Porcupine Tree - Fear Of A Blank Planet review
| Band: | Porcupine Tree |
| Album: | Fear Of A Blank Planet |
| Style: | Progressive metal, Progressive rock |
| Release date: | April 2007 |
01. Fear Of A Blank Planet
02. My Ashes
03. Anesthetize [feat. Alex Lifeson]
04. Sentimental
05. Way Out Of Here [feat. Robert Fripp]
06. Sleep Together
[DVD-A]
01. Fear Of A Blank Planet
02. My Ashes
03. Anesthetize
04. Sentimental
05. Way Out Of Here
06. Sleep Together
07. Nil Recurring
08. Normal
09. Cheating The Polygraph
10. What Happens Now?
+ Blank Planet [video]
+ Fear Of A Blank Planet [video]
+ Anesthetize [video]
Some artists are too good to be ignored. Porcupine Tree's architect Steven Wilson is one of them. After a long and fruitful career built on a crystalline guitar sound and atmospheric melodies, Steven influenced Opeth and helped them to record the distinctive "Damnation" album. Ever since, his name is on every metalhead's lips despite being more of a rock artist. Porcupine Tree's 2005 offering, "Deadwing", was nothing short of a masterpiece and "Fear of a Blank Planet" follows in the same footsteps.
The title track alone is worth buying this record. Check it the video on the web. If this is somewhat appealing to you, the rest of the album has the same elements all over. With his velvety voice, Steven has mastered his vocal lines to perfection. This is important to point out that his singing is unique and if you are a newcomer to Porcupine Tree, this might take you a while to appreciate the vocals. In any case, the band is continuing on the same path of atmospheric melancholic rock, filled with majestic guitar riffs, grand piano lines and catchy yet very progressive melodies.
Another hint of Mr Wilson's eminence in music is that track #3, 'Anesthetize', features a guest appearance from no other than Alex Lifeson on guitars [from Canadian progressive legendary band Rush]. The experienced ear won't be fooled and recognize his style immediately.
Comparing this album to any of its predecessors would be committing a crime, as all of Porcupine Tree recent albums have been astounding. Let's say that if you like 'Deadwing', you can't go wrong with this one.
"Fear of a Blank Planet" is one of those albums that you can play for anyone in your family or friend circle and get positive feedback from each of them. Yet, this is not a mainstream album by any means. In a way, Porcupine Tree is nowadays Pink Floyd. This is another contender for our 2007 Metal Storm Awards for sure.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 10 |
| Originality: | 9 |
| Production: | 9 |
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Written on 15.07.2007 by
Bringing you reviews of quality music and interesting questions such as: "A picture is worth a thousand words. How many words is a song worth?" I have only got so much patience and skills, you do the math. |
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Comments: 51
Visited by: 423 users
| BloodTears ANA-thema Elite Posts: 11835  |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 23.07.2009 at 23:38 ahah yes. Bootlegs are the ones I'm trying to get at DT shows but they're too expensive. Thanks for correcting me.
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| Fat & Sassy! Elite Posts: 3857  |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 23.07.2009 at 23:38 XD I just figured that was a slang that I didn't know about...
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071  |
Written by BloodTears on 23.07.2009 at 23:39 I doubt you get bootlegs at a DT concert. Here this is what a bootleg is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bootleg_recording and here is an example of a Mercyful Fate bootleg site: http://www.geocities.com/mercyfulfate66/MFBootlegs.html
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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| BloodTears ANA-thema Elite Posts: 11835 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 23.07.2009 at 23:52 Yes, Marcel, they were selling bootlegs! They had DVDs there, live shows that they never released officially and sell only at shows and things.
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by BloodTears on 23.07.2009 at 23:55 Who was selling that? The band? Then it is not a bootleg. A bootleg is somehting which is not done by th band/label/management Read the wikipedia page I gave a link to on what a bootleg is.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| Fat & Sassy! Elite Posts: 3857 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 23.07.2009 at 23:57 Is that the same for "official" bootlegs?
