TesseracT - O2 Institute, Birmingham 30.11.2018

Unfortunately due to traffic I miss out on photographing Plini, but I manage to catch the last few songs of their set. An independent solo artist from Australia, who has pieced together his own touring band, which includes TesseracT's very own drum tech taking over on drums. I honestly don't think I've ever seen any live act before without vocals, but it's certainly interesting to say the least. The audience seems to enjoy them far more than I would have anticipated for a band without vocals as well, which only highlights how good the musicianship is with these guys.

Next up is Progressive Metal outfit Between The Buried And Me. A massive contrast to the last act in terms of vocals as frontman and keyboardist Tommy Rogers unclean growls tear through the venue, I have to say though the clean vocals are very difficult to hear unfortunately, but take nothing away from these guys though as it is a very much an enjoyable set from this bunch. 'Sun Of Nothing' definitely comes as a stand out track for these guys and gets the crowd moving a notch or two faster, with it's powerful harsh vocals and intensely fast guitars and drums. The following track, which is also the closer almost makes you question if you're listening to a different band for a second, 'Voice Of Trespass' almost sounds like a party anthem, but the crowd absolutely lap it up regardless.

I have to say, when I request to shoot a band, sometimes I don't necessarily know much about their music, I may just like the look of them and think they might be interesting to photograph. TesseracT were definitely one of those bands for me before the night started - but damn, they totally won me over! Right from the off these guys show what they're all about, as they open up with 'Luminary' straight from the new album. The band as one have a great energy about them, which combined with the beautiful lighting tonight makes it a real spectacle. Front man Daniel Tompkins is very animated throughout, often doing crazy robotic like dance moves in time with the blaring guitars.

As the set continues, TesseracT only carry on to show how technically brilliant they are as a unit, and it's truly astonishing how they keep it up so consistently right the way through. It's hard to pick a stand out from the set as everything is performed so flawlessly. 'King' will have to get a special mention though, and is one that Tomkins takes the time to describe as 'A song about gratefulness, about everything, even the air that we breathe.'

Tonight will be remembered for me as a night where I discovered a great new band to listen to, which sometimes is the best way to go about doing it. If you're ever not sure of a band, or are sitting on the fence when it comes to them, go to their show anyway, sometimes seeing them live just draws you in that much more. TesseracT are an outstanding example of what Progressive Metal should be.

TesseracT - https://www.facebook.com/tesseractband/

Between The Buried And Me - https://www.facebook.com/BTBAMofficial/

Plini - https://www.facebook.com/Plini/

Photos & Review - Sam Robinson Photography