porcupine tree tour review

Concert Review: Porcupine Tree – Closure / Continuation – Radio City Music Hall, NY, Sept 16th, 2022

Review of the Porcupine Tree – Closure / Continuation tour at Radio City Music Hall, NY, Sept 16th, 2022.

Photo Credit: Taylor Hill

My first time seeing Porcupine Tree was during the In Absentia tour in a small club in Tampa, FL. It was a show I will never forget.  And at the time I would never have thought that 20 years later I would be here at Radio City Music Hall in New York City seeing this incredible band once again.  The memories of that first experience came rushing back as the band kicked off the 4th show of the Closure/Continuation tour to a capacity crowd filled with fans that had long been waiting for this day to come. In the decade since their last tour, there was certainly no evidence that the band would ever tour again much less record a new album. But here we were, and what an incredible show it was.

The trio of Steven Wilson, Richard Barbieri, and Gavin Harrison, backed by guitarist/vocalist Randy McStine (McStine & Minnemann) and bassist Nate Navarro, performed for nearly three hours. The 20 song set, with an intermission, covered songs from the group’s extensive catalog and the entire new album, providing a perfect mix of material that would appease even the most critical fan. The desire to provide a completely immersive experience was immediately made apparent upon entry, as the massive screen behind the backline displayed the message “By request of the band this concert is a “Phone Free Event”. Indeed, the show was all that more enjoyable without the distraction of people pointing their iPhones at the stage the entire time. Perhaps more shows should adopt this concept.

The band opened with “Blackest Eyes” before diving into the first three tracks from their latest release: “Harridan”, “On The New Day”, and “Rats Return.” From there, it was a mix of new songs with classics including “Even Less”, “Drown With Me”, “The Sound of Muzak”, and the ominously brilliant “Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before it is Recycled”. The latter was among the highlights of the set, as the band played the epic instrumental section while a video of the narration was played on the screen. Among the highlights was the track “Dignity”, another song from the new album while the first set closed with “Chimera’s Wreck”, certain to be a fan favorite for years to come.

The second set featured a few songs from the Fear of a Blank Planet album. They opened the set with the title track before going to the haunting deep cut from Recordings, “Buying New Soul”. The vocal harmonies from Steven Wilson and Randy McStine were particularly powerful on this one. Steven sat at the keyboard for the next couple of songs “Walk the Plank” and “Sentimental.” But the intensity went up a notch with the final three tracks of the set, “Herd Culling”, “Anesthestize”, and “Sleep Together”. The trio of songs really worked well in building to a crescendo before the encore which featured “Collapse the Light Into Earth” (performed for the first time ever on this tour), “Halo” and, of course, ending with “Trains.”

Throughout the show, Steven spoke to the crowd often and seemed to be really enjoying the entire night, joking about how the band don’t really have any hits. But that matters little in the world of Porcupine Tree and to their fans. The evening had an electricity to it that you could feel throughout the show. Maybe the decade away was a good thing as the band seem refreshed and better than ever. A mention has to be made about Randy McStine and Nate Navarro, the tour touring members. Both turned in excellent performances. Guitarist McStine, performing in his hometown, handled all the backing vocals duties superbly.

But, of course it comes down to Steven Wilson, Richard Barbieri, and Gavin Harrison, who all were as brilliant as ever. Wilson proving again to be an expert frontman and guitarist, Barbieri providing the unique soundscapes that are Porcupine Tree, and Harrison playing the most difficult drum parts with the greatest of ease. This is not a show to be missed. How far the band have come from first seeing them 20 years ago to this incredible evening made the night even more special. The music world is better for having this band back. Let’s hope this is a Continuation and not Closure.

Setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/porcupine-tree/2022/radio-city-music-hall-new-york-ny-63b02a93.html

PORCUPINE TREE CLOSURE/CONTINUATION TOUR 2022

SEPTEMBER 10 – Toronto, ON – Meridian Hall 12 – Laval, QC – Place Bell 14 – Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall at Fenway 16 – New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall 17 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met Philadelphia 18 – Washington, DC – The Anthem 20 – Chicago, IL – Auditorium Theatre 23 – Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory 25 – Denver, CO – Bellco Theatre 28 – San Francisco, CA – The Masonic 30 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre

OCTOBER 4 – Mexico City, MX – Pepsi Center 7 – Santiago, CL – Movistar Arena 21 – Berlin, DE – Max Schmelinghalle 23 – Vienna, AU – Gasometer 24 – Milan, IT – Forum 27 – Stockholm, SW – Globe 28 – Copenhagen, DK – Falkoner Theatre 30 – Katowice, PO – Spodek Hall

NOVEMBER 2 – Paris, FR – Le Zenith 4 – Stuttgart, DE – Porsche Arena 6 – Oberhausen, DE – KP Arena 7 – Amsterdam, NL – Ziggodome 9 – Zurich, CH – Halle 622 11 – London, UK – SSE Arena, Wembley

CLOSURE/CONTINUATION here: https://porcupinetree.lnk.to/PTCC

I to saw them open for Yes in 2002. Since then I have seen them every time they toured the tri state area. Was at both RCMH shows. The electricity flowing there was amazing and I hope they do a Blu-ray recording from this tour. Sure hope this is not the end.

Masquerade in Tampa? If so,I was there.

No it was at a place called Twilight

I saw the old band several times. I saw the show in Denver last night and was not impressed. They have revamped old songs making them more like rock. The show seemed routine missing the passion. The sound system was off with the volume of the guitar so loud you could not hear the keyboard. Gavin was not into the show or the crowd he just did his job to perfection. I left this show early which I would never have done with the original band.

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Review: Porcupine Tree’s Expansive Live Album Shows Progressive Rock’s Alive and Well

by Hal Horowitz December 11, 2023, 5:00 am

Videos by American Songwriter

Porcupine tree closure/continuation.live (music for nations/megaforce) 4 out of 5 stars.

Fans of the longstanding contemporary progressive rock band Porcupine Tree who might have thought their days were over can now rejoice. This expansive, two-and-a-half hour, 21-song, live CD/DVD captures all the twisty time signatures, thunderous widescreen intensity and drama one would expect from the Steven Wilson-led UK outfit.

As prog-tock fans know, Wilson is an auteur with a thriving solo career as a musician, acclaimed expert remixer (often rejiggering Dolby Atmos versions of older progressive/art-rock fare) and producer. So it came as a surprise when he re-formed his popular outfit Porcupine Tree to record the potent Closure/Continuation in 2022 after having left the band dormant since its last set of originals, The Incident , was released in 2009. The ensuing live tour featured two other longtime PT members, drummer Gavin Harrison and keyboardist Richard Barbieri, along with a bassist and second guitarist added for the road.

