Polaris (Tesseract album)
| Polaris | ||||
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| Studio album by Tesseract | ||||
| Released | September 18, 2015 | |||
| Recorded | January–April 2015 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 46:45 | |||
| Label | Kscope | |||
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| Tesseract chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Polaris | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 74/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    |
| Exclaim! |   |
| Metal Injection |  |
| Sputnikmusic | |
| the AU Review | |
Polaris is the third studio album by English progressive metal band Tesseract. It was released on September 18, 2015, both digitally and physically on vinyl and CD. There is also a 2-disc version with the album mixed in 5.1 surround sound.
Tesseract parted ways with vocalist Ashe O'Hara in June 2014 and invited original vocalist Daniel Tompkins back into the band. Tompkins, who had been dedicated full-time to the band Skyharbor, agreed to return, and writing for a third Tesseract album commenced.
The first single from the album, "Messenger", was released on 3 August 2015 on Kscope's YouTube and SoundCloud pages. The second single from the album, "Survival" was then released on 3 September 2015 along with the video for the same. The video was filmed and directed by Pele Newell with the Derbyshire landscape as the backdrop.
Polaris received generally positive reviews. Review aggregate Metacritic gave the album a 74 out of 100 based on 6 professional critics. Tom Jurek of Allmusic gave the album a positive review saying "Polaris is the record that Tesseract have been working toward. The evolved maturity of their writing, playing, and arranging is matched by the experience and confidence Tomkins gained while away. Reunited, they deliver not only creativity and sophistication but inspiration." Thompson D. Gerhart of Sputnikmusic gave the album a mixed review saying "For the fans, this will pass. Polaris is well-produced (even if the bass is dialed in several clicks too high), decently written, and properly executed for what it is. Critically speaking, however, it takes few musical risks and fails to launch any sort of vocal or instrumental melody, relegating it to a position as the sort of album you could take or leave in an artist's discography - a veritable recommended reading no student without the passion to pursue a PhD considers for more than a moment."
The most positive feedback came from the AU Review's Dave Roberts, who called it "one of the most amazing albums" of 2015 and compared the album to masterpieces by other artists, for instance Dream Theater's Octavarium and Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, and sums up his review as follows: "In short, if you are a fan of djent music, buy this album. If you like metal, do the same. If you like music, do it. You know what, just get it."
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