| Altered State | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 27 May 2013 | |||
| Recorded | 2012–2013 | |||
| Studio | 4D Sounds Studio (Recording, mixing & mastering) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 50:41 | |||
| Label | Century Media | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Tesseract chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Altered State | ||||
| ||||
Altered State is the second studio album by British progressive metal band Tesseract, released on 27 May 2013 on Century Media Records.
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 85/100 [3] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  
[1] |
| Bloody Disgusting |
[2] |
| Exclaim! | 7/10 [4] |
| Kerrang! |
[3] |
| Revolver |
[5] |
| Rock Sound | 9/10 [6] |
Background and recording
Altered State is the only full release by the band with vocalist Ashe O'Hara. Amos Williams stated about the new singer: "It's amazing how much one person can change a band. Ashe is full of life and wit. It's brilliant to have such a guy around. You know, we're still Tesseract, but with a slightly more energetic and vibrant colour about us now". [7] Live drums for the album could not be recorded due to financial and time restraints; drums were partially programmed by guitarist Acle Kahney and partially played by drummer Jay Postones on a digital percussion pad. [8]
Release and promotion
The band released their first single, "Nocturne", on 12 October 2012; it was officially uploaded to the Century Media Records' YouTube channel. On the same day "Nocturne" was available as a free download through the Century Media Records' SoundCloud website. On 15 March 2013 the band announced pre-order bundles as well as the official album artwork.[ citation needed]
During the months of March and April the band released four trailers leading up to the full album stream of Altered State on 12 May 2013. [9] The album debuted at #94 on the Billboard 200 and at #4 on the Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums. [10]
Reception
Altered State has received universal critical acclaim. On the review aggregator site Metacritic the album has received the score of 85 out of 100, based on five reviews. [3] New Noise Magazine gave the album a five-star rating, saying: "Altered State is not only a masterpiece of progressive metal, this is truly one of the greatest albums ever made, period." [11] Bloody Disgusting website also gave the album a 5/5, saying: "With their sophomore album Altered State, Tesseract have cemented themselves as one of the most creative, daring, and innovative bands of today", [2] whilst The Monolith online magazine called it "probably one of the most complete examples of the genre to date." [12]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Acle Kahney and Ashe O'Hara
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Of Matter
| 14:16 |
| 2. | "Of Mind
| 14:40 |
| 3. | "Of Reality
| 9:49 |
| 4. | "Of Energy
| 11:56 |
| Total length: | 50:41 | |
Personnel
- Ashe O'Hara – lead vocals
- Acle Kahney – lead guitar, production, drum programming
- James 'Metal' Monteith – rhythm guitar
- Amos Williams – bass, growls, backing vocals, production
- Jay Postones – drums, percussion
Additional musicians
- Chris Barretto – guest saxophone on tracks "Of Reality – Calabi-Yau" and "Of Energy – Embers" [14]
- Paul Waggoner – guest guitar solo on track "Of Mind – Nocturne" [15]
Additional personnel
- Ion Lucin – artwork [16]
References
- ^ Gregory Heaney. "Altered State - Tesseract : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
- ^ a b Jonathan Barkan. "Bloody Disgusting - [Album Review] TesseracT 'Altered State'". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
- ^ a b c "Reviews for Altered State by Tesseract - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
- ^ Natalie Zina Walschots (23 May 2013). "TesseracT - Altered State • Metal Reviews • exclaim.ca". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^ J.D. Considine (14 May 2013). "Review: Tesseract - Altered State - revolvermag.com". Revolver. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
- ^ Richard Cartey (30 May 2013). "TesseracT - Altered State - Reviews - Rock Sound Magazine". Rock Sound. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
- ^ Interview with Amos Williams, by Grande-Rock.com retrieved on 22 November 2013.
- ^ Postones, Jay. "Are the drums programmed on altered state?". ask.fm.
- ^ "TESSERACT - Altered State (Full Album Stream)". YouTube. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
- ^ "Daft Punk Scores Second Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
- ^ "Tesseract – Altered State – Review by Ridge Briel". New Noise Magazine. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
- ^ "TesseracT - Altered State". The Monolith. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ^ "TesseracT". www.facebook.com.
- ^ "TesseracT: third 'Altered State' trailer video (updated)". Archived from the original on 21 May 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
- ^ "TesseracT". www.facebook.com.
