TesseracT started out back in 2003 as an archetypal djent band in then-teenage Acle Kahney's bedroom. What started as an outlet for creativity and experimentation grew and Kahney posted clips of his technically heavy guitar work on forums such as Sevenstring.org, taking the feedback on board and gradually improving his technique. It was in this way that a community of bedroom producer-musicians were spawned and this new wave of progressive music was created, along with names such as Misha Mansoor (Periphery), Paul Ortiz (Chimp Spanner) and John Browne (Monuments), who was a bandmate of Kahney's in Fellsilent.
The word 'djent' is an onomatopoeia for a heavily palm-muted, distorted guitar chord. It was coined by Meshuggah guitarist Fredrik Thordendal, though generally made popular by Mansoor on the band's online forum and it was there that Kahney originally learned the technique. When Thordendal heard and commented on some of Kahney's riffs, it was all the encouragement he needed to forge ahead.
Embodying the international vibe of the genre, Frenchman Juilien Perier initially supplied vocals but the logistical difficulties meant that he could not join the band permanently. The line-up was completed by Jay Postones on Drums, James Monteith on Guitar and Amos Williams on Bass. Monteith and Williams brought along with them the vocalist of their previous band (Abisola Obasanya). In 2009, the band parted ways with Obasanya [2] and settled on Dan Tompkins (First Signs of Frost, Piano) to take over vocal duties [3] After hiring Dan, they entered the studio to re-record the 6 part suite Concealing Fate, which they released as an EP in 2010, and their debut album One, which was released in 2011.
On August 20th 2011, rumours began spreading that vocalist Daniel Tompkins had left the band, as TesseracT were seen performing with a different vocalist during a gig at the Crauford Arms in Milton Keynes. This was confirmed by the band on the 23rd, citing personal reasons for Daniel's departure. TesseracT introduced their new singer as Elliot Coleman (OMNOM, Zelliack, ex-Sky Eats Airplane, ex-Of Legends). Daniel remains on good terms with the band and stated that he enjoyed his time as TesseracT's vocalist.[4][5] Elliot stated later that he would not move permanently to the UK (although he would be living there for up to half of the year) and that joining TesseracT would not affect his other main project Zelliack (a pop/soul/RnB/jazz project consisting of Elliot and Zack Ordway).
Dan's departure and Elliot's arrival to TesseracT caused a split in opinion between fans of the band. Some fans became hateful and even offensive towards the new singer, usually over social networking and internet forums (Elliot attributed this behaviour to a "fear of change"). Other fans and musicians within the "Djent community" were much more supportive of Elliot and spoke out against the abusive fans in blogs and through social networking.
On September 5, 2011 they announced that their next album will be called "Neophobia".[6] This was later revealed by Acle to be a joke (Neophobia is the fear of change).
Current Members
Acle Kahney - Guitar (2003-present)
Jay Postones - Drums (2006-present)
James Monteith - Guitar (2006-present)
Amos Williams - Bass, backing vocals (2006-present)
Elliot Coleman - Vocals (2011-present)
Previous Members
Julien Perier - Vocals (2004-2006)
Abisola Obasanya - Vocals (2006-2009)
Daniel Tompkins - Vocals (2009-2011)