PORCUPINE TREE

In the second half of 2007, Porcupine Tree released the Nil Recurring EP, featuring four songs recorded during the Fear of a Blank Planet sessions. As with many Porcupine Tree releases, the title track opens this release. Robert Fripp plays lead guitar here, and drummer Gavin Harrison contributes some guitar as well. It's an interesting instrumental, but I can see why it was excluded from the album. "Nil Recurring" stands fine on its own, but there's no obvious spot for it on the album. "Normal" is a gloomy, mostly-acoustic piece with a chorus which is a further development of "Sentimental" which fails to otherwise stand out. "Cheating the Polygraph" shares significant DNA with "Nil Recurring" and "Fear of a Blank Planet": it's heavy, weird, and thoroughly engaging. "What Happens Now?", meanwhile, directly quotes a riff from "Anesthetize" and features some electric violin, but it ultimately fails to do much for me. The last two or three minutes are dramatic, but it takes way too long to get going.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2019/11/24/deep-dive-porcupine-tree-steven-wilson/

The band's next album, Fear of a Blank Planet, was released in early 2007. It focuses on topics like the isolation brought about by technology and the over-prescribing of drugs. Such bleakness is reflected in the sound of this album. It sounds cold and austere, and the metal riffs have grown even more encompassing.

The title track opens the album. It's an urgent, distorted piece centered around an off-kilter guitar riff and masterful drumming. If I were asked to demonstrate Porcupine Tree's metal sound, this is the song I'd trot out as an example. Many of their better-known songs are effectively art-pop with a heavy metal chorus, but this track is metal through and through. "My Ashes", which follows, is one of the lighter moments on the album, but it's dark and morose. The gloomy keys get some good contrast from sweet-sounding strings.

At the core of this album is the 17-minute suite "Anesthetize". Broken into three distinct sections, it opens with rolling drums and minimalistic guitar and keys. Wilson sings deliberately, acting like a parachute, keeping the overall pace of the song down. Greater distortion enters near the end of this first movement, and it closes on a beautiful, Spanish-flavored guitar solo, courtesy of Alex Lifeson of Rush.

Part Two of "Anesthetize" might just be my favorite bit of music this band ever recorded. Froggy guitar and lightly distorted electric piano dance around each other for a few moments before descending into the heaviest riff in the band's history. When I saw Porcupine Tree live in 2009, the song's wonky rhythm did its best to preclude moshing, but that didn't stop some members of the crowd near the front from trying their damnedest. Coupled with this aggression is a strong melody and one hell of a hook in the chorus. The third part is in direct contrast to this preceding onslaught?a mellow, relaxed outro.

"Sentimental" is the requisite sad-sounding piano song, a la "Trains", and "Way out of Here" is a bitter alt-metal song that features soundscapes provided by Robert Fripp of King Crimson. This song's last minute or so contains some intriguing, jazzy interplay between bass and drums. The closing "Sleep Together" sounds at times like it belongs on a film score. Its underlying wobbly synthesizers and dramatic string swells feel like something I might expect from Trent Reznor.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2019/11/24/deep-dive-porcupine-tree-steven-wilson/

In 2004, Porcupine Tree released Deadwing, a concept album based on a screenplay written by Steven Wilson and a filmmaker friend. (As of January 2019?the most recent update?the screenplay is still being retooled.) Deadwing demonstrated a fuller integration of the band's metal influences while still retaining a significant portion of the prog-pop character of their last few releases.

The title track opens this album. Its backbone of pulsing synths and a galloping rhythm section drive it forward with greater speed than most of the band's prior output. Wonky, death metal-inspired riffage augments the lighter guitar parts of the verses and Richard Barbieri's keys. This song also features an early instance of Steven Wilson's signature use of slightly-distorted vocals which sound as if they're coming through a radio or telephone.

"Shallow" feels something like this album's attempt at another "Blackest Eyes". There's a big, memorable metal riff coupled with a catchy, folk-inflected chorus.

"Arriving Somewhere but Not Here" is one of Porcupine Tree's all-time high points. This 12-minute track builds organically from burbling synthesizers to its acoustic first verses to its first guitar solo. The rhythm section provides powerful energy, but Wilson's mournful guitar lines act as a foil, imbuing a heavy dose of sadness. When the metal comes in at the halfway point, it feels like a logical progression as it ups the intensity.

As is expected, there are calmer moments on Deadwing. "Lazarus" is a delicate ballad with a strong melody. "Mellotron Scratch" moves along at a deliberate tempo, and the Mellotron choir and flute add to this song's dreamy atmosphere. It also features some of Wilson's best vocal arrangements. The closing "Glass Arm Shattering" is another pretty, lush song that takes its time and acts as an apt end to the record.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2019/11/24/deep-dive-porcupine-tree-steven-wilson/

Steven Wilson had long flirted with heavy metal sounds in Porcupine Tree's music. Around the turn of the century, he began to get more into extreme metal, including Meshuggah and Opeth. After being introduced to Opeth frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt, Wilson produced that band's 2001 album Blackwater Park. Around this same time, drummer Chris Maitland left the band and was replaced by Gavin Harrison, a more technical, metal-oriented drummer.

