TesseracT - Polaris

Only two years after the highly acclaimed “Altered State”, TesseracT returns with a major change on their ranks. Vocalist Ashe O’Hara was replaced by (the old singer) Dan Tompkins. Some fans were happy with that change but others not so very pleased. It’s true that “Altered State” was a breakthrough for TesseracT. That album made them more recognizable and helped them reach a bigger audience. So the bet was not only to release something better than “Altered State” but also take a step forward. Was the bet taken? Well, I’m afraid not.
 
“Polaris” is a solid album with some very fine mellow moments but with also some very irritating djent/groovy guitars, which make the final result somewhat irksome at times. That too modern-ish sound & music approach does not leave the band free to break away. It’s like following a music trend just to please the teenagers. Modern & mellow but with a cheesy outcome… and that ain’t good for a band that had left the best impressions with their previous album.
 
“Polaris” is a major step back for the band. It doesn’t follow the progressive path of “Altered State”… instead it’s full of trendy modern djent stuff which is already overdone and monotonous at long last. Can’t they see it? Well, they better do so before it’s too late. Personally, I do think that they have already lost their way and purpose and got lost in the trendy modern path that the managers & the labels define. Too bad…