TesseracT with Plini and Between the Buried and Me – November 30th 2018, O2 Institute Birmingham, UK
Not afraid to push the boundaries, TesseracT has been mixing heavy and progressive with hauntingly beautiful vocals. A busy touring year it has been for these Brits – they have been on the road since April and still have a long list of dates left. Birmingham along with only two more cities was ending the tour’s European leg.
I do have to say, I wasn’t sure how this evening would turn out attendance wise, since lately I have seen here in Birmingham too many progressive shows with embarrassingly small crowds, but seeing the room near full already for the first act was a very pleasant surprise.
First on stage was Australian guitar virtuoso Plini with his band. The short 30-minute set of perfectly executed material included some stunning guitar work and jaw-dropping solos from bassist Simon Grove. Before the last song, introducing the band members to the crowd, Plini humbly added: “The only two bands who matter tonight are Between The Buried And Me and TesseracT, but thank you for coming early to see us.” What a wonderful opening of the evening!
Next one on the bill was American prog metal quintet Between The Buried And Me. With the two records that came out this year – Automata I sticking to the band’s roots and the more daring and adventurous Automata II – these guys have proven to everyone they are masters of their craft. Tonight’s set was intense, containing bits from both albums as well as some older pieces. BTBAM frontman/ vocalist/ keyboardist Tommy Rogers was juggling skilfully between the softer vocals, harsher growls and hitting the keys. The band sounded brilliant and the crowd was certainly having good time.
As soon as we were able to see the silhouettes of TesseracT members on the blue dim covered stage, the crowd erupted in excitement. The main attraction this evening, the British five piece did not disappoint. The moshpit was open from the first songs and kept going for the rest of the night. The fans were singing along, hair was flying and fists pumping. Interestingly though, next year touring North America, TesseracT and BTBAM will be swapping places, with BTBAM as headliners.
This was a great evening with everything a prog show could offer: it was technical, melodic, and powerful with beautiful stage lighting!
SETLIST
Luminary
Of Mind- Nocturne
Concealing Fate, Part2: Deception
Concealing Fate, Part3: The Impossible
Survival
Dystopia
Hexes
Phoenix
Juno
Smile
Of Matter- Proxy
Of Matter- Retrospect
King
Concealing Fate, Part1: Acceptance
BAND
Daniel Tompkins – Vocals
Acle Kahney – Guitar
James Monteith – Guitar
Amos Williams – Bass
Jay Postones – Drums
www.tesseractband.co.uk | www.facebook.com/tesseract
www.betweentheburiedandme.com | www.facebook.com/BTBAMofficial
www.plini.co | www.facebook.com/Plini