- ^ "Spherikal by Ion Lucin (video)". Archived from the original on 12 April 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
| Altered State | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 27 May 2013 | |||
| Recorded | 2012–2013 | |||
| Studio | 4D Sounds Studio (Recording, mixing & mastering) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 50:41 | |||
| Label | Century Media | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Tesseract chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Altered State | ||||
| ||||
Altered State is the second studio album by British progressive metal band Tesseract, released on 27 May 2013 on Century Media Records.
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 85/100 [3] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |
[1] |
| Bloody Disgusting |
[2] |
| Exclaim! | 7/10 [4] |
| Kerrang! |
[3] |
| Revolver |
[5] |
| Rock Sound | 9/10 [6] |
Background and recording
Altered State is the only full release by the band with vocalist Ashe O'Hara. Amos Williams stated about the new singer: "It's amazing how much one person can change a band. Ashe is full of life and wit. It's brilliant to have such a guy around. You know, we're still Tesseract, but with a slightly more energetic and vibrant colour about us now". [7] Live drums for the album could not be recorded due to financial and time restraints; drums were partially programmed by guitarist Acle Kahney and partially played by drummer Jay Postones on a digital percussion pad. [8]
Release and promotion
The band released their first single, "Nocturne", on 12 October 2012; it was officially uploaded to the Century Media Records' YouTube channel. On the same day "Nocturne" was available as a free download through the Century Media Records' SoundCloud website. On 15 March 2013 the band announced pre-order bundles as well as the official album artwork.[ citation needed]
During the months of March and April the band released four trailers leading up to the full album stream of Altered State on 12 May 2013. [9] The album debuted at #94 on the Billboard 200 and at #4 on the Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums. [10]
Reception
Altered State has received universal critical acclaim. On the review aggregator site Metacritic the album has received the score of 85 out of 100, based on five reviews. [3] New Noise Magazine gave the album a five-star rating, saying: "Altered State is not only a masterpiece of progressive metal, this is truly one of the greatest albums ever made, period." [11] Bloody Disgusting website also gave the album a 5/5, saying: "With their sophomore album Altered State, Tesseract have cemented themselves as one of the most creative, daring, and innovative bands of today", [2] whilst The Monolith online magazine called it "probably one of the most complete examples of the genre to date." [12]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Acle Kahney and Ashe O'Hara
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Of Matter
| 14:16 |
| 2. | "Of Mind
| 14:40 |
| 3. | "Of Reality
| 9:49 |
| 4. | "Of Energy
| 11:56 |
| Total length: | 50:41 | |
Personnel
- Ashe O'Hara – lead vocals
- Acle Kahney – lead guitar, production, drum programming
- James 'Metal' Monteith – rhythm guitar
- Amos Williams – bass, growls, backing vocals, production
- Jay Postones – drums, percussion
Additional musicians
- Chris Barretto – guest saxophone on tracks "Of Reality – Calabi-Yau" and "Of Energy – Embers" [14]
- Paul Waggoner – guest guitar solo on track "Of Mind – Nocturne" [15]
Additional personnel
- Ion Lucin – artwork [16]
References
- ^ Gregory Heaney. "Altered State - Tesseract : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
- ^ a b Jonathan Barkan. "Bloody Disgusting - [Album Review] TesseracT 'Altered State'". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
- ^ a b c "Reviews for Altered State by Tesseract - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
- ^ Natalie Zina Walschots (23 May 2013). "TesseracT - Altered State • Metal Reviews • exclaim.ca". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^ J.D. Considine (14 May 2013). "Review: Tesseract - Altered State - revolvermag.com". Revolver. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
- ^ Richard Cartey (30 May 2013). "TesseracT - Altered State - Reviews - Rock Sound Magazine". Rock Sound. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
- ^ Interview with Amos Williams, by Grande-Rock.com retrieved on 22 November 2013.
- ^ Postones, Jay. "Are the drums programmed on altered state?". ask.fm.
- ^ "TESSERACT - Altered State (Full Album Stream)". YouTube. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
- ^ "Daft Punk Scores Second Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
- ^ "Tesseract – Altered State – Review by Ridge Briel". New Noise Magazine. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
- ^ "TesseracT - Altered State". The Monolith. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ^ "TesseracT". www.facebook.com.
- ^ "TesseracT: third 'Altered State' trailer video (updated)". Archived from the original on 21 May 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
- ^ "TesseracT". www.facebook.com.
- ^ "Spherikal by Ion Lucin (video)". Archived from the original on 12 April 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2015.