The War of Being tour brought TESSERACT, a progressive metal band from Reading, UK, to Trix in Antwerp. Sadly, the venue did not seem to be sold out when we saw them on January 26th, 2024. They brought UNPROCESSED and THE CALLOUS DAOBOYS with them.
The first band to take the stage was THE CALLOUS DAOBOYS, a mathcore band from Atlanta. The first thing you noticed was that they were eager to play, but that might also have created a bit of “a lot happening at once” on stage, as they also seemed to be a little in their own world while giving their all. Their set was quite energetic, and they used a lot of catchy synth and electronic samples that swiftly got the right energy from the audience. They delivered some rapidly changing moods, and the violin was a nice surprise.
What a pleasant surprise the German UNPROCESSED, who were next this evening, served us modern progressive metal and a lot more in line with TESSERACT. I needed a moment to appreciate this band. The chaos from the first band faded quite abruptly. There were powerful melodies, while singer and guitarist Manual Gardner seemed to stand safely behind his microphone stand, focusing on his rapid play and finger magic. But do not let that fool you. They quickly found their pace on stage and seemed to come alive while the groove of their sound took you in. Accompanied by a nice light show, ‘…and everything in between’ is their freshly released album, which is definitely worth checking out.
I was a little surprised that the venue, Trix, was not sold out for the headlining band TESSERACT. These guys are known for their mark on progressive metal and are called the “djent” pioneers for something. Yet, it was far from being a packed house. However, everyone who was there was in for a treat, and clearly, everyone seemed to have a great time. You could feel the energy rising when the first tones could be heard, smoke was finding its way over the stage, and the first band member set foot on the stage. They kicked it off with “Natural Disaster” from their latest album. Their show was presented well, with some nice chats in between, some demanding questions thrown at the audience, a request for a circle pit, and a thank you to both old and new fans. All of this while they presented a tight set with a nice light show contributing to their performance. Near the end of the set, before a short encore, they played “Juno,” and their singer Daniel Tompkins jumped off the stage and held on to the barrier while singing this song. It was not only the roars that flew around this evening; also, the bass from Amos Williams needs to be mentioned as it filled the low end so nicely. After an encore of “Concealing Fate part 1 & part 2,” the evening came to an end.
The Callous Daoboys
Unprocessed
TesseracT
Photos by Elvira Visser
