Sonder

UPDATE 6/20/18 *As an update, after listening to this album now for two months, exactly, on and off I have come to like it quite a lot. I still give this a 4/5, which is a good but not excellent rating, but I find myself really enjoying the songs and the melodies in them. It took a little bit to get into these songs, but they are quite good* As with the last album, there's some really good stuff. I'll probably listen to it a good amount. But, the creativity, large movements, catchy vocals are all but gone. I think One and Altered State were two incredible albums- especially Altered State (which I initially hated) which I think is a high mark for progressive metal. With this album, it's got a lot of blandness. Great musicianship. But I think Ashe brought out the best due to his ability to sing on top of the music and not through it. His vocals were more part of the piece, part of the movements, and less the center. Which, is interesting due to his more traditional vocals. Overall, Sonder has some great songs on it and any Tesseract fan will really like it. But maybe not Love it.

The songs Luminary and King are beyond awesome!

Equation Locked.

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Do I need to explain? The value is not there, no matter how good or bad the album is. Hello Spotify.

TesseracT never dissapoints. Whether it's a full album or not, that's up for debate , but I love how experimental this group is. Im also glad Dan brought more screams on this album, but not overdone. Smile re-do is amazing as well. I wouldnt be suprised if they release another Sonder that incldues additional tracks... seems to be a Dan Tompkins/TesseracT thing. Love the album, absolutely love this band and I cant wait to see them again in concert .

Tesseract Just keep on getting better with each album this is more than just another album release it’s an Event

I like Tesseract, when I first heard their music, I thought they were one of the most exciting acts in music. However, that excitement has slowly been fading, and it’s at an all time low with this new album. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy this album, they’re great players, and I probably wouldn’t mind if a friend of mine turned this on while we were hanging out. However, the element of surprise that they once had doesn’t seem to be there anymore. A lot of of this record felt predictable, like I knew how the song was going to go and what kind of songs would be on the album before it actually happened. And dear lord, it feels like Tesseract keeps playing reworked versions of the same exact riff all the time nowadays. I’ll put it this way - if you want a typical Tesseract album that does all the same things they did during One and Altered State, then you’ll probably enjoy this album. But if you want to listen to an exciting band that pushes the boundaries of music and themselves, which is the reason why everyone liked One and Altered State in the first place, there probably isn’t enough for you to dig into.

This album has 7 songs and is about 35 minutes long. It goes without saying that is just too short. It’s almost an EP. That’s why I didn’t give it 5 stars. One more 5-8 minute song and it would have been a non-issue for me. That being said, the 35ish minutes of music on this album are incredibly good and enjoyable to listen to. With every other Tesseract album, there has been a song or two I skip or leave out of playlists. Not the case with this one. Every song is excellent, and it feels wrong not to listen to the whole thing in order every time I turn it on, which you can actually do because it’s so short. To me, this album bears no resemblance to any previous Tesseract album. The style of songwriting, particularly on King and Beneath My Skin/Mirror Image, is very different from anything the band has done before. They are indicative of a more mature band that understands how to write a lengthy song, keep it cohesive, and still incorporate progressive elements without overdoing it and assaulting your senses. I would highly recommend this album to progressive rock and metal fans. Side note: the spacey grooves in the middle of Beneath My Skin and at the end of Smile are my favorite parts of the album. They are smoother than butter on the ears and really put you in a trance. I hope we hear more of that from Tesseract going forward because it’s a great complement to their typically heavy style. Also, screaming has unfortunately made a return on this album. I don’t really have a problem with the short screams on King, but the gratuitous screaming during the last chorus in Smile sounds out of place and dumb. It’s the only part of this album I do not love. I hope they go back to clean vocals only after this album.

I expected more.