The set list covers seven numbers from C/C , interspersed with many of the band’s more popular work dating back to the mid-tempo, slide guitar-driven “Even Less” from 1999. Visuals and especially audio (in Dolby Atmos, naturally) are stunning, replicating the effect of being there as Wilson and band unravel their complex tunes with the extra energy the live stage brings.

The music is generally darker, often more elaborate, and occasionally louder than say Yes, with layers of guitar and keyboard interaction that drift, collide and often explode in showers of sonic sparks. The tracks veer to the long side with the near 18-minute “Anesthetize,” a milestone from the crucial 2007 release Fear of a Blank Planet , followed by the new album’s “Chimera’s Wreck” clocking in at over 10 minutes.

Porcupine Tree’s players are world class, but the magnificence of the show is how they temper their approach, shifting from the glistening classical piano open of “Sentimental” to the almost Dream Theatre-styled gnarled, thumping, at times metal-inspired concentration of “Harridan,” the latter reminiscent of some of King Crimson’s work (which Wilson has remixed).

Song titles such as the expansive “Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It’s Recycled” reflect Wilson’s overall dystopian vision evident in the music’s ominous overtones. Nothing has “hit single” potential of course, as Porcupine Tree avoids chorus/verse/bridge forms for more intricate, multi-faceted pieces.

Those who thought prog-rock was dead or dying need only push play anywhere on this widescreen example of the sound at its most intoxicating and propulsive. And experiencing it on a quality surround system will convince even those unfamiliar with the songs that Porcupine Tree is a wildly talented band that pushes their music to the edge, and back again, with precision, passion and the determination to prove their genre is alive and well.

Photo by Anna Webber/Getty Images

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Porcupine Tree: Closure/ Continuation review – reunited prog-rockers remain emotionally detached

(Sony) After a 12-year hiatus, the trio return with an inquisitive, unpredictable set that finds their experimental side intact

Porcupine Tree formed as a whimsical joke in 1987, but by the time of their sold-out Royal Albert Hall concert in October 2010, they had scored Top 30 albums on both sides of the Atlantic and become standard bearers for prog-rock when the genre seemed beyond critical rehabilitation.

Still, this wasn’t enough to stop frontman Steven Wilson from putting the group on ice after that momentous show and turning his energies towards an increasingly acclaimed solo career and work as an in-demand studio boffin. And that, it seemed, was that. But unbeknown to anyone else, Wilson and drummer Gavin Harrison had quietly begun occasionally jamming together on music that would later evolve into the group’s 11th album a couple of years after their hiatus began, with keyboard player Richard Barbieri contributing further ideas later in the process. This new material was finessed and finished during lockdown.

Now surfacing, that album is progressive to the very soles of its nine-minute songs, and characterised by a level of instrumental proficiency that is, occasionally, emotionally detached. But much of Closure/Continuation impresses, an inquisitive and unpredictable set that finds space for electronic experimentalism (Walk the Plank), thrilling monolithic bombast (Herd Culling), math-metal riffage (Rats Return) and marvellous marriages of rhythmic complexity and unabashed anthemics (Harridan).

Despite the budding sophistication of his solo work, the Wilson of Porcupine Tree remains a better musician than lyricist, but there’s a sense of chiaroscuro at play within the sensitive chord changes of Of the New Day that assures us he is no mere technical genius, and that a heart beats beneath Closure/Continuation’s flash and flair.

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Porcupine Tree review — a prog-rock comeback of propulsive perfection

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★★★★☆ At the end of this electrifying three-hour live comeback Steven Wilson explained that he used to resent Porcupine Tree’s lack of hits. “Actually now I’m kind of glad,” the bespectacled singer, guitarist and chief songwriter added, with the sort of post hoc sang-froid that’s easier to come by after your reunited prog-rock band has spent the past few months filling arenas around the world and reaching No 2 in the British album charts. “It means we can play whatever we want.”

And during this tour finale, the band’s first hometown date for 12 years, sure enough Porcupine Tree walloped us with every musical style they had, from grinding metal to psychedelic jazz-rock, trip-hop doominess to Floydian shimmer. Sometimes all in one tune. Their show

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Live Review and Photo Gallery: Porcupine Tree at Auditorium • Chicago

Porcupine Tree

Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL

Review by Jeff Elbel. Photos by Andy Argyrakis, courtesy of Auditorium Theatre.

Given Steven Wilson’s prolific nature and the strength of his solo activity, many fans received a welcome shock upon the reignition of progressive rock torchbearers Porcupine Tree. The band’s eleventh full-length album,  Closure/Continuation arrived in June. It was the English band’s first release in 13 years, offered with a title designed to suit the band’s undetermined purpose. Was the album meant to close the band’s career arc on a high note? Was it intended to signal the possibility of good things down the road? After witnessing the band’s nearly two-and-a-half-hour display of technical wizardry, songcraft, and intuitive interplay at Chicago’s prestigious Auditorium Theatre on Tuesday, Chicago’s prog audience left with their fingers crossed for more to come.

The devoted crowd rose to its feet before the first notes of “Blackest Eyes” from the 2002 breakthrough album In Absentia . Wilson strode onto the stage barefoot, as usual, flanked by his celebrated bandmates. To Wilson’s right was former Japan keyboardist Richard Barbieri and to Wilson’s left was current King Crimson drummer Gavin Harrison. The familiar trio was augmented by guitarist/vocalist Randy McStine and bassist Nate Navarro.

“Here we are again, twelve years later,” said Wilson when greeting the audience. The singer and guitarist promised favorites spanning Porcupine Tree’s catalog, but he also wanted a fair shot for the band’s new work. In opposition to the norm when a veteran artist announces the intention to play all of a new project, fans cheered madly when Wilson promised the entirety of Closure/Continuation . “I’m glad you think that’s a good thing,” he said with a smile.

The quintet then lashed into three songs from the new album. Porcupine Tree’s affinity for doom-laced prog and grinding riffs remained evident during the bass-driven “Harridan.” Barbieri colored the heavy but intricate guitar arrangement with glistening electric piano and grand orchestral strings. “Of the New Day” began in a comparably gentle mood, laden with melody and vocal harmony before Harrison broke into a Zeppelin-esque odd-time rhythm. Poison-tongued math-rocker “Rats Return” began with a dazzling unison instrumental section reminiscent of Saga before Wilson sang angry lyrics lambasting duplicitous and self-serving politicians.

The mood shifted again for the bluesy prog of “Even Less” and lilting acoustic strummer “Drown With Me.” New fare continued with “Dignity.” Lifted by spacious keyboards, the song was a stirring acoustic tale of a once-promising character struck down by circumstances and rendered homeless. With images onscreen behind the band depicting the difficulties of life on the streets, the song served as Porcupine Tree’s thematic answer to Jethro Tull’s “Aqualung” with sonic echoes of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity.”

