In that turbulent December of 2020 (when many families in the UK were pondering a Christmas in isolation), Tesseract created PORTALS, a cinematic live-stream that eschewed the bare rehearsal room setting for arena-strength lighting and a conceptual storyline closer in ambition to Metallica’s flawed Through The Never. Befitting such a lavish spectacle, the band dug deep to offer up fourteen tracks spanning their entire career, and the resultant show is now available in a suitably wide array of formats. For the uber-fan, the limited 2CD/DVD/Blu Ray set (complete with 40-page book) is surely at the top of the wish-list; but there’s also a standalone blu ray while, for those who prefer to focus on the music, a triple vinyl / double CD (reviewed here) is also available. All four editions are beautifully packaged, and the double CD edition has a tasty booklet packed with live shots, housed inside a tastefully arranged digipack.
As we have come to expect from Tesseract over the years, the byword is very much quality, and in the case of Portals, Tesseract took the opportunity presented by the lockdown to explore their entire career with an enigmatic, epic-length set that flows beautifully. Sequenced in Acts, themed rather more in terms of atmosphere than era, the performance unfolds at a leisurely pace, the band exploring every aspect of their storied career in some depth. Opening both the album and Act One, Of Matter is a perfect example of Tesseract’s unique proposition represented in fourteen remarkable minutes. Originally drawn from the Altered State album, Of Matter is a brave choice for an opening number, especially when one considers the twists and turns, both instrumental and vocal, that it takes over its run time. The bruising King, a shorter, darker number from Sonder is a masterclass in tense dynamics and djentish riffs, which neatly rounds off Act One.
Opening up Act II, Concealing Fate Parts 1, 2 & 3 is a hulking, eighteen-minute cycle that launches the new act in fine style. Taken from debut album One, it’s remarkable to note just how ambitious the band were from the outset, and while it’s a shame that the band didn’t play the entire six-part saga, the first three parts nonetheless deeply impress, as does Daniel Tompkins, whose vocals remain a thing of multifaceted splendour. As with the preceding act, the behemoth track is followed by a shorter piece – in this case the five-minute Tourniquet from Polaris. A gorgeously melodic piece, riven with atmosphere, Tourniquet is aptly filmed with the band bracketed by lasers, recalling Pink Floyd’s stadium pomp – and it provides an emotionally charged conclusion to Act II.
Act III sees the band offer up a mini Sonder suite, allowing for four pieces from that album, although Beneath My Skin and Mirror Image are brought together into a single track. Of these, the former is a mesmerising and emotional journey through the dark space that lies between us, exploding into Floyd-esque darkness with little warning; while the latter is a more ethereal piece altogether, probing post rock recesses with aplomb. Next, the eerie Orbital hints at a great sadness, the haunting melodies drifting into the vast expanse of space, before Act III is brought to a strong end as the thunderous opening riff to Juno gives way to a stripped back, yet energetic piece that really shakes the listener out of their reverie. It’s a hell of a way to bring this first set to an end, and it speaks volumes as to the band’s back catalogue that this is merely the intermission!
Act IV opens with the evergreen might of Cages (from Polaris). Emerging from a haze of synth and rippling guitar, it starts out a gorgeous, stripped-back piece of music, only to build (over the course of six minutes or so) to a dynamic, Tool-worshipping monster. Cages is the perfect place at which to start the second half of the show and it’s neatly followed by the djent-funk groove of Dystopia. Remaining with Polaris, the band segue directly into Phoneix, a track that wrongfoots the unfamiliar listener with subtle electronica before exploding into life. The final song of the act steps back in time, to 2013’s Altered State and Nocturne, the fine single from that oblique, progressive album. Pairing a gruelling heavy riff with layered vocals and stuttering percussion, it’s easy to see why the track was chosen to lead the campaign for the album, and it’s no less exciting now, some eight years down the line.
The fifth and final act kicks off with another track from One – the lengthy closer, Eden. Built around an electrifying riff and possessed of a jazzy sensibility that sees elements of the track break off and spin into the ether, creating multifaceted fractal patterns that swirl in the distance, Eden is a phenomenally impressive track that steadfastly refuses to settle into a neat little box. It’s also a masterclass in exceptional musicianship, as is the entire album, demonstrating the near telepathic linkage that the various band members share. It’s a return to Altered States for a bruising take on the two-part Of Energy, all edgy riffs and gleaming synths. Spacey and expansive, it sounds futuristic even now, and the remarkable production and performance certainly helps in this regard. This behemoth performance ends with Seven Names, the poignant closer from Polaris and an equally effective finale here. Lost in a world of cracking noise, it feels for all the world like a vinyl recording, evoking a strange sense of nostalgia that makes you regret that the album has come to an end, despite its marathon length.
Despite nominally being a live recording, Portals is so much more. From the pitch perfect performance to the exceptional production, it is a beautiful, often bruising reminder of the startling quality of Tesseract’s back catalogue. While the band are careful to theme each of the five acts around a sense of atmosphere, it’s notable that the performance as a whole roams at will across the band’s seventeen years, with not a moment sounding out of place or lacking compared ot that which surrounds it. Thanks to years of touring, there’s no doubting that Tesseract have become a ferociously honed live act, but even so, it says much of the depth of their song-writing that they can carve out so consistent a set over the course of nearly two hours. Obliquely beautiful, Portals is a masterclass in progressive metal, with the only question being why Tesseract are not headlining stadia with material of such exceptional merit. 9.5/10
