ALTERED STATE

The most important movement in modern progressive metal has been the proliferation of the so-called "djent" style; "djent" being an onomatopoeia for the sound that emerges when playing highly syncopated, often polyrhythmic, palm muted guitar riffs on down tuned or extended range guitars. While the excesses of the style/genre have been the fertilizer for a thriving internet meme movement, the movement did succeed in bringing desperately needed innovation to metal riffing across many of its sub-genres. 'Altered State', Tesseract's 2013 release, is one of the best examples of the djent style and the level of innovation it was capable of releasing on the metal world. Impossibly complex yet still infectious grooves are coupled with elated synth and clean electric guitar generated ambience in order to move listeners into an 'altered state' of consciousness. While it may take a few listens, this album is sure to expand your appreciation for just how much can be accomplished when "djent" and rhythmic experimentation are utilized tastefully.