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If you’re a contemporary progressive metal fan, then there’s a chance that your dream concert has become a reality. No, it’s not a Liquid Tension Experiment reunion, but rather three of the biggest names in the scene coming together for a tour, one of whom is touring for the first time in history. Yes, that’s right, independent one-man act Ben Sharp is playing a series of concerts under his Cloudkicker alias for the first time in his career, and he’s being joined by stalwarts TesseracT and Intronaut. On top of that splendiferous information, it has been announced that members of Intronaut will be performing as Sharp’s backing band.
Headliners TesseracT are considered progenitors of the polarising “djent” movement of the 2000s, and are heavily acclaimed by progressive metal fans, most glowingly after the release of their latest album, 2013’s Altered State. The album was met with rave reviews, leading the band to embarking on two tours in support of it, and this tour marking their third. Opening band Intronaut is another venerated band in the progressive metal scene, with four solid albums under their belt.
Perhaps the most enticing act performing, though, is one Ben Sharp, popularly known as Cloudkicker, who, prior to this tour, has never played any live shows under the Cloudkicker label. Cloudkicker first came into the prog-metal world in 2008 with the independent release of his debut album The Discovery, and has spent the better part of six years since then garnering a cult following with album after album that only seem to get better and better with each new release. All of Ben Sharp’s music is available to download for free via his Bandcamp page, and I’d strongly recommend you check it all out if you never have. It’s beyond worth it.
While the tour is a week or so into its run, the tour has not yet made its stops at either Portland or Seattle. TesseracT and co. are set to perform at Portland’s Hawthorne Theatre on Monday, April 15th; more info here. Similarly, the three are performing at Seattle’s Studio Seven on Tuesday, April 15th with special guests Burn the Threshold and Lb.!; more info here.
Until next time, don’t forget to be awesome.