“21 years ago, I wrote a song about how music was coming commodified,” said Wilson when introducing In Absentia favorite “The Sound of Muzak.” He described having imagined music becoming something to pick up at the grocery store or rendered as a product for software applications. “Well, thank goodness that didn’t come to pass,” he said wryly. The song’s sublime chorus harbored hard news. “One of the wonders of the world is going down,” sang the audience.

Despite the music’s downbeat themes and challenging construction, the musicians played with communal exuberance and without taking themselves too seriously. Wilson paused for breath at one point, saying, “We’re far too old and wretched, and some of this music is hard, okay?” He added, “If it’s possible, this song is even more bleak than anything we’ve played so far.” The band then offered “Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled.” The song began with what Wilson described as a “cute love song” before drawing from a speech by the leader of the Heaven’s Gate religious cult, who led his flock in a 1997 mass suicide. The sullen but intense “Chimera’s Wreck” found Wilson musing upon the passing of his father and lamenting a fear of happiness. With McStine’s arpeggiated fingerstyle acoustic guitar, the song echoed Pink Floyd’s lonely “Hey You” from The Wall . Navarro’s active but melodic bass line suggested an appreciation for Yes’ Chris Squire.

Following an intermission, the band returned with a set drawing heavily from the landmark 2007 release Fear of a Blank Planet . The unsettling title cut was accompanied by images of disaffected and detached children, left adrift as latchkey kids and desensitized to violence through excessive screen time and overmedication. The band received strong response as Wilson shifted from guitar to acoustic piano for ballad “Sentimental.” Launched with Barbieri’s mesmerizing sound design and driven by Harrison’s grim lurch, “Sleep Together” turned a come-on into a death wish. “Would you like to hear something quite long?,” asked Wilson when introducing the epic “Anesthetize.” Responding to the crowd’s ovation, Wilson sighed, “Ah, such a prog rock audience.”

Closure/Continuation track “Herd Culling” was a highlight of the second set, despite a personal glitch.Wilson had admitted feeling under the weather but promised to get through with the goodwill of the audience. At the emotional apex of the song, Wilson’s voice finally cracked and appeared to be painful. The supportive audience responded with encouragement, cheering Wilson’s effort to hold the show together. “As you will have noted, there are apparently some notes I am not destined to reach tonight,” he said afterward with good humor. “Not many, but that was one.” The unnerving song had been a wary and agitated portrait of a remote homestead under threat by sinister forces and wolves at the door.

An encore of “Collapse the Light into Earth” featured a duet between Wilson and Barbieri. When Wilson announced a final song, the audience groaned that the generous show was soon to be over. “Come on, it’s a long show, seriously,” joked Wilson before adding kindly, “After such a long time away, I’m sorry if we didn’t play your favorite song, but hope you like what we played.”

Before naming the final song, Wilson acknowledged Porcupine Tree’s lack of hit singles. He counted this as a strength, meaning he wasn’t obligated to infinitely rehash a megahit on the order of “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” “Comfortably Numb,” or “Free Bird.” “However, there is one song that seems to have popped up more than the others,” he said. “Help me with the singing.” The crowd roared in recognition of the acoustic-driven anthem “Trains” and eagerly helped with the vocal duties.

Despite Wilson’s propensity for bleak and nihilistic material, the room was paradoxically filled with undeniable joy. It was as if Porcupine Tree and its fans were using the dark songs to exorcise those demons while reaching together for more optimistic alternatives.

Tags: Andy Argyrakis , featured , Gavin Harrison , Jeff Elbel , Porcupine Tree , Porcupine Tree Auditorium Theatre 2022 , Richard Barbieri , Steven Wilson

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Porcupine Tree – Closure / Continuation (Album Review)

You wanted it, you got it. Sure, it might have taken a decade longer than hoped for but – as Steven Wilson himself has mused – the legend of Porcupine Tree has grown over the intervening years as absence has made the heart has grown fonder. While many have embraced Wilson ’s diverse solo career during that time, increasingly the keyboard warriors have taken to bemoaning his ever-changing musical directions and frequently pleading for a return to form…namely: for Porcupine Tree. How laughably predictable that already some criticisms of the new singles are making the rounds on social media. For a minority, perhaps, the new album will incomprehensibly fall short. Their loss. For the rest of us, “Closure/Continuation” is cause for celebration as it brings the band into a new decade with style, substance and snarl. Given time, this new release may well work its way into your Top 5 PT albums.

Let’s leave any further context for the end of the review and get to the heart of the matter: the songs themselves. Brand new single, “Rats Return”, totally nails it. This could have been the lead-off single and all naysayers would have just shut up and embraced the second coming of Porcupine Tree . Ambient haze gives way to a scorching crunchy riff which repeats often enough to get the point across. By the time it pulls back to reveal Wilson ’s creepily processed opening vocal line, “Leave your principles at the door, spare me,” we’re completely in PT Territory. Damn, the band is back and we’re loving it. Gavin Harrison sounds freaking amazing and Richard Barbieri is in classic form with his signature sound treatments. This may be the song which least progresses from their previous songwriting formula but for that very reason, it’s a familiar and easy-access point. And it has to be said: that old formula still totally delivers.

Delving into the songs that haven’t yet been pre-released, “Dignity” floats in with the inspired pairing of Barbieri and Wilson as co-writers. The content seems like a dreamy reflection on the impacts that homelessness has on the psyche, keyboards at the fore as Harrison ’s well-mixed drum kit surrounds the listener. We even get a moment of a wandering lead guitar, a rarity these days in Wilson ’s repertoire, along with a primary electric guitar figure which jams out for the closing minute. “Walk the Plank” submerges deeper into Barbieri depths and is surely the sleeper of the album…in this case, sleeper means “hidden gem” . Wilson ’s voice vulnerably cracks during “upon the echo of the day”, while the chorus is truly one of his most transcendent moments. Spine-tingling. The ambient middle section is a little frustrating – couldn’t Wilson offer just a glimmer of his early PT guitar soloing? No, the times have changed. As his soaring falsetto closes the track, it almost feels like this turns into “King Ghost, Part 2” (that’s meant as a compliment) and will undoubtedly be remarkable in the Dolby Atmos mix.

The longest track, “Chimera’s Wreck” , opens with the promise of being an extraordinary epic that would close the album and seal its destiny as a Porcupine Tree classic. Unfortunately it never fully realizes that potential, it’s always arriving somewhere but never quite here. Perhaps one killer chorus more would have gotten it over the hump but as it is, the repetitive “I’m afraid to be happy and I couldn’t care less if I was to die” line just doesn’t raise up the song into something truly special. Still, there’s plenty of interesting sections and classic PT vibe going on here to qualify as a good song, not to mention a knack for a “My Sharona” vibe near the end.

