TesseracT - Bristol Review

Considering that I have never considered myself a 'proper' fan of the Milton Keynes-based progressive metal five-piece TesseracT, last night, in Bristol, I saw them live for the fifth time. In fairness, only one of the previous four times had been a headline show, but nevertheless they are a band whom I always seem destined to run into. I first saw the band live back in 2017 when they came to the now-demolished Hub in Plymouth as part of a UK tour - and have since seen them at the 2018 iteration of Bloodstock Open Air, opening for Bullet for My Valentine in 2021 and opening for Dream Theater in 2022. The fact that they can open for both Bullet for My Valentine and Dream Theater without feeling significantly out of place at either show goes some way to showcase the band's diverse appeal - but, despite this, TesseracT have always felt like a bit of an underground act. That seems to be changing, though, as this current, lengthy European tour has taken the band to a number of prestigious mid-sized theatres across the continent - with everything finishing up with a healthy amount of UK shows in well-loved venues. Many of the UK shows sold out, too, with the Bristol show selling out not long before the doors opened. There is clearly quite a lot of love for TesseracT in the UK, then, which is great to see - and it is heartening to see a band like TesseracT progress beyond the perennial support band and tiny club stage. It felt like they were destined to never break through that glass ceiling, but this current tour shows that assumption to be incorrect - and in recent times it does feel as if the band have pushed things to the next level. Rock and metal music in general does seem to be more popular now than it was even five or so years ago, which is great to see, but TesseracT also released their most ambitious album yet, War of Being (which I reviewed here), last year - which likely helped to boost their own popularity further. Selling out the O2 Academy in Bristol should be seen as a success no matter at what stage of their career a band is at - but it was TesseracT's largest headline crowd in the city, which makes the sell out more of an achievement. I mentioned earlier that the band cater to a diverse range of people, but TesseracT's music certainly is not for everyone. I would still not consider myself a huge fan despite enjoying War of Being a lot last year and having invested more time in their back catalogue since, but they still feel like an original and interesting band - despite the dry/tech metal/djent end of prog metal expanding significantly over the past decade or so. TesseracT have always managed to stay on the more atmospheric and melodic side of that often mechanical and monotonous sound - so there is a lot to like about their music personally. War of Being certainly felt more adventurous and varied, too, which helped.

Before TesseracT's set, though, the large crowd were treated to two quite different support acts. Up first, from Atlanta, Georgia, were The Callous Daoboys - a mathcore band whom delivered a chaotic and varied selection of songs during their 30 or so minutes on the stage. Wikipedia suggests that they are a seven-piece band, but there was only six of them in Bristol last night - with saxophonist Rich Castillo not present. It would have been interesting to hear what the saxophone would have brought to the band's sound, but with violin courtesy of Amber Christman there was already plenty of unorthodox to go around - and the band built on this with a cacophony of noise which meshed Between the Buried and Me at their heaviest, the occasional pop hook, and jazz fusion. Frontman Carson Pace largely stuck to harsh vocals, but there were lengthy clean-sung sections, too, which were generally pretty melodic and even, at times, soulful - but generally the vibe was a heavy one, with Jackie Buckalew (vocals/bass guitar) also adding plenty of deep growls, taking the lead at times. I have no history at all with mathcore, and bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan are anathema to me, but I found myself enjoying the band's set as it was just such a spectacle. I was never sure what was about to come next, so the set flew by as a result. At times some of the songs did seem to include parts which could be deemed as variety for its own sake - but in some ways I imagine that this was the point. The Callous Daoboys are not the sort of band which I will ever sit and listen to at home, as they are not for me, but I am glad that I had the chance to see them live - as they are certainly doing something different and pushing boundaries, which should always be applauded.

