Band:	Porcupine Tree
Album:	The Incident
Style:	Progressive metal, Progressive rock
Release date:	September 15, 2009
Guest review by:	Nosurper

Disc I
01. The Incident
    1 - Occam's Razor
    2 - The Blind House
    3 - Great Expectations
    4 - Kneel And Disconnect
    5 - Drawing The Line
    6 - The Incident
    7 - Your Unpleasant Family
    8 - The Yellow Windows Of The Evening Train
    9 - Time Flies
    10 - Degree Zero Of Liberty
    11 - Octane Twisted
    12 - The Séance
    13 - Circle Of Manias
    14 - I Drive The Hearse

Disc II
01. Flicker
02. Bonnie The Cat
03. Black Dahlia
04. Remember Me Lover

Disc III [Limited Edition Box Set DVD] [5.1 Surround Mix + High Resolution Stereo]
01. The Incident
    1 - Occam's Razor
    2 - The Blind House
    3 - Great Expectations
    4 - Kneel And Disconnect
    5 - Drawing The Line
    6 - The Incident
    7 - Your Unpleasant Family
    8 - The Yellow Windows Of The Evening Train
    9 - Time Flies
    10 - Degree Zero Of Liberty
    11 - Octane Twisted
    12 - The Séance
    13 - Circle Of Manias
    14 - I Drive The Hearse
02. Flicker
03. Bonnie The Cat
04. Black Dahlia
05. Remember Me Lover

On this Porcupine Tree record, The Incident, there is a huge contrast in sound to that of the band's back catalog. It focuses much less on the rock, and much more on cheesy pop sensibilities. Not that Steven Wilson hasn't pulled from the pop vein before; the most notable example being Stupid Dream. But this time, it's all "Kneel and Disconnect".

On Stupid Dream, Wilson & Co. developed songs with genuine emotion. Songs with an incredible pairing of tonal sensitivity and intelligent lyrics. Here, on The Incident, the first half is a trembling, claustrophobic mess; not excluding the electronic influenced title-piece. The piece attempts to capture the essence of a traumatic incident. The flavor of the electronic elements provides a modern feel, perhaps conveying some aural portrait of a terrorist age. But that feeling is soon overwhelmed. Hapless chugs of distorted guitar enter, and Steven Wilson contributes an awful whining sequence to close the piece.

The piece 'Time Flies' is the highlight of the album, but that's not saying too much. It's a "Floydian" carbon-copy. Dull the production down a bit, place it into Pink Floyd's Animals album, and the flow would likely be maintained. It's not so much contrived as it is lackluster.

The rest of "The Incident" is progressive metal in its confused and hapless form; more blasts of distortion, some drum set spasms, and some dull and shuttered vocals.

Not good.

BUT, where the weak first disc leaves off, the second disc picks up.

"Flicker" is Porcupine Tree mixing the elements of their sound in the same way that has worked for them for the past ten years. And it doesn't sound old at all. The lyrics are great, and the music is great.

"Bonnie the Cat" provides an In Absentia feel, with insidious lyrical content. "Black Dahlia" has a memorable vocal, but is ultimately forgettable. And "Remember Me Lover" closes out with a take on a struggling relationship. The song seems to combine all of the elements that Porcupine Tree were experimenting with on this album; an insipid blend of metal, pop, and electronica.