TesseracT : "War of Being"

Most of the big bands that once occupied the djent scene, shed that passing fad and if they were worthwhile evolved into progressive metal bands. Since we have never given this band a shot, it seems testing our theory of where djent bands migrate to should be put to the test. The first track certainly points in that direction. The guitars might have that lingering chug that once characterized the genre, but the vocals soar when sung. It's growls that bring it back to where they came from. My theory regarding djent is that it is the nu-metal of the millennium, but never had the lasting impact, in fact last month Coal Chamber proved they actually aged better than those bands. Perhaps the fact this band is from the UK helps tone down some of the more generic elements that came from djent. 

The drum triggered grooves, point to a sound that is very produced, but it works against them less than other bands doing similar. When we get to "Echoes" it does not feel very heavy, in fact I would be more likely to think of them as progressive rock than progressive metal. The vocals are pretty soulful, almost to the point of having a pop or r&b feel. The groove to "the Grey" is pretty impressive and it almost convinces us. But the rule here is cool riffs alone does not a good song make, so early impressions have to be tempered by the direction the song takes. In the first minute and a half their are more twists and turns than what some bands have on their entire album. What this song makes pretty obvious is their bass player is a fucking champ. What works with this song is all their cool math tricks are balances out with memorable melodic moments that make you want to hear it out. 

I am noticing how at times these guys remind me of Issues. That is better than reminding me of Dream Theater. "Legion " finds them thumping to a similar pulse that you expect more from the prog side of what they do. The more dynamically pounding moments are not that heavy, but for what they are going for I guess they do not have to be. "Tender" pretty much sticks to the ballad formula. I think the fact this is done in a manner that is not very dark makes me adverse to it.  Even when they add the power part of the power ballad formula, it does not feel that heavy. 

The title track is a massive 11 minute journey, they do a lot in a minute so imagine eleven of them. They hammer their math with more force, which is also more akin to djent, but it works for what is going down here. The way this track progresses it's almost like have 11 songs crammed into one. They do not return to many of the same themes. The draw back to this is when they do catch lightning in their bottle it's not returned to so you can fully enjoy it. There are not many 11 minute songs that are going to inspire me to invest that time into them for another listen, and this one might be impressive in terms of musical ability expressed, but nothing hooks me to it beyond that initial wonderment, in fact eight minutes in it begins to feel a little tedious. I find myself having to take breaks and return to it. I mentioned Dream Theater previously and while I am not having to eat my words, they do go off into a brighter soaring section that reminds me of Dream Theater more than I would like it to. 

After that song it's easy to get through five minutes of "Sirens" even if it is a bit of a ballad. Their singer is like the other musicians technically sound, but perhaps too much so . He is great at softer more pop tones, but sometimes could use more personality in them. The bass player comes to rescue things with his stellar line to "Burden". This helps the singer have a better playing field to navigate. Granted things sour a bit on the chorus , but the rest of their playing balances things out. This song balances the two different directions this album wants to go in well. The last song is anthemic in the most generic manner possible but executed by skilled musicians, at the end of the day it proves not matter how good you are if you write flower fluff, it is going to be flowery fluff. I will give this album an 8, it's really well executed and occasional well written, though nothing catches me as being memorable aside from a couple song, so the execution and production is what helped it score that high.