Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for TesseracT - One (2011)
The evolution of progressive metal is quite, well, progressive. It all began with the classic melodic trio (you can guess which bands I'm referring to), then the genre gradually became heavier in the 90s with Meshuggah, in the 2000s with BTBAM, and finally, in the 2010s with the modern djent wave led by Periphery and Tesseract. The latter's debut, aptly titled One, is a prime example of progressive djent and its balance of technicality and ambience!
One has beautiful emotion served together with metallic heaviness. It's the same kind of blend Periphery has, and just like that band, you're bound to find some stunning melodies and much as all this technical riffing.
The opening track "Lament" begins soft and ambient within the guitarwork and vocals then rises into heavy dynamic riffing that might make you think of a modernized Opeth. In saying that, they're more focused on the rhythm than the melody, and as a result, the dissonant chords sound to repetitive. When you have a 7-string guitar tuned as low as drop A-flat, there should be more than just "how low can you go?" chugging. Fortunately, it gets better in the percussive "Nascent" and stays better!
Half of the album's length is covered by "Concealing Fate" a 27-minute epic split into 6 tracks. It is a solid masterpiece epic of extreme melodic progressive djent that is pretty much the centerpiece of this album, maybe even of this band. Everything's so crushingly beautiful in a journey through power and emotion. The philosophical lyrical concept stands out in the atmospheric space. And helping this entire epic become the standout it is, the ethereal guitarwork by lead guitarist Acle Kahney. Each track in the suite crosses over with a different genre while staying firmly in the band's own. "Acceptance" has the breakdowns and screams of metalcore. "Deception" is more reckless while having the melodies and falsettos of power metal. "The Impossible" carries on in slow drama, then in its last minute morphs into a more progressive Bury Your Dead. "Perfection" gazes into basically progressive djent-doom. "Epiphany" is a brief djent interlude. Finally, "Origin" concludes the journey with the "expect the unexpected" motive of a clean chorus, smooth synths, and percussive bass. With all those elements packed into an emotional prog-metal voyage, you'll be left wanting more!
And you're going to get more in a few more tracks, starting with another percussive track, "Sunrise". Then "April" has some melodies similar to Dead by April in the softer parts. After that is the closing mini-epic "Eden" with its sinister melodies. However, just like the opening track, the interplay with the rhythms cause things to sound repetitive. Anyone who has ordered the album in advance would be lucky to get the bonus track "Hollow", with its short yet massive progressive blitz that one can pick up from Northlane, Within the Ruins, Fallujah, and even Cult of Luna.
OK, before we end this review, I'd like to point out that the lead vocalist Daniel Tompkins is one of the best I've heard in music. His singing can really soar like an angel, giving him greater power than Periphery's Spencer Sotelo (still amazing). Dan's screaming is phenomenal too, alternating with the growls of bassist Amos Williams. All the more reason why I would suggest buying this album quickly. Two of the tracks could've been improved to make this 5-star perfect, but it's still the chosen One all the same!
Favorites: "Nascent", "Concealing Fate" (complete suite), "Sunrise", "April", "Hollow"