Five years since the arrival of “Sonder”, TESSERACT will release a new album, “War Of Being”, on September 15 via Kscope. The LP opens with the reverie shattering “Natural Disaster”, followed by the pendulum swing of “Legion”. That slingshots us into the herculean title track — the album’s 11-minute centerpiece that undulates with precision and power. When coupled with the beguiling melodies of “The Grey” or the unshielded honesty of “Burden”, the band delivers its most impassioned release to date — an album to excite and inspire. Acle Kahney, Daniel Tompkins, Amos Williams, Jay Postones and James Monteith truly have crafted a phenomenal set of immersive, absorbing sounds.
TESSERACT bassist Amos Williams states: “‘War Of Being’ has been all-encompassing for us since late 2019. After I returned home from filming ‘Portals’, I found myself in such a deeply introspective headspace. The scale of work and reward from that project kind of set this up to be inevitable. We simply had to try and see how far we could take a concept album with TESSERACT. Within these songs the band has given life to the themes and ideas that are personified within the characters of ‘The Strangeland’ story. It’s certainly been a catharsis and a way for me to explore the internal dissonance.”
“War Of Being”, the first single to be released from the album of the same name, is an eleven-minute visual extravaganza and provides the perfect prologue for the album’s aurally and visually immersive story. Written and directed by Found Format with second unit director Richard Oakes/Dark Fable Media (SLEEP TOKEN),the feature-length video proves that TESSERACT remain not only pioneers but innovators in a movement of their own making. Be sure to wait until the very end of the clip for the next piece of the puzzle to be revealed…
Regarding the track, Daniel Tompkins says: “‘War Of Being’ is a fight for acceptance, a battle of existence and a resistance against ego. It’s a struggle for control as we cut through the white noise of reality. It’s the need to know and identify with oneself, to accept and understand what we stand for and who we are. There is an urgent need to ‘Tear the mask away,’ and reveal your true self.”
“War Of Being” was recorded at Middle Farm Studios in the United Kingdom, with Peter Miles (ARCHITECTS, SYLOSIS, DODIE) co-producing with the band alongside Katherine Marsh of Choir Noir (BRING ME THE HORIZON, ARCHITECTS, MARILLION). Assisting with additional programming and production, the band was joined by Randy Slaugh (PERIPHERY, ARCHITECTS, DEVIN TOWNSEND),with additional engineering by Forrester Savell (KARNIVOOL). The artwork, which features characters “ex” and “el”, was created in collaboration between AI and human as a means to extend the concept into its presentation.
“War Of Being” track listing:
01. Natural Disaster
02. Echoes
03. The Grey
04. Legion
05. Tender
06. War Of Being
07. Sirens
08. Burden
09. Sacrifice
Alongside the brand new album, TESSERACT will embark on a worldwide tour that will begin in 2023 running through to 2024 performing shows in throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia and Australia, with support from INTERVALS, UNPROCESSED, ALLUVIAL and THE CALLOUS DAOBOYS.