After 13 years, with only 7 songs on the actual album (the band wanted to keep it to a 45-minute listening experience), it’s pretty much required that every listener get the 3 bonus tracks. All of them are worthy, in fact it’s downright head-scratching that “Love In The Past Tense” didn’t somehow make the cut, or at least convince the band to extend the proper album length for its inclusion. Not only is it a lovely Wilson composition but it introduces new tones and shades to the Porcupine Tree repertoire and isn’t that what they wanted to achieve with this album? Opening with an innovative approach to mixing the acoustic guitar, this piece sees all three members shining on their respective instruments. It’s one of the best on the album and its bright, uplifting tone would have provided a nice balance earlier in the tracking list. “Never Have” sounds the most like it could have landed on a Wilson solo album, perhaps the “Grace For Drowning” era, and the end of its verse lifts a slight melodic idea from “I Drive The Hearse”. The middle sections of the song are more original, making this another winner track worthy of inclusion. Finally, the seven-minute instrumental “Population Three” is a satisfying excursion, especially for its Gavin Harrison tour de force. It ends up coming off as a great jam, though it doesn’t carry quite enough melodic ideas to make it a remarkable piece of artistry.

There may be a few accusations of Wilson bringing occasional signatures from his solo career into Porcupine Tree ’s domain: the quick “yeah” in “Harridan” that we first heard in “Story Of I” and “Eminent Sleaze”, the deep announcer voice from “Self” and elsewhere that shows up in “Walk the Plank” , the ever-increasing falsetto sections soaring above the mix, and of course the jagged bass lines. Guilty. But is this really a negative aspect or rather, is it an identifying characteristic of an artist? More importantly, Porcupine Tree now benefits from everything that Wilson has learned over the past 13 years, including his impeccable hand at production. Say what you will about the content, “The Future Bites” was a sonic marvel to experience and that learning curve pays off handsomely on “Closure/Continuation” .

If you’re still bemoaning the absence of Edwin (or Wesley ), perhaps pick up Wilson ’s new autobiography to understand his mindset a little better. There’s an insightful chapter which contrasts rock music’s diehard fan loyalty in adhering to consistent band personnel, versus the freewheeling jazz scene where musicians come together and depart as an inherent part of their approach to creating music – spontaneous improvisation at its very essence. Sure, PT is definitely not jazz, but there’s an understandable yearning in Wilson ’s artistic DNA that doesn’t want to be tied down to the confines of fan-boy absolutism. Beyond that, the book is a fascinating read (or listen to the audio, read by Wilson ) and recommended to fans.

In recent years Wilson has been saying that Porcupine Tree could return “when people least expect it”. Given the downtime of the pandemic years, along with cancelled solo tours, it wasn’t totally unexpected that this could be PT ’s time. It’s not even surprising that the new album is as good as it is. But it is a relief. Given all that the world been through, there’s a sentiment of gratitude that a beloved band can return with an album as satisfying as “Closure/Continuation” . A few listeners will inevitably have been holding out for something different…maybe a return to “The Sky Moves Sideways” years. That’s not here…but that hasn’t been here for decades, either. This is Porcupine Tree of the future and it doesn’t bite. While not a perfect album nor arguably their best one, 2022 is a whole lot brighter with its inclusion. By having his solo career and PT career simultaneously evolving, Wilson gets to have his cake and eat it, too. Why not share the dessert with him – it tastes damn good.

Released By: Music For Nations / Sony Release Date: June 24th, 2022 Genre:  Progressive Rock

  Band Members:

• Steven Wilson / Vocals, guitars, bass, mixing
• Gavin Harrinson / Drums, percussion
• Richard Barbieri / Keyboards, synthesizers, sound processing

“Closure/Continuation”  Track Listing:

1. Harridan 2. Of The New Day 3. Rats Return 4. Dignity 5. Herd Culling 6. Walk The Plank 7. Chimera’s Wreck 8. Population Three (Bonus Track – Deluxe Edition only) 9. Never Have (Bonus Track – Deluxe Edition only) 10. Love In The Past Tense (Bonus Track – Deluxe Edition only)

“Closure/Continuation” is available for pre-order here .

Closure/Continuation pulls off the daunting task of giving a majority of Porcupine Tree fans what they want while maintaining artistic inspiration and integrity. Familiar and fresh at the same time, this is a modern Porcupine Tree for a new decade, deftly embracing its signature sounds without wallowing in nostalgia. Final statement or start of a new chapter…either way, this is a win for the band and its fans

• Songwriting 9
• Musicianship 9.5
• Originality 8
• Production 10

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See also (all categories):

• PORCUPINE TREE - Release “Closure / Continuation.Live” on December 8th - 08/11/2023 11:42
• Live Review: Steven Wilson - Brussels 2016 - 29/01/2016 09:38
• Live Review: Steven Wilson - Cologne 2015 - 23/03/2015 16:19
• CD Review: Steven Wilson - Hand.Cannot.Erase - 02/03/2015 15:29
• CD Review: Gavin Harrison & 05Ric - The Man Who Sold Himself - 11/06/2013 16:37
• Live Review: Steven Wilson - Cologne 2013 - 11/03/2013 10:02
• CD Review: Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories) - 21/02/2013 15:29
• CD Review: Porcupine Tree - Octane Twisted - 30/11/2012 08:06
• CD Review: Storm Corrosion - Storm Corrosion - 27/07/2012 09:01
• Live Review: Steven Wilson - Dortmund 2012 - 14/05/2012 17:21
• Porcupine Tree - Bochum 2010 - 08/10/2010 16:47
• Porcupine Tree - Recordings - 19/09/2010 17:05
• Porcupine Tree - The Incident - 10/09/2009 17:26
• Porcupine Tree - Bielefeld 2007 - 04/12/2007 17:28
• Bospop - Weert 2005 - 10/07/2005 20:02
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• Porcupine Tree - Amsterdam 2005 - 17/04/2005 13:10

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REVIEW: PORCUPINE TREE – “Closure/Continuation”

Jonathon rose.

• May 11, 2022
• 5 minute read

There have been few bands in modern progressive rock or metal that have had a wider influence or been more loved than Britain’s Porcupine Tree . Like most fans, I was greatly saddened to learn in 2010 that the band would be on an indefinite hiatus. As time went on band mastermind Steven Wilson all but said that the chances of the band coming back together was nonexistent. This is why their announcement of a reunion and the upcoming release ‘CLOSURE/CONTINUATION’ is most certainly the most anticipated prog album of the year. And unlike many hotly anticipated albums, this one actually delivers.

It is worth noting though that not all members of the band have returned for this fresh outing. Steven Wilson is still joined by Gavin Harrison (drums) and Richard Barbieri (keys). A key member is missing though, bassist Colin Edwin, who had been in the band since 1993. As yet there is no explanation for his absence. Neither he nor the band has spoken about why he has not returned, which is more than a little puzzling. This time around Steven has provided the bass for the album. And he has done a perfectly fine job. But Colin’s bass sound was an important aspect of PT for many years, and his tone and presence are noticeably missing throughout. Does this detract from the overall quality of the album? No. But it is a nagging issue that begs an answer.

