» Blog Archive TesseracT and Gojira Close Out Explosive Tour In NYC -
Evan Conway Hard Music, News, Reviews, Tours

dsc06286-22016 doesn’t know when to stop when it comes to great music. Whether it be Devin Townsend and Between the Buried and Me or Fear Factory and Soilwork, the amount of shows to correlate with the great albums coming out are nothing to scoff at. So is anyone actually surprised to know that another killer toured happened and if you missed it you were actually missing out on something? It’s the truth.

Gojira and TesseracT are no strangers to the metal scene right now. Emerging from France some odd years ago, Gojira grabbed metal by the throat and forced it face-down into the concrete with From Mars to Sirius, propelling the band to open for Metallica, Slayer, Mastodon, and numerous other bands worldwide.  No surprise, their current album Magma has met a positive reception, and it only seemed appropriate that they wreak havoc across North America seeing as they recorded it in their new studio in New York City. Joining them was modern prog metal act TesseracT, who surfaced in recent years through the “djent” scene. Evolving quickly after the release of One, TesseracT distanced themselves from the scene and joined the greater prog rock and metal bands, releasing their third album Polaris last year and continuing to improve on an already winning formula. While both bands are very far apart musically, upon experiencing their show together it was evident that it was spectacle that united them and not how heavy their music is.

dsc06263-2With Terminal 5 serving as the venue for the night, it was clear both bands were expecting a massive turn out. Almost instantly upon arrival, it was obvious people were coming due to an already large amount waiting to enter. For local opener Car Bomb, the early turnout could not have been more of a warm welcome after playing some shows leading up to this massive event, including opening for The Dillinger Escape Plan a few days earlier. In what is probably best described as the bastard child of Meshuggah and Deftones, Car Bomb (Pun intended) exploded onto the stage in a frenzy of unorthodox, off-time rhythms, and a wild performance by each band member.

dsc06252-2Early on in the set, the band stopped to address the crowd and say a few words. After that, the band didn’t let up on barraging the audience. Playing a mix of older songs from their album w^w^^w^w as well as select songs from their new album, Car Bomb made one hell of an impression, especially given the heavy-hitting bands they were playing with. It’s obvious by their strength and skills as musicians that the band displayed,  Car Bomb are deserving of much more attention than they’re getting, which is already a sizable amount given the press for their new album has given them the spotlight. You’ll undoubtedly be hearing from Car Bomb again in the near future.

dsc06291-2Having already had the stage set up, the crowd didn’t have to wait long for TesseracT to begin. The UK prog metal act was ready to go soon after Car Bomb, and immediately they got to work. Opening song “Phoenix” from Polaris introduced the band to any unknowing member of the audience in an awe-inspiring way, as the stage went from being illuminated by a low blue light to being engulfed in beams shooting out in multiple directions, perfectly appropriate for the song. By the song’s conclusion and as it transitioned into “Concealing Fate, Part Two: Deception,” TesseracT were aiming to make their 45-minute set flow from beginning to end. As the familiar notes echoed out and the driving drums and guitars came into the mix with perfectly timed strobe lights, TesseracT were eager to get things underway.

Around halfway through their set, TesseracT introduced the material from their second album, Altered State, being the only album to not feature current vocalist Dan Tompkins on it. Their vocalist at the time, Ashe O’Hara, had a very different and more airy vocal delivery than Tompkins, of which I found it interesting to see him handle and see how different his vocal style is. Without fail, Tompkins delivered and proved himself the accomplished vocalist through the first two parts of “Of Matter,” which (Visually and sonically) were among the best songs between the three bands the entire night.

dsc06278-4With a vocalist so capable, it’d be unfortunate to have musicians who weren’t of being on his level. That’s not or ever was the case with TesseracT. You can tell that the group was almost inhumanly in sync with one another, but more amazing was that not a single person made a mistake during the entire set. It’s one thing when one or two of the members have it together and someone makes a simple, human mistake we can laugh off, but when the entire band is operating like a machine, it’s too good to describe and something that needs to be witnessed. TesseracT, in short, are among the guitar, bass, and drum heroes of today, and they only need one song in their to prove it to you, let alone an entire set.

Bdsc06445-2y this point, I had let my guard down and forgotten that Gojira were a bulldozer of a live band. Coming out and doing the exact opposite of TesseracT, the band cast aside any sense of wonder and instead opted for what is best called a musical sledgehammer to the head. “Only Pain” from Magma opened the set, and instantly the crowd became something like a hurricane as Mario Duplantier opened up the set with a pounding drum beat. Strobe lights and an ever-changing light show with a projector screen behind the band mixed with a raw and chaotic setlist made Gojira the perfect headliner for the entire evening.

dsc06475-2Rarely taking a moment to breathe after playing through roughly thirteen songs and a drum solo prior, frontman Joe Duplantier joked with the crowd, a smile across his face as they enthusiastically responded to him. Seeing as this was the end of the tour, the band was playing around on stage and enjoying themselves, which resulted in them trading Metallica riffs with one another. “Seek and Destroy,” “Fight Fire With Fire,” and “My Friend of Misery” were some of the ones teased, with the band playing the opening few moments of “Sad But True” to tease the crowd even more. Despite the cheers, the band opted to continue with the set, thrashing their way into “Clone” from their debut album Terra Incognita, before closing the night out with “Ouroboros” and “Vacuity” from The Way of All Flesh, to which the crowd was still going strong by the end of the night.

All throughout, the entire show could have not been more of a success. Car Bomb were given an opportunity that many bands would not be given and proved themselves capable of standing with national touring bands, whereas TesseracT proved to be good enough to headline on this level themselves through sheer wonder and tight musicianship. Rounding off the night with Gojira and a monstrous set, the entire night served as a continuation as to why 2016 is a year for amazing touring acts all around. Whether be TesseracT and Gojira with or without each other again, these are the bands that will have shows that has everyone reminiscing about some years down the line.

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