All these factors fed into the band's 2002 release, In Absentia. For all the metallic fury in the opening riff of "Blackest Eyes", In Absentia is not particularly metal on the whole. Heavy riffs do appear at various points on the album, but the bulk of the material here is pretty typical Porcupine Tree fare with a distorted veneer. It's an excellent album with some of their best material, but it was clearly a first step in Porcupine Tree's exploration of metallic ideas.

Aside from the aforementioned "Blackest Eyes", "Gravity Eyelids" features bruising walls of distortion in its second half, which are contrasted against Wilson's gentle vocal arrangements. The instrumental "Wedding Nails" features speedy, technical riffing and awkward, stuttering rhythms. Similar musical ideas are revisited on "The Creator Has a Mastertape", which almost sounds like the band's attempt to do a thrash metal song. "Strip the Soul", meanwhile, feels like Porcupine Tree-penned doom metal.

On the lighter end of things, "Trains" begins as a fantastic folk-flavored piece of prog-pop which builds in intensity until its final seconds. "Lips of Ashes" is a slow-moving, mostly-acoustic piece which uses its sparseness to brew a haunting atmosphere. Such simplicity is also deployed in the closing "Collapse the Light into Earth", a sorrowful piece featuring piano, Wilson's vocals, and strings.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2019/11/24/deep-dive-porcupine-tree-steven-wilson/

Also released in 2000 was the album Lightbulb Sun. Lightbulb Sun built off of and expanded on the sound of Stupid Dream. The title track opens the album and sets the tone for the rest of the record, with its smart contrasts of acoustic and distorted instrumentation and strong melodies.

"Four Chords That Made a Million", much like "Piano Lessons" or "Stranger by the Minute", is an inventive fusion of progressive ambition and pop-accessible hard rock. "Shesmovedon" takes those pop ideas and blends it with Steven Wilson's usual melancholy to make something slow-moving and impactful. "The Rest Will Flow" and "Feel So Low" show further mixtures of acoustic pop with progressive songwriting.

"Last Chance to Evacuate the Planet Earth before It Is Recycled" is another highlight. This track features folk flavors with acoustic guitar and banjo in its first third before veering off into cosmic territory. It contains audio from Marshall Applewhite, leader of the Heaven's Gate cult who committed suicide when the Hale-Bopp comet passed by earth.  This song takes many of Porcupine Tree's early instrumental tendencies and smartly shortens them into a three-minute package, rather than dragging on for six or seven.

The two longest tracks on this album hint at the band's future direction. "Hatesong" builds into something big and heavy. After starting off fairly quiet, with jazzy tones, lead guitar and distorted synthesizers come to snarl over crushing riffs. "Russia on Ice" is effectively two songs. The first seven minutes or so are restrained but incredibly oppressive. String arrangements are deployed to great effect, and the bitter lyrics complement the sparse severity of the music. The closing six minutes, meanwhile, features overt flirtations with metal. Beneath all the distortion and bombast, though, are flashes of funk, folk, and electronica.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2019/11/24/deep-dive-porcupine-tree-steven-wilson/

As mentioned in Part I, Steven Wilson had originally intended for Up the Downstair to be a double album, with the 30-minute suite "Voyage 34" comprising the second disc. This ideas was dropped in the end, and "Voyage 34" was remixed by Wilson and Richard Barbieri to be a sprawling, 70-minute piece that finally saw a full release in 2000. In this immense song, spoken narration describes an LSD trip as the music evolves to match the mood. "Voyage 34" is, stylistically, more closely aligned with the era when it was written, rather than when it was released. It's packed full of Floydian space rock, and Barbieri's ever-present electronics.

However, as one might expect from any 70-minute release, there is some trimming that could have been done. This piece absolutely could have worked as a 30-minute song. I don't know what Wilson's original version of the song was like, but much of the soloing and instrumental exploration could have been tightened up or otherwise reduced. And the entirety of its fourth movement could have been axed. The song closes on 15 minutes of ambient effects and the occasional stab of guitar.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2019/11/24/deep-dive-porcupine-tree-steven-wilson/

Released in 1999, Stupid Dream marked a massive shift in the band's sound. The songs are focused and direct, and Wilson's lyrics are more personal than on past releases. This is the album where Porcupine Tree came into their own.

