| Altered State | ||||
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| 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 |
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| Tesseract chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Altered State | ||||
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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 [1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Bloody Disgusting | |
| Exclaim! | 7/10 [4] |
| Kerrang! | |
| Revolver | |
| Rock Sound | 9/10 [6] |
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]
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]
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. [1] 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", [3] whilst The Monolith online magazine called it "probably one of the most complete examples of the genre to date." [12]
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 | |
Additional musicians
Additional personnel