseracT has debuted the re-imagined version of the single Survival today.  The track is from the all new 2-disc tour edition of TesseracT’s critically acclaimed studio album ‘Polaris’, with bonus disc ‘Errai’, released on September 16th via Kscope. The package includes four re-imagined tracks from ‘Polaris’ by the band’s long time live producer and sound engineer Aidan O’Brien – Survival, Cages, Tourniquet and Seven Names. This new version will keep fans thrilled leading up to TesseracT’s  U.S. tour with Gojira in September.

Polaris

(‘Polaris’ artwork)

O’Brien offers, “The fascinating thing about taking a track apart to remix, rework, or re-imagine it, is being able to look at each individual element and figure out exactly what makes it tick as a composition.”

“In the case of ‘Survival,’ it was amazing to see how the track still retained a real power and drive even when the distorted guitars and drums were stripped away, and it was very exciting to experiment with rebuilding the track around a basic chord structure and Dan’s vocal by using piano, synths and a handful of sound design tricks to push it into a darker and more cinematic direction.”

“Using that as a base to build on meant that when I brought the track back to the band they were able to reinterpret a lot of what they had originally written in a totally new context – capitalising on that darker sound and resulting in an arrangement, which in some ways is much lighter and sparser but in others is far more brooding and menacing.” 

TessaracT vocalist Dan Tompkins comments  “It’s been fantastic to re-visit and re-work the vocals to some of the Polaris tracks from a different angle and with the benefit of time and space. The normal process of writing TesseracT songs starts with the creation of the music followed by the lyrical content; this time Acle and Aidan have stripped away the music and re-created the songs based around the vocals. As a result this has allowed much more breathing space between both and also highlighted much more detail in the performance.”

Listen to Survival here:

The ‘Polaris’ Tour Edition will be released as a 2 CD set, as well as digitally, with ‘Errai’ being released as a stand-alone 180g heavyweight clear vinyl with enclosed download code.

The CD & LP are available to pre-order here

Along with the new song interpretations, the cover art of new edition of Polaris has been given a 2016 make-over by artist Dan Mumford.

In addition to supporting Gojira, TesseracT has also announced a handful of U.S. headlining shows.
09/23 – Shaka’s Live, Virginia Beach, VA

10/02 – Backstage Lubbock Depot District, Lubbock, TX

10/18 – Bottom Lounge, Chicago, IL

The last time U.S fans saw the band was on the highly successful run late last year. Tickets are on sale now. Fans can visit the band’s official website for more info.

TesseracT released ‘Polaris’ in September of last year – the new LP was the follow up to the highly regarded ‘Altered State’ LP that was released in 2013. ‘Polaris’ is the band’s third studio album and first for Kscope.

(Featured image credit Tom Barnes)

Review – Earthside – A Dream In Static – by Shawn Dudley

Album-Cover-for-CD-VinylRE-600x600

If they gave out awards for most ambitious debut albums of the year then Earthside would be the clear winner for 2015. ‘A Dream In Static’, the audacious debut of this Connecticut prog metal quartet was recorded over a two and a half year period, on three different continents.

To ensure they attained the production sound they wanted they travelled to Sweden and worked with renowned engineers Jens Bogren (Opeth, Katatonia)  and David Castillo (Opeth, Bloodbath). Another frequent Opeth collaborator, artist Travis Smith was brought in to design the artwork. The passion evident in the overall project carries over into the music.

‘A Dream In Static’ is evenly split between instrumental cuts and songs that feature the guest vocalists. The risk of featuring multiple vocalists on any project is sometimes the identity can get lost from track to track, but Earthside (mostly) avoids this pitfall with a unified compositional focus that perfectly ties the pieces together into a whole.

The opening instrumental piece The Closest I’ve Come begins the album by introducing us to the character of the core group before the other layers are applied. Their sound is striking; very modern, muscular, melodic and intricately arranged. A lovely looped guitar melody cascades over a synth backing and a driving beat before the rest of band enters. Unlike many prog metal bands the focus here is not on pyrotechnics, it’s creating a mood, an experience. The arrangement continues to build with each section, dynamics always carefully applied; quiet and then soaring, delicate and then aggressive, tension and release. After a lovely guitar solo the song quiets down into a soundscape, synth sounds and real percussion swirling together in the aether before crushing Meshuggah-style guitar chords lead back into the arrangement. It’s dramatic music to be sure, but they’re natural dramatics, not the oft-contrived variety.

The group describes their music as “Cinematic Rock” and nowhere is this more evident than on Entering The Light. The song features guest soloist Max ZT on hammer dulcimer and he creates a lovely wash of sound that intermingles perfectly with the full orchestra. The contribution to this piece by the band is mostly confined to the mid-section bridge. It definitely has a soundtrack quality to it, if I close my eyes while listening I picture low flying helicopter shots of a frozen tundra or some such…exactly the type of reaction I’m sure the band was hoping for.

The most impressive composition on the album is the mid-album centerpiece Skyline. This intricate instrumental has a breathtaking arrangement, the complex layering of piano, synth, 8-string rhythm guitar and soaring melodic lead guitar in the opening sections create a massive enveloping sound. This is contrasted beautifully by a stark bridge featuring just piano and drums, before slowly building into the epic conclusion.

Of the vocal tracks on the album my favorite is the driving title track A Dream In Static featuring Daniel Tompkins from Tesseract. The dramatic balance of melodic and aggressive from the instrumental compositions carry over to the vocal arrangements and the impressive vocal range of Tompkins is used to great effect. There is a Katatonia vibe to this song that also appears in other places on the album.

The lead single from the album is actually the only track that doesn’t really work for me. Mob Mentality is more akin to the symphonic metal style and I have to be honest and admit that isn’t really my cup o’ tea usually. The arrangement of the orchestra and the band is very nicely done and has a huge cohesive sound.  Guest vocalist Lajon Witherspoon’s (Sevendust) R&B-flavored vocals also provide an interesting contrast as usually these types of arrangements go for the operatic approach. But as a whole the song just doesn’t quite gel in my opinion and it also goes on far too long with too many repetitions of the chorus.  The band is actually underused here, this song is practically screaming out for an instrumental mid-section but it never materializes. While a nice attempt, this is the one track that feels out of place with the rest of the album.

The rest of the album fares better with the aggressive instrumental The Ungrounding and the album closing epic Contemplation Of The Beautiful featuring Eric Zirlinger (Face The King) being my other favorites.

Color me impressed. Despite my love of progressive rock and my love of good heavy metal I can’t say I’m usually that much of a Prog Metal fan. There are a few exceptions, but mostly the combination just doesn’t quite work for me.  I’m very glad to have found another exception.

Earthside has crafted an impressive work with ‘A Dream In Static’, one that could prove difficult to surpass with their sophomore effort.  But I’m laying odds they can top it.

Released 23rd October 2015

Buy the CD with complimentary download direct from the band

Buy the download from the band’s bandcamp site