TesseracT – War of Being

If this isn’t one of the most important releases of the year in progressive metal, then I don’t know what is. TesseracT is one of the pioneers of the djent movement and one of the most iconic names in the modern progressive metal scene. Over the years, they have crafted a sound and identity that is uniquely their own, and they manage to stay on top of their game in probably one of the most diverse, complex and constantly evolving musical niches. Despite a 5-year gap since the release of “Sonder”, they remained active and their following hasn’t lost interest. Although the latest release was the most underwhelming from their entire discography as far as I’m concerned, it was still a powerful record and it also left the feeling that they’re not exactly ready to start going downhill just yet.

Enter, “War of Being”, the band’s long-awaited 5th full-length release. With so much hype around it, I feel like there was quite a lot of pressure for them to deliver something big. But as soon as the first single dropped, I don’t think anyone could find reasons to complain. Choosing an 11-minute monster as a first single was also a bold move, but as far as I’m concerned, it paid off, generating a lot of hype around the album as well the curiosity of whether the other songs would match this epic monster of a song.

TesseracT – War of Being

Having listened to the full album a number of times by now, I can confidently say that this might be their strongest release so far. “War of Being” sees TesseracT bringing together the different key creative elements that they’ve explored over the past releases into the most coherent unit of music they’ve ever put out. If we were to look at the debut, “One” we would see their heaviest and most chaotic compositional style. Albums like “Altered State” and “Polaris” showed a more atmospheric and calming side of TesseracT, and “Sonder” probably came with the most radio-friendly and least challenging songs. With “War of Being” we see a striking return to the heavy and cathartic mood from “One”, especially with a strong emphasis on Daniel Tompkins’s harsh vocals which I would say have improved a lot in the mean-time. His tone is still the one that any TesseracT fan knows, but I feel on this album he manages to pull off some of the craziest acrobatics between clean singing, falsetto and screams that I’ve heard so far. He’s also expanded his range with some gnarly low growls, which are not overused to the point where they would make the music sound brutal, but cleverly placed to accentuate certain dramatic moments for the best dramatic pay-off.

However, unlike “One”, the songs on “War of Being” seem more thought through in terms of their structure and overall composition. Despite fabulous technicality and complexity, the songs are given more space to breathe and the band took their time to sit a bit more on their musical ideas. There is still a lot of rhythmic intricacy and unexpected shifts, but they’re placed in key moments that change the atmosphere of the songs, rather than being the main focus. And in between, each riff, groove, melody or vocal pattern has enough time to shine and engage the listener.

TesseracT – The Grey

On top of this improvement in structure and coherence, the content of the composition itself seems better as well. They’re not exactly innovating it, and in a way, they’re doing the same thing they’ve always done. But it just seems to work better, and flow more smoothly, making it easier for the listener to get hooked and for the emotions of the song to shine through. Examples of this engaging effect are the massively beefy main riffs to songs like ‘Natural Disaster’, ‘The Grey‘ and ‘War of Being’, which have the same satisfying effect a breakdown would have, but with endlessly more sophistication.

But what about the soft parts? After all, TesseracT has always had a knack for atmospheric sections. Their use of heavily delayed clean guitars is as strong as ever and it sets the background to most chill sections. ‘Tender’ is a good example of what they can do in terms of atmosphere. The song sounds melancholy and warm at start and it gradually grows in volume as it evolves. Even when the drum grooves and riffs kick in, the hypnotic atmosphere persists, and they had me thinking the song would be a full-on ballad all the way through, only to drop a nasty riff and some screams at the very end. That’s another thing about how they use atmosphere and soft interludes in their songs. They don’t just work as breathers to give a change of pace but they’re the glue connecting all the hefty bits together, creating waves of energy and beautiful contrasts. And I don’t think there’s a better example of this ebb and flow than the title track itself.

TesseracT – Legion

Then there’s the lyrical content. When I saw the title to the opening track, ‘Natural Disaster’, I expected something related to climate change, but as always, their lyrics aren’t exactly straightforward and they allow many interpretations. It seems that the album starts with the loss of a loved one, though the context of this isn’t made clear. The “War of Being” that follows seems to be dealing with the inner struggles of coping with such a loss, or at least that’s how I interpret it. Regardless, TesseracT’s lyrics have always been strangely relatable as well as abstract and open to interpretation which makes their music very deep and captivating on the emotional dimension. And this album is no different. This is not only their best album yet, but certainly one of the best releases of 2023, and any fan of progressive music ought to check it out!

Track List:

1. 1. Natural Disaster (06:07)
   2. Echoes (05:47)
   3. The Grey (06:08)
   4. Legion (06:00)
   5. Tender (04:38)
   6. War of Being (11:03)
   7. Sirens (04:58)
   8. Burden (06:35)
   9. Sacrifice (09:35)