Up next were the German prog metal four-piece Unprocessed - a band very much rooted in the djent/tech metal scene with their eight-string guitars and angular riffing, but with perhaps more of a melodic and pop sheen than is typical. Fronted by the multi-talented Manuel Gardner Fernandes (vocals/guitar), the band smashed through around 40 minutes of diverse material with ease - with Fernandes in particular standing out due to his fluid guitar melodies and a vocal range which switched back and forth effortlessly between screams and a clean delivery. Without wishing to talk down the talents of anyone else in the band, who formed an amazingly tight unit which made the most intense of technical riffing patterns look effortless, Unprocessed clearly were put together to showcase Fernandes. All of the guitar leads and the drive of every song came from him, and I found myself really warming to the band as their set progressed - despite generally having an aversion to overly techy metal. Part of the reason why I enjoyed Unprocessed's set, though, was their focus on melody. Lots of tech metal bands do not push melodic hooks that much, but most of Unprocessed's songs had strong choruses which the crowd could latch onto - whilst the jazzy instrumental breaks were also generally pretty hooky, despite their complex make-up. The band were not wedded to their mechanical riffs and eight-string guitars, either, with some of the songs featuring a more traditional approach guitar-wise, which often led to upbeat and funky rock tracks which lacked some of the fire of the heavier material but utilised similar grooves and summery melodies. As such, it is hard to fully describe Unprocessed's sound, and not every song was for me, but I really liked the band's overall approach to songwriting, heaviness, and melody. I cannot say that I had ever really heard anything like Unprocessed before - meaning that the band are out there doing something original. I may well check out the band further going forward, as am intrigued to see what treasures their back catalogue contains.

Once the stage had been cleared, and 9:30pm rolled around, the lights went down the sound of a droning synth filled the room. The five members of TesseracT slowly took to the stage and soon launched into the lengthy and multi-layered Natural Disaster from their latest album. For the next 90 minutes the O2 Academy was filled with heavy riffs, taut atmospherics, and the soaring vocals of frontman Daniel Tompkins - who sounded as great as ever. I have said it on this blog before, but a big reason why I have often gravitated towards TesseracT is Tompkins. His voice is such a contrast to the mechanical riffing which often sits beneath it - but his screams are just as powerful, and he commanded the stage whilst the rest of the band tended to remain more in the shadows. Another new number in Echoes followed, and it was clear that the set was going to be a more forward-looking one. All five of the band's albums were represented, but the focus was certainly on War of Being and 2018's Sonder - with the first three albums only briefly referenced. It was one of the older tracks which received one of the night's biggest cheers early on, though, with the soaring Of Mind - Nocturne containing one of the evening's best choruses and grooves. The song always goes down well live, and last night was no different, but much of the rest of the set focused on heavier vibes. An early highlight for me was a rousing version of King. It featured some of Tompkins' most venomous vocals of the night - although the progressive juggernaut War of Being which followed certainly ran it close. The lengthy title track of the recent album acted as the night's centrepiece, with a couple of strong vocal refrains - as well as some interesting guitar playing from both Acle Kahney and James Monteith. Nothing which followed felt quite as expansive, but there was still plenty of good stuff to come. Smile and its atmospheric companion piece The Arrow let the heaviness slide somewhat, and allowed the band's more synth-heavy side to shine, but perhaps the big winner of this second half was the anthemic The Grey - one of the standout pieces from the new album. It was another which was greeted by a huge cheer and it is clear that the track has already become a fan-favourite. Given its big chorus and heavy, driving riffing it is easy to see why - and the more melancholic Juno which rounded out the main set ended up somewhat feeling like respite as a result. The main set had flown by, then, but there was time for a couple more - and the band decided to go right back to the beginning and play the first two parts of the lengthy Concealing Fate song cycle. Acceptance had to be restarted, though, due to some technical issue with the drums. Unprocessed had previously contended with similar issues, which was certainly a strange coincidence, but by the time the song got going proper there was plenty of action to be seen in the mosh pit - which only increased when Deception rolled around. These heavy songs acted as a great end to the night, with the groovy riffing some of the evening's fastest - and a great contrast to some of the set's more atmospheric moments. The setlist was:

Natural Disaster

Echoes

Of Mind - Nocturne

Dystopia

King

War of Being

Smile

The Arrow

Legion

The Grey

Juno

-

Concealing Fate - Part One: Acceptance

Concealing Fate - Part Two: Deception

I have enjoyed each previous TesseracT show which I have been to, but last night in Bristol felt like more of a complete performance. Being much more familiar with the band's material helped, but I also feel that War of Being has helped the band to move to the next level. It is clear that this unique band is continuing to go from strength to strength, and I have a feeling that last night's show will not be my last TesseracT live experience.