Things begin with the first single released “Harridan” it’s been out for quite a while now, so chances are most people interested have heard it. It is however vintage later-era PT, sharp quirky drum patterns, memorable vocal lines, and harsh slabs of metal interspersed with more mellow moments. What sticks out the most is Harrison’s drumming. He’s spent much of his time during the hiatus with King Crimson , and there are few if any people with more exacting standards than Robert Fripp , so Gavin’s already near-legendary chops are even better than they were 12 years ago. There’s an edge and aggression found here that Wilson has by and large avoided in recent years, and though he worked with some great musicians on his solo albums, there’s a special feel and magic when these men come together.

It’s perhaps a bit unusual, but the second track is also the second single released, in a rather nice live in the studio video. By and large a much quieter song, with the main focus being on melodies and acoustic lines, it does still have a bit of fire in the middle. Richard’s soundscapes shine, as they bring all the elements together, creating a rather uplifting ballad. And as the video shows, Wilson plays, well, literally everything else.

The regular edition of the album is rather short, only 7 tracks, so it’s awkward to skip around a lot, particularly given how long it’s been since they released new music. But some songs just stand out more than others. One such is “Herd Culling” which has an ‘In Absentia’ and ‘Deadwing’ era vibe to it. The lyrics are sharp and cynical, which is fairly typical for the band. The song is consistently heavy, yet the keyboard element is never far away to add texture. It also features one of Wilson’s signature guitar solos to close things out, the only thing really missing is a mention of trains. I imagine this will prove to be a popular live song on the upcoming tour.

The main album closes with my favorite track “Chimera’s Wreck” which clocks in at just under 10 minutes is also the longest song on the album. The song starts rather quietly, with minimal instruments, just a clean picked guitar, and spacy keyboard arrangements. Lyrically it seems to tell the story of a child (or now grown adult looking back) of a once affluent family that is trying to break away from the family past, or a curse. In mythology, a chimera is a creature made from many disparate parts or animals.  Likewise, this character is made from pieces of the past and his family, a nice little parallel. As the tone of the early music gets darker, the drums slowly move in. It’s not until nearly 4 minutes that tension begins to build, and the harder edge comes in as the repeated chorus of ‘I’m afraid to happy and I/Couldn’t care less if I was to die’ until at last, the band opens up and a full-on metal jam breaks forth, which includes some very nice bass work from Wilson. This is also probably my favorite drum performance on the album, and I can only hope they use the song to close the main set at shows. It would work as a highly satisfying conclusion to the album, but any real PT fan is going to get the extended edition with bonus tracks so I’ll have to talk about that next.

There are three bonus tracks included, the first of which is the aptly named “Population Three,” a rather obvious nod to their current lineup. The song is a purely metal-based instrumental, in the vein of “Wedding Nails.” In recent interviews, the band has talked about this being perhaps the most collaborative album that the band has ever done, and this piece and the following really feel like the prime example of that. This is followed up by “Never Had,” which begins as a more melodic and straightforward piece, but gradually morphs into more prog territory, with an instrumental middle section. It retains its melodic heart throughout, while lyrically reflecting on the ever more difficult elements of modern life.

The album closes with “Love In The Past Tense,” which I think is fairly self-explanatory in terms of themes and lyrical content. By this point in the album, the current sound has been well established; PT’s familiar mixture of melodies, spacy keyboard arrangements, and large slabs of more aggressive progressive metal. The sound is familiar to long-term fans, but the approach and group writing have produced something very fresh. As long a wait as this album was incoming, the guys sound rejuvenated, and there’s an extra something that had been missing from their more recent individual output.

Like many, I really had no hope that Porcupine Tree would ever make a full return and put out new music. And they in truth had the harrowing task of releasing something that would be highly scrutinized and compared to their lengthy and highly impressive back catalog by legions of diehard fans. It is therefore wonderful to hear that the band is indeed fully back, and that ‘CLOSURE/CONTINUATION’ not only lives up to their high standards but surpassed my expectations for a new release after so long. Old fans can rejoice, and those who don’t know them, feel free to jump right in.

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Jonathon Rose is a full-time wrangler of small children, occasional writer, bibliophile, and a frequent unapologetic obsessor over progressive/experimental/avante garde music. He frankly dislikes much of the metal scene's endless coma inducing blast beats, repetitive riffs, and stereotypical lyrics.

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There is an answer as to why Colin didn’t return – Richard Barbieri spoke about it in a podcast with Markus Reuter. It was basically Colin not keeping in touch at all while the other three were always talking, and then the start of the album writing for a lot of songs was Steven and Gavin jamming as they lived close by, and Steven would come up with ideas on bass. The writing came very naturally from that so by the end it just felt awkward to ask Colin if he’d rejoin for material that was already written when he seemed to just have no interest in them. I do absolutely love Colin as a bassist myself, his tone and style is fantastic, but hey – love the first couple albums and he barely contributed in that period.

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Porcupine Tree Continues Its Modern Prog Flair With Intricate ‘Closure/Continuation’ (ALBUM REVIEW)

Photo by Alex Lake

• By Shawn Donohue
• No Comments

After the prog/metal band’s bestselling album, 2009’s The Incident , Porcupine Tree went on hiatus with rumors that the English outfit was done forever. Recorded in secret, Closure/Continuation is the group’s surprise return and the title is a clue that they are in a state of flux as some things evolve and some remain the same on the seven-track offering. 

The biggest change is that the comeback album was recorded as a trio with Steve Wilson (vocals, guitars, bass) Richard Barbieri (keyboards, synthesizers), and Gavin Harrison (drums, percussion) having parted with longtime bassist Colin Edwin. The outfit has also scaled back the heavy metal, digging more into prog, psych-rock, and experimental as they navigate the sounds.   

The opening “Harridan” is the densest offering spanning eight minutes and multiple genres/feelings. It begins with Wilson’s funky bass and Harrison’s drums before shifting into cinematic flights and a soothing mid-song break, only to return with dramatic metallic crashes, a propulsive climax, and an acoustic finale; this is Porcupine Tree summed up in one track. 

There are many prog-rock influences that the band proudly tips their proverbial cap to as “Of The New Day” recalls Pink Floyd ballads complete with multiple time signatures. The expertly heavy ebbing/flowing of “Herd Culling” brings to mind Tool while “Rats Return” uses metal, percussion, and keyboard fluttering in the vein of Rush. All these efforts pay homage but stand clearly on their own as the trio seems to be in lock step if never flying beyond the genre. 