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
What blood-tears is talking about could be refered to as " official botleg" I guess
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| BloodTears ANA-thema Elite Posts: 11835 |
I read it Marcel. I guess it is an official bootleg then but still a bootleg nevertheless  And yes, the band was selling them.
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| Nosurper Stinky Lips Posts: 442  |
Anyone notice the "Trains" riff played near the end of "Sentimental"? It's so obvious there, I can't believe I never noticed it before. guess Steve wanted to add a little tribute.
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| BloodTears ANA-thema Elite Posts: 11835 |
Written by Nosurper on 16.09.2009 at 05:28 Yes, I noticed that. Wilson says he used it as a sort of intertext, a wink at fans.
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| Nosurper Stinky Lips Posts: 442 |
Written by BloodTears on 16.09.2009 at 15:27 Oh cool, I knew I recognized it :-D. Yeah, I'm back listening to the old stuff a lot now. I'm pretty disappointed with The Incident  .
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| BloodTears ANA-thema Elite Posts: 11835 |
Written by Nosurper on 16.09.2009 at 15:50 Are you? Why? the reactions have been good so far. I'm still waiting for the CD to arrive but I'm pretty sure I'll like it at least, judging by the teasers.
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| Nosurper Stinky Lips Posts: 442 |
Written by BloodTears on 16.09.2009 at 16:23 Well as far as the first disc goes, I know that this whole disc is supposed to tie together as one piece but it doesn't come off that way. It's like a bunch of separate songs of random length thrown together. I don't see much direction in the lyrics either. There is also much less of a metal influence on this album. A lot more pop heavy, with use of predominant electronic effects, poppy choruses. A lot of acoustic guitar, which can often be good, but not so much here. If you are a Pink Floyd fan, "Time Flies" sounds nearly identical to "Dogs". It's really weird, I don't understand how Steve didn't realize how similar it was to that PF song. I like a few bits from the first disc though, such as "Blind House", "Great Expectation/Kneel and Disconnect" and the title track. The second CD is really short and mostly forgettable. The final two songs have their moments. I'm still deciding between a 6 or 7 as far as a rating goes. It's not that I don't like it, but I find their previous five albums to be MUCH better.
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| BloodTears ANA-thema Elite Posts: 11835 |
Written by Nosurper on 16.09.2009 at 21:21 There's nothing wrong with not liking an album. I seem to be getting these positive reacions from people who like prog rock and negative reactions from people who like metal. Since I'm in the middle, I'm guessing I might like it, since I like their pop moments. But I really haven't listened to the album yet. I think people were getting used to this growing metal-influenced sound in them and now they might've turned the page and that disappoints people. Again, I'm just speculating. I hope I won't be as disappointed though.
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| Nosurper Stinky Lips Posts: 442 |
Written by BloodTears on 16.09.2009 at 21:42 Yeah, you're right on target. One of the things I love about PT sound is how effectively they transition and incorporate metal into their ambient, progressive passages. This feels much more like a Pink Floyd album, which is great, but it doesn't have that same unique quality of their previous work. That said, I am definetly not trying to force my opinion on you or get your hopes down. Post what you think after you hear it! 
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| BloodTears ANA-thema Elite Posts: 11835 |
Written by Nosurper on 16.09.2009 at 21:53 I will. And you make sure you listen to the album a lot more times so that your opinion can change  I'm just kidding.
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| LICH Posts: 94  |
Steven wilson is a master of prog no doubt , he also stated in an interview, " i never play the guitar for comfort" strange because i find relaxation and laxity are key for opening creative doors :/
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| MichaelAngeloT Posts: 70  |
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| Lit. Account deleted |
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| Dream Taster The Enemy Within Staff Posts: 1335  |
Written by Guest on 16.09.2014 at 04:03 Good catch, that was my goof! But yeah, awesome album.
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| Jaeryd Nihil's Maw Posts: 1062  |
One of my favorite albums of all time, though I'm not sure what the reviewer means when he says Steven's voice takes some time getting used to... it sounded fine to me from the first time I ever heard his voice.
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