Daniel Tompkins - Ruins (2020)

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Daniel Tompkins - Ruins (2020)

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May 2019 saw TesseracT’s lead vocalist and songwriter release his debut solo album Castles, his first foray into a more pop rock electronic sound. Ruins sees Tompkins rework Castles. The lyrical and conceptual side still represents the same ideas as Castles, but with more aggression musically, showcasing a truer and darker tone. With the new version being significantly different to Castles, it was felt that renaming the album and each song was appropriate – aside from the lyrics, it is essentially a completely new album.

Ruins was created by producer and friend Eddie Head (Haji’s Kitchen) and also features guest artists and additional co-creators. Paul Ortiz (Chimpspanner) rewrote the music and acted as co-producer alongside Tompkins, and Plini plays guitar on opener ‘Wounded Wings’. First single ‘The Gift’ features Trivium frontman and guitarist, Matt Heafy, a friend of Tompkins who is also a prominent streamer on Twitch. When Matt agreed to contribute to ‘The Gift’, Tompkins wrote the parts and Heafy recorded them from his home studio and live on Twitch. “It was an honour to be featured on ‘The Gift’. Having been a longtime fan of Tesseract and Dan, this was a wonderful collaboration to take part of. People are going to be floored with this release.”

A diverse vocalist, Tompkins has established himself as a highly respected artist with a dedicated worldwide fanbase garnered from his work with the global progressive metal sensations TesseracT and Skyharbor. In addition, he has collaborated with percussive guitarist Jon Gomm (a recently-signed Kscope label mate). Dan is also a member of the experimental and pop-orientated White Moth Black Butterfly. His versatility as a vocalist and musician is showcased across all of these acts and also with his more accessible solo material.