[Review] TesseracT - Altered State

There's a lot of discussion around the use of the term djent, similar to the way people use the word indie to describe a particular sound or "genre", there's a lot of musicians who either embrace the term or refuse being refered to as a "djent band".
British rock band TesseracT has separated from the djent tag not by speaking out against or in favor of being tagged as a djent band, but by expanding and growing their sound release after release; commencing with their 2011 debut LP "One" (in my opinion a masterpiece of progressive metal) and later with their 2012 EP "Perspective", introducing a new vocalist and showing an unexplored side of the band.

Altered State goes further in that direction, leaving out growling vocals completely, turning down the distortion in favor of a more processed, electronic sound and refining their songwriting. From the first song you are greeted with new vocalist Ashe O'Hara's (Voices From The Fuselage) vocals and the sound of distant, echoing guitars before the song jumps in volume through a crescendo of processed guitars.

While some songs like Exile and Singularity are long and have a strong progressive feeling about them, most of the compositions offer more traditional structures, often building around different variations of the same riff or beat. The drumming keeps the songs together, both keeping a straight 4/4 beat and laying down heavily synchopated polyrhythms regularly, which are one of the trademark elements of TesseracT's sound. The first single Nocturne is a perfect example of both these things, and it does a very good job at showing what this new record is about.

Altered State keeps things fresh and shows the band hasn't suffered at all from changing vocalists three consecutive times, an excellent record overall, and one I'll be listening to for a long time.

9.5/10

[Review] Leprous - Coal (2013)

One has heard the phrase "don't judge a book by it's cover" so many times at this point that it has almost lost it's meaning, well, I made that mistake when first looking at the cover for Leprous' new album Coal. Their previous album Bilateral was a very strong contender for my personal album of the year when it came back in 2011. Jeff Jordan (mostly known by his work with The Mars Volta) took care of the artwork last time with his signature saturated-high contrast-bad trip made painting style, and it fit the variety, density and texture of the album perfectly, so when I took a look at Leprous' new cover artwork (also by Jeff Jordan) I thought they had gotten heavier and darker than ever and I expected a lot of double-bass and growling vocals... well I couldn't have been more wrong.

Coal is a completely new direction for the band, much more melodic, softer but also heavier at times and with a strong emphasis on groove not as prominent in their last album. The first thing I noticed when I first listened to the first two tracks was the drumming is very different, for a moment I was sure Leprous had replaced Tobias Andersen, but after checking the credits I was suprised to see that he's still behind the kit.

The drumming, just as in Bilateral, is great yet on a completely different way, with much more groove, laid back at times and less "metal", often sounding a little gospel. The same could be said about the bass, keeping the songs together and adding a lot of groove in between instrumental sections. The keyboards are much more prominent and the building blocks of songs like The Cloak and The Valley, adding to the atmosphere and Einar Solberg's dramatic vocals, who really shines in The Cloak.

There's also a great change in the songwriting, with the songs being more focused, each instrument making it's way into the sound the band creates before reaching an instrumental climax near the end.

In short, Leprous has managed to surprise me with this album, setting aside the pressure of crafting a follow up to 2011's Bilateral with a strong new direction and complete cohesiveness.

8.5/10

Watch the video for "The Cloak"