Things are more interestingly experimental on the guitar-less “Walk The Plank” which eerily pulses with vocal effects, key bleeps, bass thumps, and percussion before the track shifts into a dance-laden beat complete with programmed handclaps. The more typical “Chimera’s Wreck” wraps up the album, beginning with an acoustic guitar intro before slowly building with electric riffs/shredding, thumping bass work, and layers of vocals to end the album on a strong note. 

A few bonus tracks round out the Special Edition release, the groovy/spooky instrumental “Population Three”, the soaring rocker “Never Have” and “Love In The Past Tense” which uses pulsing sounds and big drums/percussion.

Porcupine Tree are not sure where they are headed as a band after this release and while Closure/Continuation doesn’t contain the triumphs of past efforts, it is a rewarding listen from start to finish and adds another medal around prog-rock ambassador Steven Wilson. This dexterous trio appears delighted to deliver for their core audience to whom what they hope is a new beginning. 

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Porcupine Tree Return to Radio City Music Hall on First Tour in 12 Years: Recap + Photos

The progressive-rock act played a near three-hour set at the famous New York City venue

Porcupine Tree recently embarked on their first tour in 12 years. The reunited UK progressive-rock band played the world famous Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Friday (September 16th).

The band is led by Steven Wilson , who mostly focused on his solo career for the past decade or so. However, he surprised fans in 2021 by announcing the resurrection of Porcupine Tree, along with the new album, Closure/Continuation , which arrived in June of this year.

While previous members Colin Edwin (bass) and John Wesley (guitar) are not part of the revived lineup, Wilson is joined by longtime members Richard Barbieri (keyboards) and Gavin Harrison (drums), along with touring members Randy McStine (guitar) and Nate Navarro (bass).

At the beginning of the show, Wilson commented that it was at Radio City Music Hall where Porcupine Tree played their last New York City show, 12 years ago this month. From there, the band captivated the audience with a near three-hour concert.

The concert was broken up into two sets, with a 20-minute intermission. The first set consisted mostly of songs from Closure/Continuation , along with classics like “Blackest Eyes,” “Even Less” and “The Sound of Muzak”

The second set featured favorites such as “Fear of a Blank Planet” and the 17-minute-long “Anesthesia.” A three-song encore ended with the show-closing “Trains,” which Wilson quipped was the band’s only “hit.”

Porcupine Tree’s limited-engagement North American tour continues through an October 4th show in Mexico City, followed by an October 7th show in Santiago, Chile, and a European outing that begins in late October.

Pick up tickets to Porcupine Tree’s upcoming shows via Ticketmaster , and see our photos and the setlist from the Radio City Music Hall concert below.

Photo Gallery – Porcupine Tree at Radio City Music Hall (click to expand and scroll through):

Setlist: Set 1: Blackest Eyes Harridan Of the New Day Rats Return Even Less Drown With Me Dignity The Sound of Muzak Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled Chimera’s Wreck

Set 2: Fear of a Blank Planet Buying New Soul Walk the Plank Sentimental Herd Culling Anesthetize Sleep Together Encore: Collapse the Light Into Earth Halo Trains

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Closure / Continuation

By Brad Sanders

Music for Nations / Megaforce

June 28, 2022

The title of Porcupine Tree ’s Closure/Continuation reads like a prompt from a choose-your-own-adventure novel that the authors haven’t finished writing yet. The UK prog-rock band’s eleventh studio album comes after more than a decade of silence, a hiatus during which founder and sole constant member Steven Wilson made five solo records. Between those increasingly non-proggy albums and a steady side gig remixing classic albums , Wilson seemed content. But the gravitational pull of Porcupine Tree has yanked him back into orbit—for the time being, at least. “I genuinely don’t know whether this is closure or the start of another continuing strand of the band’s career,” Wilson told The Guardian in March. On Closure/Continuation , this uncertainty arises through a rediscovered sense of musical volatility, a welcome rejoinder to 2009’s tedious, burnout-induced The Incident .

Wilson started Porcupine Tree in 1987 as something slightly more than a joke but considerably less than the wildly ambitious band it became. Hand-dubbed demo tapes with names like Tarquin’s Seaweed Farm and Love, Death & Mussolini were cheeky satires of England’s stuffy progressive rock tradition, but like Jethro Tull ’s accidental classic Thick as a Brick , they also utilized its form. By 1996’s Signify , Porcupine Tree had added keyboardist Richard Barbieri, bassist Colin Edwin, and drummer Chris Maitland, and the presence of collaborators helped hone Wilson’s exploratory pieces into sharp rock songs. The band reshaped itself once again when Wilson fell in love with Opeth ’s Still Life and struck up an alliance with their frontman, Mikael Åkerfeldt. The loose trilogy of 2002’s In Absentia , 2005’s Deadwing , and 2007’s Fear of a Blank Planet bears the mark of that friendship, augmenting the band’s tightly wound prog with crunching, metallic riffage. Future King Crimson drummer Gavin Harrison replaced Maitland behind the kit on those records, and his pummeling yet dexterous playing suited the heavier material well.

When Porcupine Tree departed the Royal Albert Hall stage on October 14, 2010, Wilson knew it would be their last show for an indefinite period. Barbieri and Harrison, who by then completed the band’s core trio, had not been informed. “You can’t help but feel bitter and hurt,” Barbieri told The Guardian , and their reunion on Closure/Continuation led to a reshaping of the band’s creative process. Despite recording their parts remotely, Wilson, Barbieri, and Harrison worked in closer collaboration than ever before. Of the seven songs on the standard edition of the album, only “Of the New Day” was penned solely by Wilson—a stark contrast to the writing credits of every other Porcupine Tree record. The three musicians frequently sound like they’re working through their decade of estrangement in real time, giving the songs a creeping, anxious tension.

The jarring bass riff that kicks off album opener “Harridan” sets the tone. Wilson plays three repetitions of the off-kilter line without accompaniment before Harrison’s skittering beat and Barbieri’s painterly washes of synth join the fray. When the vocals come in, Wilson defies any intimation of catchiness, singing in a meter that seems to live outside the song entirely: “Gold man bites down on a silver tongue/Takes a deep breath and blows the candle out.” The song eventually introduces a headbangable, Deadwing -style guitar riff, but it mostly exists to keep listener and band alike on their toes. The bridge, a beautifully sung counterpoint to the jagged verses, reappears at the end of the song, leaving both the melody and the narrative unresolved: “And what of us?/And what of me?/And what is left without you?”

This unsettled atmosphere spans the album. Even “Of the New Day,” a ballad roughly in the mold of earlier Porcupine Tree tracks like “ Lazarus ” and “ My Ashes ,” has a strangely paranoid sound, as the band switches between time signatures, never settling into a predictable groove. “Rats Return” and “Herd Culling” are cousins of “Harridan,” built on nervy bass lines that joust with impressionistic synths, while the Barbieri cowrite “Walk the Plank” is led by burbling electronics, sublimating Wilson’s guitar in favor of Eno -inspired soundscapes. These experiments don’t always reach the exhilarating heights of the band’s most beloved work, but they show a willingness to push forward into discomfort.

