Estimated reading time: 3 minute(s)

★★★☆ The band return to purvey their peculiar high-gloss brand of atmospheric djent, and once again I liken the sensation to being crushed by ten tons of craft paper: heavy as fuck, but somehow hollow. My biggest worry going into this listening experience was that, in losing vocalist Ashe O’Hara (replaced in vintage djent-musical-chairs fashion by former TesseracT and Skyharbor vocalist Daniel Tompkins), the band would take a step backward. That worry turns out to have been a bit misguided: Tompkins sounds better than ever on here. However, this is the first TesseracT release that lacks a multitrack suite as an organizing principle, without which it’s easier to hear an unmoored aimlessness to much of the album. A very low three stars for this one; if you loved TesseracT before, you’ll probably love this album as well… but the high water is still palpably receding from their last album.

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