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Porcupine Tree - Fear Of A Blank Planet

Published April 27 2007


*
=Staff's pick

Fear Of A Blank Planet*
My Ashes
Anesthetize*
Sentimental*
Way Out Of Here*
Sleep Together


Genre Progressive Rock
Steven Wilson
Vocals
Tracks 6
Steven Wilson
Guitar
Runningtime 51 Min.
-
Guitar
Label Roadrunner Records
Colin Edwin
Bass
Release 18 April 2007
Gavin Harrison
Drums
Country England
Richard Barbieri
Keyboard
Similar artists Blackfield, Pink Floyd, Pain Of Salvation

Glasgow 01-10-06. That's when and where Fear Of A Blank Planet came to life. For me personally, that is. On that rainy autumn's night at Carling Academy, Porcupine Tree played the entire upcoming album six months prior of its release, and I was there! It was a magic night that will forever stay in my memory. I have eagerly awaited the release of this album and finally it has arrived, not just somewhere but right here…

Porcupine Tree's history is dated back to 1987 and started out almost as a joke between Steven Wilson and his friend Malcolm Stock. Together they developed an almost entirely fictional history of a legendary seventies group, complete with non-existent band members and an absurd discography. Steven even recorded hours of music to back up the story. In 1989 however, Steven rated the music he had recorded just by self-indulgence and compiled a cassette which happened to fall into the "right" hands and the rest is, so to speak, history. And speaking of which, the history tells us that Fear Of A Blank Planet actually is Porcupine Tree's twelfth studio album. That's not an easy task to decide however since Porcupine Tree's discography has become just as absurd as Steven's imaginary band that started the whole thing.

Nowadays it is extremely rare that I discover new bands that totally change my perception of things. Sure, I discover amazing new music almost every month but the euphoria you feel when listening to something new and groundbreaking that feels like the best music you've ever heard in your life never happens anymore. Porcupine Tree however is the exception to that rule. I must have lived in cave or something because Deadwing (2005) was actually the first album by Porcupine Tree that reached my ears. I liked what I heard from the beginning but it took a couple of months before I grasped the magnitude of emotions the band supplied. I have since then invested in the entire catalogue and different side projects (such as Blackfield, the fantastic band in which Steven operates together with Aviv Geffen from Israel) and nowadays I count them as one of the best bands through history and Deadwing has cemented its position on my top-10 regarding the best albums ever made.

The lyrical context of Fear Of A Blank Planet deals with how the youth of today is fed with input from different sources such as computers, TV, Xbox etc. and as a result we get a generation of alienated and blunt teenagers. The cover illustrates the topic in a splendid way, a young boy with a blank stare and the reflection of a screen on his face. Musically, it's a continuation from where Deadwing left us. The heavier direction Porcupine Tree took a couple of albums ago is still present and sound wise there are no big surprises. Despite this I must say that Fear Of A Blank Planet is distinctively different from Deadwing. I have wondered a lot about why this is a fact and my conclusion is that Deadwing was a record filled to the brink with fantastic songs when Steven Wilson composes at his best, songs that could be fully enjoyed separately. Fear Of A Blank Planet however is an extremely well balanced ALBUM that should be played in its entirety, it is not until then the grandeur of the music is fully revealed.

The title track opens the album with some clean guitars at hard work and I instantly get a visual of Steven Wilson keeping the pace with his bare feet. This one is quite heavy with a hypnotic and monotone verse and when the chorus arrives it feels like diving from a cliff, without hitting the ground that is…

My Ashes is a mellow tune and works as perfect contrast to the previous track. The delicious chorus is flavoured with beautiful string arrangements and makes the composition fly.

And then we have it; THE BEAST! This was actually the title of Anesthetize among the fans that heard it live on the last tour. The reason for this imaginary title is partly the length of it (17 minutes long!) and partly the greatness of it. I look upon Anesthetize as divided in three different parts that all fit together, three blood brothers with a cause! The first part opens with a hypnotizing guitar and enormously drumming by the one and only Gavin Harrison (the best drummer in the world if you ask me). This part reminds me a bit of Radiohead at its best (think Street Spirit (Fade Out) and you might get a picture). The second part, which must be considered as the heart and soul of Anesthetize, is very heavy. The rhythm guitars in the verse are almost electronic and once you've heard the chorus you can't get rid of it. The third part of Anesthetize is very atmospheric and sounds like a mixture of Pink Floyd and The Doors. A perfect way to end an utter masterpiece composed by Mr. Wilson, or in other words; it's a beast!

There was one song that stuck in my mind after the concert in Glasgow. That song was Sentimental and there is a reason why this particular song was remembered. The simple yet brilliant melodies are a schoolbook example of how you compose efficient quality music that last forever. This song is so beautiful I'm having trouble finding the right words to describe it. In fact, listening to Sentimental is the most beautiful thing I've experienced since the birth of my two boys, I kid you not. Boys don't cry they say, well, Sentimental is about to change that…

Way Out Of Here was the only song they didn't play live last autumn and instead they performed a quite heavy and unmelodic track. Way Out Of Here is much better if my memory is correct. It has a calm and atmospheric verse that explodes in the chorus and reports from the current tour says that it's a monster live and I have no reason to question that.

To round things off we have Sleep Together. Gavin offers some heavy drums on this one and the track is very rhythmical. I also love the chorus and the strings used on this one. It's a perfect closer of the album as the composition reaches majestic proportions in the end.

Are you still with me? Well, it's hard not to go over top when the topic is something you value as high as the case is with Porcupine Tree for me personally. But to sum things up; Fear Of A Blank Planet is nothing but a masterpiece. I loved it from the beginning but I couldn't believe that it would reach the level of Deadwing or even better. As I said earlier, it's almost impossible to compare these two records. It's like trying to decide which one of my kids I love the most. The other thing that makes it hard is that Deadwing is a song based record and Fear Of A Blank Planet is an album in its right meaning, meant to be played from start to finish as all the pieces of this sonic puzzle fit together. This is heaven, this is hell, this is history.


Performance
Originality
Production
Vocals
Songwriting

10

9

9

9

10

 
Summary



9,5 chalices of 10 - Hawk


Related links:

www.porcupinetree.com
www.myspace.com/porcupinetree
www.swhq.co.uk