The best song is the towering, 10-minute closer, “Chimera’s Wreck.” (Three pretty-good bonus tracks are tacked onto the end of the limited-edition track list, the strongest of which is the Rush -like instrumental “Population Three.”) “Chimera’s Wreck” is also the song that most closely resembles the band’s mid-’00s peaks, with its labyrinthine structure, tricky rhythms, twitchy drumming, crushing riffs, and exaggerated loud-soft dynamics. It doesn’t feel like Porcupine Tree finding a new path forward so much as doubling down on their strengths. Wilson first walked away when he felt the band’s songwriting had become too formulaic. Closure/Continuation is admirable in its attempts to reject that formula, but in the end, it also proves just how good they were at it.

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Porcupine Tree: Fear Of A Blank Planet - Album Of The Week Club review

Fear of a blank planet is a terrifying album about a generation being raised by "screens" as surrogate parents, recorded before the widespread popularity of smartphones.

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Fear of a Blank Planet My Ashes Anesthetize Sentimental Way Out of Here Sleep Together

Porcupine Tree ’s catalogue is full of rounded and cohesive albums, but none hit the spot with quite the enduring impact of their ninth.  Fear Of A Blank Planet  distilled all the riff-driven intensity and post-rock audacity of earlier records down to a gleaming, diamond core of meticulously refined perfection.

The title track is a skull-rattling sprint through modernity’s vapid cacophony; Anesthetize is a supremely moody piece that digs into the emptiness at the heart of a technologically spoilt, emotionally starved generation, featuring a solo from Rush legend Alex Lifeson, and is an astonishing, 18-minute tour-de-force; the closing Sleep Together is moving and menacing. 

Most impressively, and definitely not by design, Fear Of A Blank Planet made prog seem cool as fuck. Which, of course, it actually is.

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Every week, Album of the Week Club listens to and discusses the album in question, votes on how good it is, and publishes our findings, with the aim of giving people reliable reviews and the wider rock community the chance to contribute. 

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What they said...

"Wilson started Porcupine Tree in 1987 as a home-studio experiment that has since evolved, live and on an extensive series of records, into an aggressively modern merger of Rush’s arena art rock, U.K. prog classicism – especially Pink Floyd ’s eulogies to madness and King Crimson ’s angular majesty – and the post-grunge vengeance of Tool." ( Rolling Stone )

"Best of all is Sleep Together : like Radiohead playing Kashmir , and brilliantly led by former Japan keyboard player Richard Barbieri. Yes, prog lives--and Porcupine Tree are its leading players." ( Mojo )

"Porcupine Tree makes a triumphant return to experimental, non-linear style with 2007's Fear of a Blank Planet . Maybe Steven Wilson was afraid that the comparatively poppy Deadwing and In Absentia were edging too close to the mainstream, because he seems far less concerned with overtly accessible songwriting on Blank Planet . Even still, the cerebral, atmospheric sound on this album remains enormously compelling from almost the first moment." ( AllMusic )

What you said...

Gary Claydon: From imaginary band in a bedroom project to a hugely popular one who still manage to retain a sense of being the biggest band in the world that hardly anybody has ever heard of, it's been quite a trip for Porcupine Tree. All under the guidance of bona-fide band leader and inspiration Steven Wilson, surely the most omnipresent figure in 21st century music.

One of the favourite topics of discussion for Porcupine Tree's legions of fans is the ranking of their output. Most of their albums have their supporters but (up to the excellent Closure/Continuation ) there were usually three main contenders - In Absentia, Deadwing and Fear of a Blank Planet . For me it's the latter that edges in front. It's the culmination of the scope, ambition and sheer sonic audacity of that part of the Porcupine Tree story.

Fear Of A Blank Planet isn't an easy listen from a subject matter point of view. It isn't meant to be. It's core themes are of isolation, bipolar and attention defecit disorders, dependence on prescription drugs, a failure to engage with the outside world and hints of suicidal thoughts, particularly among teenagers. It also examines the effects and influences of technology on these problems. 

Given that Wilson wrote the material in 2006, before smart phones and social media were anywhere near as ubiquitous as today, these themes are somewhat prescient. In addition, in a world where, quite recently, we were forced to lock ourselves away, isolated from the rest of the world, they are themes that are still very relevant given the problems encountered both during and following this period of craziness.

Musically, Fear Of A Blank Planet is a tour de force. The six tracks seem to flow effortlessly into each other making for a compelling 50 minutes. It soars at times, at others it hits hard with some seriously heavyweight prog'n'roll, clearly displaying signs of the influence of such as Opeth and Messugah on Wilson's songwriting. Of closing track Sleep Togethe r, Wilson has said that he wanted it to sound like " Nine Inch Nails with John Bonham on drums and produced by Massive Attack". These are interspersed with passages of almost delicate introspection, melancholic in nature, most notably on My Ashes the music for which was mainly written by keyboard player Richard Barbieri.

At the centre of it all, underpinning the whole album is the epic Anesthetize , arguably the greatest piece Porcupine Tree ever produced. It's a monster of a track, essentially in three parts and is the track that you would play for someone who wanted to know what Porcupine Tree were all about. The first part is, of course, completed by a superb Alex Lifeson guitar solo which is followed by a pulsating bridge into the second part - that whole, brilliant, passage still makes me sit up and take notice no matter how many times I hear it.

While Lifeson's all too brief appearance is undoubtedly a star turn on Fear Of A Blank Planet , it's worth mentioning here the contributions of the band members themselves. As well as everything else he brings to the table, Steven Wilson's own guitar work is none too shabby. He is a fine vocalist but he can sound a little flatly cold at times. However, I find that fits well with the overall dynamic of Fear Of A Blank Planet . Barbieri (formerly of Japan among others) delivers excellent keyboards (as usual) and Colin Edwin is a very competent bassist. Gavin Harrison's drumming is high class - he is surely one of the best kept secrets in rock!.

The companion E.P. (or outtakes, depending on your view) Nil Recurring is well worth a listen in conjunction, though not essential. Three of the four tracks contained on the E.P. essentially repeat the same themes already dealt with on Fear Of A Blank Planet (the fourth, the title track, is an instrumental). The pick of the tracks on Nil Recurring is Cheating The Polygraph . There was a limited release that combined Fear Of A Blank Planet and Nil Recurring into a double album. The main result of that, for me, was to stretch the narrative to a bordering-on-difficult 79 mins. Still, another favourite topic among Porcupine Tree fans is what would constitute the best running order of that double album.

