TESSERACT | Sonder | Album Review

Taking just one little research session of the djent and the progressive metal genres in general, you cannot deny that a band like Tesseract has a massive grip on both genres as a whole. Formed in 2003 but technically didn't have their debut album aptly titled "One" out until 2011, this band is what many people think of whenever they hear the term "djent" along with other pioneering acts like Meshuggah and Periphery. Unlike those two bands where the focus is on the aggression as well as the creative shifts between songs and sections of songs, Tesseract focuses on melody a bit more which sets them apart from the pack. The polyrhythmic riffage is still a part of what makes their style, but there is a lot more clean singing as well as melodic sections of bliss. In 2018, Tesseract has given us their fourth disc "Sonder" which is being sold as "an exploration of a deep and devouring sense of insignificance" according to lead vocalist Daniel Tompkins who has now taken part for two consecutive albums of this project after taking a leave of absence shortly after the release of their first album. What many people will find surprising about this album is unlike other releases which range from 45 to 55 minutes in length, this one is strangely short with seven tracks at 36 minutes. It's even furthered by the fact that some tracks are a brief 2 to 3 minutes while one song runs 11 straight minutes as two sections. That's a very strange track listing indeed, but it still has an allure to it that makes it worth checking out. 

New music from Tesseract was originally given to us in the form of "Smile" in June of 2017, and one odd thing is that this is a track that was reworked significantly for this album's release. The first version of this song was around three minutes in length and was described as the band's most collaborative track in recent years. I will admit that whenever I first came into contact with the track I did enjoy it but for some reason I didn't keep consistently listening to it. Maybe it was because I felt better music was coming out at that time, although I still think "Smile" does deliver in what it's trying to do. The version featured here is understandably much stronger and is the version I'll probably listen to more as it certainly does play a role in this album. The album's spearheaded single, which was the song announced when the album announcement was simultaneously dropped, was the opening track "Luminary". This is the song that sells this album a bit better as I find it to be absolutely fantastic. The groove in the opening and closing riff of the song is cohesive and leads into some melodic sections that sound phenomenal. Lyrically, I love the allusion that they make to the wolfsbane flower in the second verse, but that's not the only thing that sticks out about the lyricism as it all gels together nicely with every other element that is present in the song. Both of these songs need to be heard, but hearing them in context with this album is required a little more than just hearing them as stand alone tracks. 

What does need to be said about much of the other tracks on this senior album from Tesseract is that it definitely does stay in touch with the progressive tendencies they are known for. The shorter tracks on the album, "Orbital" and "The Arrow" are the tracks I'd say are the weaker tracks that "Sonder" has to offer. As I will prove to you, there is nothing close to being bad on this album, but I don't think these tracks hold as much weight as the rest of the album, especially the closing track "The Arrow" with its off-kilter lyrical content. However, these tracks still fit nicely with the overall experience of the album. Tracks like "King" and "Juno" are good enough songs with creative djent riffage and, in the case of "King", a little bit of screamed vocals from Daniel Tompkins, but it's really the song "Beneath My Skin/Mirror Image" that really ties everything together. This is the main attraction of the album, and is the eleven minute opus which is basically two songs connected as one. That makes sense as this is truly an epic moment on this album and is material that listeners really need to listen to in order to fully understand what their idea was behind this track. Is this my favorite track on this album? I don't necessarily think so. But, suffice to say that this is definitely my second favorite track here behind "Luminary". 

The one criticism that any listener will immediately point out about this album is that it is very short and the track times are completely varied from extremely short to extremely long. "Sonder" is definitely not an album for casual music listeners who only like albums consisting of twelve songs that last three to four minutes on average. However, you still should really give this album a chance and listen to it the whole way through because it is definitely a ride worth attending. On top of that, there is a deluxe version that has a "360 listening experience" offering a very immersive listening journey, so Tesseract were definitely bent on breaking borders with the new material written in these sessions. It's definitely a given that if you like anything about progressive metal and Tesseract, you will definitely find something that satisfies you about this album, and if you just want to hear something different, this is an album that has what you're looking for. If you are more of a casual listener, chances are you'll probably find this album inconsistent, but that is where I think the allure comes from. It's definitely not my favorite album from Tesseract, but fair and square, "Sonder" is definitely worth your time and listening experience. 

RATING: 8/10 

What did you think about the record? Was it good? Was it bad? Let me know in the comments below. And of course, these are only my opinions. If your opinions are different, awesome! If they're similar, then that's great, too. So, don't hesitate- comment to me about it down below. Take care.