Tesseract - Origin

     It's day three of Unplugged week, and today I've got a song for you from an acoustic EP by one of my favourite modern bands. Give you three guess who...


     Those of you keeping track at home will no doubt have it on your scorecard that the British prog-djentlemen in Tesseract are now onto singer number four, who also happens to be singer number one. But if your memory is as good as your note-taking, you should also remember that in between debut LP One and sophomore effort Altered State the band put out an EP of acoustic re-imaginings of some material from One with singer number two, Elliot Coleman. Confused? Don't be. All that matters right now as far as you're concerned is that tonight's acoustic interpretation of "Origin" comes from the Perspective EP, and that it's pretty sweet. Everything else is just details.

     Incidentally, show of hands, who thinks another acoustified Tesseract EP would be a pretty swell idea, this time featuring stuff from Altered State? I thought you might. Get to work guys!

(For the sake of comparison, and the other Dan fanboys out there [Danboys?], why not also have a listen to an acoustic version of "Origin" the band did with Dan before Elliot even came along?)

Friday: Tesseract - Lament

     As I seem to say all the time, regular readers will know that I'm a big fan of the work of Dan Tompkins, original Tesseract vocalist and current Skyharbor pipesman. I am, however, also a fan of the vocalist on Tesseract's second LP Altered State, Ashe O'Hara, so yesterday's news that Ashe is leaving the band and Dan's back in is somewhat bittersweet.

     Who knows what this might mean for the band's longterm future, or for the future of Dan's other big project Skyharbor, who just finished a successful crowdfunding campaign for their second LP? The only thing that looks certain at this point is that album number three, and its subsequent touring cycle, will see Dan with the band once more.

     As I said, I really dug Ashe's work on Altered State, but being such a fan of Dan's I'm excited to see where he'll take things for Tesseract 3.0. For the time being, let's have something from One so the latecomers to the Tesseract party will know what I'm on about with this Dan Tompkins guy. Here's One album opener "Lament".

Album of the Week: Tesseract - Altered State

     The weather's been a little proggy around here lately, so I'm going to keep it going with this week's pick for Album of the Week. Chances are good you know these guys already, and reasonable that you like them too, but I dig them so much that I try to convert people whenever I can. Your album this week, therefore, is Tesseract's latest, Altered State.

     I honestly have a hard time telling you which Tesseract record you should check out first. Both their debut album One  and their sophomore effort Altered State are masterpieces, and among my favourite records of the last five years. One has the benefit of featuring the band's first singer Dan Tompkins, currently lending his pipes to another favourite of mine, Skyharbor.

     But being a progressive band means Tesseract's sound is in a different place now than it used to be, so I think it would be best to get you into their latest album first, so you can get a handle on where Tesseract is at now. Whether you then go back to their back catalogue (LP One and EP Perspective) or look forward to their next effort is up to you. Either way, Altered State is beautifully crafted piece of modern prog that deserves to be experience as a single, complete piece of music, so

Song of the Day: Tesseract - Acceptance (Concealing Fate Part 1)

     Over the weekend the British prog djentlemen in Tesseract released a new teaser of material from their upcoming disc Altered States, out in May. It's another taste of Tesseract with their latest singer Ashe O'Hara and even though it's not a full song I'm still digging what they're putting down so far. But since it isn't a full song, nor do we even know which song on the album it's from, I can't very well make it a Song of the Day yet, can I?

Song of the Day: Tesseract - April

     Back when I was writing my post about which albums have me excited for 2013 (hard to believe it's been like a month already) I made the virtually unforgivable mistake of leaving out British prog djentlemen Tesseract and the new album they're working on. I don't really know how I did it, considering their debut, 2011's epic One, is one of my favourite records of the last few years. But however it happened, today I apologize. Sorry Tesseract.

Song of the Day: Tesseract - Eden

     One of my current favourite bands changed the cover photo on their Facebook today. I don't know whether it means new single or new album or what, but Tesseract's cover photo now reads "Altered State". Regardless of what this might mean for us Tesseract fans, at the very least it means an excuse to show you a badass band.

Song of the Day: Tesseract - Nocturne

     I've written about today's band before (they are, after all, What You Should Be Listening To), and they've even had a song of the day before, but after a summer of relative quiet from them, things are once again happening and so they deserve another look in case you don't know them yet. Based on that description, I could be talking about Sylosis, but today's song actually happens to be the new tune from another of my absolute favourites, Tesseract.

Song of the Day: Tesseract - Deception (Concealing Fate Pt. 2)

     Morning, metalheads. It's Monday (all fucking day, I know) and it's back to the grind with some metal (if only I were into some Grind, that segue would be much better...). Today I'm covering a little bit of old ground, in the sense that I've already recommended this band to you, telling you they're some of What You Should Be Listening To (check the archives). But just in case you disregarded my earlier recommendation, or you're new to Loud Noises, or just whatever, please, PUT SOME FUCKING TESSERACT ON RIGHT NOW!!

     To that end, your song today is "Deception (Concealing Fate Pt. 2)" from Tesseract's debut LP One. I could have chosen virtually any song off this album, but I thought you might like this one for its opening riff. I guarantee headbanging by the time Dan start singing or your money back.

What You Should Be Listening To - Tesseract

    Today I’m back with another installment of What You Should Be Listening To, with a band that is one of my favourites right now. They’re funky, they’re heavy, they’re really just all around awesome. They’re Tesseract, and you should be listening to them.