The opening "Even Less" acts something of a bridge between the old and new Porcupine Tree sounds. At seven minutes long, it's the second-longest song on the album, and it features many instrumental traits found on The Sky Moves Sideways and Signify. But the structure on this song is more coherent, and the chorus, while simple, is strong.

Stupid Dream is also the first album to display any significant pop sensibilities. "Piano Lessons" and "Stranger by the Minute" both border on being straightforward, with engaging melodies and memorable hooks. The instrumentation and structure remains intelligent and inventive, though.

Other highlights include the sinister "Slave Called Shiver", the slow-building "Don't Hate Me", and the strange instrumental "Tinto Brass". That last song, in particular, is an interesting fusion of the old and new Porcupine Tree styles with its jazzy flute licks and big guitar riffs. It incorporates both smart song structures and the construction of dramatic soundscapes.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2019/11/24/deep-dive-porcupine-tree-steven-wilson/

Released simultaneously with Signify was a cassette tape of demos and B-sides from the Signify sessions, titled Insignificance. Insignificance has some interesting insights into the group's songwriting process?most notably that cover of "Hallogallo" which transitions smoothly into an early version of "Signify". This version of "Waiting" sounds like The Wall-era Pink Floyd song, as opposed to a Meddle-era one (and that isn't a compliment; just wait for my Pink Floyd Deep Dive!). "Neural Rust" has some neat moments in it, and "Sever Tomorrow" sounds almost like a spaced-out Joe Jackson song. Most of Insignificance, though, is easily ignored. It's a befitting title, as this should remain an insignificant footnote in Porcupine Tree's output. (Insignificance has been included as a bonus disc to several remastered version of Signify.)

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2019/11/24/deep-dive-porcupine-tree-steven-wilson/

Signify was the band's next release and the first true group effort. Released in late 1996, it saw the integration of significant (heh) krautrock influence?the title track was derived from what began as a cover of Neu!'s "Hallogallo". I'd never considered krautrock's influence on this album, but after learning about this, I can definitely hear it. It's got a distinctly Wilsonian twist to it, and the main riff hints at future excursions into the world of progressive metal.

"Sleep of No Dreaming" is evidence of Steven Wilson's improving songwriting. By this point, he had established a distinct sound for his band. It drew from the '70s prog giants?especially Pink Floyd?but it was not nearly as derivative as Porcupine Tree's earlier works. It sounded more confident. The complex mix of cosmic and melancholy moods showed Porcupine Tree spreading their creative wings.

Signify isn't all proto-metallic space rock. "Waiting" is largely acoustic in its first half, and the second half shows an inventive integration of jazz and electronica in both the synths and the rhythm section. Barbieri's electronic touches get some prominent placement on "Idiot Prayer", and "Every Home Is Wired" marries rather sweet-sounding acoustic balladry with Wilson's signature cynicism.

That isn't to say Signify doesn't have its weak spots, though. Like many of the band's early efforts, a lot of songs drag on for a minute or two too long, and Wilson was still weaning himself off of excessive ambient interludes, most notably on the overlong penultimate track, "Light Mass Prayers".

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2019/11/24/deep-dive-porcupine-tree-steven-wilson/

By the time Steven Wilson got around to recording the next Porcupine Tree album, he had recruited a full band to perform the material. (Two songs on this album?"The Moon Touches Your Shoulder" and "Dislocated Day"?were recorded solely by Wilson.) Wilson covered guitars and vocals, with Richard Barbieri on keys, Colin Edwin on bass, and Chris Maitland on drums. The resultant work, 1995's The Sky Moves Sideways, was Porcupine Tree's strongest release up to this point.

Opening with the first half of the sprawling title track, it's here that Wilson most blatantly apes the 1970s prog giants. This album is practically him screaming, "I want to be Pink Floyd!" It's grandiose, astral, psychedelic rock which has clear roots in "Echoes" and "Shine on You Crazy Diamond". Lush synths and jazzy guitar licks only serve to underscore this comparison. But around the 8-minute mark, the song descends into dark electronica, giving it an immensely unique twist, especially when considering the era when it was released. (The 1990s were a dark time for progressive rock.)

Three of the album's middle four songs are much more immediate. "Dislocated Day" is a sinister piece with a tense atmosphere powered by heavy guitars, and "The Moon Touches Your Shoulder" feels like a latter-era Pink Floyd song. "Moonloop" is an 18-minute meditation which had been released as an independent EP in 1994. It's pretty boring, with lots of spacy, jazzy guitar noodling played at a somnambulant pace. There are a few bursts of interesting music around the 10-minute mark, but it's definitely not worth the wait.

The title track's second half closes the album. It bears a strong resemblance to its first half, with its electronic flavors and cosmic jamming. However, these same tendencies also hamstring it. It often feels meandering and aimless.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2019/11/24/deep-dive-porcupine-tree-steven-wilson/