Album DescriptionAvailable in:
"Sonder" is the fourth full length studio album by English progressive metal band Tesseract. It was released on 20 April, 2018 through Kscope.
User Album Review
The band's fourth studio LP largely treats their brand of metal as an accent as opposed to the base of their arrangements. It's apparent from opener "Luminary," which opens with a thunderous, rhythmic opening riff, before giving way to a lilting clean vocal passage from Tompkins. Sonder's shortest track, "Orbital," functions largely as an ambient interlude, with Tompkins' vocals leading to a climax that could fit seamlessly on an M83 record.
The musical depth of the band's quieter writing is what draws the ear; electronics remain subtle, between Tompkins' falsetto and interplay between piano and clean electric guitars. That isn't to say TesseracT abandoned aggression entirely. Harsh vocals briefly punctuate "King," a track that demonstrates the sonic juxtaposition expertly between its intro, outro and bridge sections.
"Smile" finds the band's recognizable metal sounds buoyed by electronics and some slick production tricks, only to segue their way into "The Arrow," closing the album with delicate piano. Sonder's eight tracks run only 37 minutes, a testament to TesseracT's ability to reconcile moods calming and crushing without taking the usual prog runtime.
Reviwed by Calum Slingerland for exclaim.ca.
External Album Reviews
None...
User Comments