One

U.K.-based metallers TesseracT's full-length debut, 'One' marks the realization of a bold, experimental creative vision that began in 2003 as a solo writing project in the mind of guitarist Acle Kahney (formerly of Fell Silent), and has subsequently spawned one of the most hotly tipped metal bands in Great Britain.

Tech-heads will often focus on the quintet's time signatures and musical complexity, but TesseracT is far from an exclusionary exercise in tech metal pomposity. They fully embrace their experimental, prog sensibility without excessive indulgence or pretentiousness, delivering atmospheric, metallic songs that stir strong emotions and evoke powerful mental images. All of which, they argue, are at the core surprisingly simple:

"The concept is to have music that just has a pulse, a heartbeat; you don't count your pulse and split it into sections of four or five; it's just there beneath you, not forcing you to work in a box four heart beats long. Honestly, most of the time we haven't a clue what time signature or key we are in and to be honest we don't really care all that much. We ain't smart enough to deal with that! Knowing those things would only get in the way of the vibe, which is paramount."

"We only ever wish to create music with subtle power and emotion, to avoid genre-specific clichés and tired old tricks. We want to aim for the same place that our musical heroes are at, people like Pink Floyd, The Doors, Faith No More, Meshuggah, Jeff Buckley, Textures and Sigur Rós. To create an ALBUM, not a collection of songs that fit the mould of three singles and seven fillers but an actual old school album that you want to take 50 or 60 minutes out of your life with to sit down and escape with."

Since the formation of the band's five-piece line-up in spring 2007, TesseracT picked up richly deserved props from peers (Textures, Meshuggah) and press alike (Metal Hammer, Rock Sound, Scuzz). Following the release of their 2007 demo, TesseracT continued to cultivate a growing international fanbase through well received U.K. and European tour dates and internet word of mouth. Their reputation of delivering jaw-dropping live performances was further fuelled through appearances at Bloodstock, Hammerfest, Caos Emergente in Portugal and the Hellfire 2 festival at the Birmingham NEC arena. They were also invited to play Russia and India, both amazing feats for an unsigned band. All this helped garner interest from record labels across the globe and after a one year courtship, the band signed to Century Media Records worldwide in the Fall of 2010.

The rest, as they say, is history and the blasty, sonic goodliness of 'One' should appeal to those with a penchant for the likes of Cynic, Mastodon and Protest the Hero. ;-)