TESSERACT
Amplifier Bar - Perth, Australia
October 18th 2015
When it comes to the modern wave of progressive rock, Tesseract are one of the leaders in the pack. Essentially pioneering what is now known as the "djent" style in prog music, Tesseract have already become a must-see band in only a short amount of time. With a new album out "Polaris" and a lineup that consisted of some of the best that Australian prog metal has to offer, the final show on the Australian tour was bound to be good.
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Local heroes Chaos Divine are a regular on the prog scene in Perth but I will say that the progressive aspect of their music isn't as evident as their headlining mates. Always putting on a good show, they opened the night to an already packed crowd early on which is always a nice surprise to see at the tiny Amplifier Bar.
Brisbane metallers Caligula's Horse is a new one for me personally. While I had definitely heard of the band through reputation of their energetic live shows and quality music, this was the first time catching them live and their reputation as a fantastic live band cannot be reputed. In support of their latest album "Bloom", many in the crowd were here to see Caligula's Horse as much as they were to see Tesseract and that is a great sign that the Australian music scene is at least working for some people. The band's musical blend of strong melody and more heavier aspects groove well with their progressive elements, but not to a point that it becomes so disjointed that you can't get into the actual music itself. The near, if not sold out venue was jumping with energy as the band put on a set that was going to make Tesseract really earn their money on this final show on the tour.
Hailing from the U.K., Tesseract have been sitting on a cloud these last few years with a success rate that has been rising frighteningly fast. Honestly, I was surprised to see how packed the show was, at least early on anyway but given that most of the tour was completely sold out, tonight should not have come as a surprise. Opening with tracks from their latest album "Polaris", the new material, while considerably more melodic than their earlier stuff, still had enough punch to make the crowd move around. But it was the earlier stuff like the "Concealing The Fate" tracks that moved the crowd the most, musically crossing between odd grooves and super mellow parts. Returning vocalist Daniel Tompkins was made welcome by the fans, his command over the fans to join the band in having some fun for the night a much needed aspect in a live music scene that can sometimes become apathetic to taking part in a live show.
The highlight to watch and hear though was bassist Amos Williams who's bass sound was a main ingredient of a bass-heavy kind of band. His emotional output focused purely on the music while occasionally moving into the crowd was a terrific thing to see but his bass lines were really the magic that people came to see. Whereas the 2 guitarists were brilliant in their intricate and atmospheric parts, Williams' bass became the rhythm section and it was crystal clear in the venue no matter where you stood, a testament to the band's focused sound and to the venue's sound engineer who always managed to make Amplifier Bar sound good. The final track of the night "Acceptance" was the big one though, a maze of odd beats, riffs and easily the heaviest song of the night. It was one that got the crowd moving the most and despite it's complex grooves, it was difficult not to headbang to. It was the best way to end the set and a perfect ender to a great tour, as Daniel mentioned to the crowd towards the end of the set, the support that the fans have given can hopefully mean a return to our shores in the near future.
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Review by Andrew "Schizodeluxe" Massie
Photos by Marc Buffman