Overall, then, Fear of a Blank Planet is a superb example of modern progressive music, a 9/10 all day long.

Chris Downie : Given the band's unexpected - but most welcome - return after a long hiatus recently, it seems fitting to revisit Porcupine Tree's back catalogue with a nostalgic-but-critical ear. While their 90s output is often relegated to the 'diehards and anoraks only' corner, every album from 2002's essential In Absentia onwards was a masterclass in modern progressive rock, sitting somewhere comfortably in between the accessible, indie-rock tinged tones of Muse and Radiohead and the dark rock of Katatonia and latter-day Opeth.

With its pessimistic, future dystopian overtones, 2007's Fear of a Blank Planet was met with great critical and commercial acclaim, backed by a hugely successful tour, bolstered by an increased profile among the metal crowd, which was helped considerably by the backing of Roadrunner Records and the approval of peers such as Opeth, Katatonia and Anathema, not to mention guest appearances from King Crimson and Rush legends Robert Fripp and Alex Lifeson.

Despite being darker and thus slightly less immediate than its two predecessors, the aforementioned In Absentia and 2005's incredible Deadwing , this is an album which stands up undeniably well, due to its often eerily prophetic subject matter, yet its biggest asset is in getting just the right balance between eclecticism and continuing the path set out previously. 

The opening title track runs at an impressive pace and hits home the bleak subject matter of over-stimulated, apathetic, disenfranchised youth in impressive style, while Lifeson's appearance in the 17 minute masterpiece Anesthetize is not only the centrepiece of the album, but one of the highlights of their career. The dark, synthesised moods of closer Sleep Together evoke the electro-gloom of Depeche Mode and bring proceedings to a close in suitably downbeat style.

If there is one thing all too often overlooked in conversations about this band's seminal contribution to contemporary prog music, it is the contribution of Gavin Harrison. One of the finest drummers in rock, with a brilliant sense of dynamics, yet who always tempers his displaying of brilliant chops with playing for the embellishment of the song. 

He is the perfect foil for Steven Wilson's brilliance as a songwriter and with the band rounded out by Barbieri and Edwin, this line-up delivered what can only be described as one of the greatest rock albums (of any sub-genre) of the last 30 years, perhaps equalled or bettered (depending on your standpoint) only by its two predecessors. 10/10.

Mike Canoe: While I understand the Pink Floyd comparisons, Fear Of A Blank Planet by Porcupine Tree reminds me of a different concept album by a different legendary classic rock band. I hear Fear Of A Blank Planet as the Who's Tommy rewritten for the millennial generation. Whereas Tommy is rendered a "deaf, dumb, blind kid" after being traumatized by his parents, this story's protagonist, Robby, is anesthetized and desensitized by the adults in his world. While Tommy is “a pinball wizard,” XBox is a "god" to Robby. Both overmedicated and overstimulated, Robby is rendered a "blank."

While inspired by the book, Lunar Park , by Bret Easton Ellis, which is told from the perspective of Robby's father, head Porcupine Steve Wilson is more concerned about another generation being raised by "screens" as surrogate parents. What fascinates (and horrifies) me is that this album was released in 2007 around the time the first iPhone was introduced but well before the ubiquity of smartphones and social media. Things have only arguably gotten worse for Robby's generation and the ones that follow.

It's a bleak story with (spoiler alert) no happy ending. The kids are not alright.

Graham Tarry: I discovered Porcupine Tree late, during lockdown, and this album is immense. The title track and Anesthatize are modern prog classics.

Sacha Mahon: I love this album, I’m a massive Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson fan, and as an equally massive Rush fan having Lifeson here is like icing on the icing. But as much as all of that is true, I still rate many other Porcupine Tree albums higher, Deadwing in particular. Entirely subjective of course, and not in any way putting this album down. Porcupine Tree at their worst are still leagues ahead of most.

Marike Elzinga : Fantastic album, though I slightly prefer In Absentia .

Michael Porter : Absolutely stunning album - one of my all-time favourites.

James Last : Good album, although with the obvious exception of the Anesthetize which might well be their masterpiece, i never quite understood why it ranks as the top Porcupine Tree album for so many. But that's me. There's a a couple of tracks on the Nil Recurring EP that personally I think they could have switched over and it'd been even better, namely Normal and What Happens Now replacing Sentimental and Sleep Together respectively. 

Michael Saulle : My first official intro to the band was through this album. To be listened to in sequence, and not a dry moment throughout. Also, Gavin Harrison has to be one of the greatest drummers around.

Andy Price: A faultless album and one of the best rock (not just prog) albums of the past 20 years.

Paul Capener : Great album from a peerless prog band.

Mark PS : As an album on its own merits, I do like Fear Of A Blank Planet , and I do still listen to it fairly regularly, but I think it suffers (if that's the right word) in coming after Deadwing and In Absentia - I've often thought Porcupine Tree's albums in the (for the want of a better term) Gavin Harrison period got "less good" (worse seems a bit too harsh to use as a term) with each passing album, for all that they each had momentous moments on them (though I do think the subsequently released Closure/Continuation is on a par with the aforementioned In Absentia and Deadwing ).

I also think that some of the tracks which were on the Nil Recurring EP (which I believe were written/recorded in the same sessions) would have been a better fit musically on the album (though I appreciate that it's a concept album and so those tracks were likely omitted for a reason and released separately).

My favourite track on it is probably Sleep Together , but the best section of music on it is the The Pills I'm Taking section of Anesthetize (that mad and brief heavy bridge back to the chorus at around the 11 minutes mark with the double kick drumming fills is an outrageous bit of drumming - just your average Gavin Harrison drum section).

If giving a mark out of 10, I'd give it 7 - purely on the basis that it's a good album, and it has some great moments (not least Alex Lifeson's solo), but it's not as good as the two albums which preceded it.

Greg Schwepe : Had never heard any Porcupine Tree before this week’s selection. Knew of them and also Steven Wilson as “the guy who remixes everyone’s albums.”

Being a prog rock fan, I just always laughed when I heard of any so-called “new Prog Rock bands.” In my mind there was only Yes, Genesis, ELP, Pink Floyd, and King Crimson. Nothing against any of these “new” bands, I just wasn’t aware that prog stuff like that could be made these days without a 40-year-old Mellotron and a bunch of Echoplex guitar pedals the same age. I have since found out otherwise and proven wrong!

And after listening to Fear Of A Blank Planet I’m pretty sure I just had another “What have I been missing?” moment with Porcupine Tree. While writing this review I’m now on my third listen. Totally hooked by the atmospheric keyboards and moods of the album. And then some songs ( Way out of Here ) have tons of riffy guitar that just pounds along. And somewhere in there on a track is a favourite guitarist of mine from a Canadian trio. Along with Robert Fripp from one of those original prog rock bands I mentioned.

Again. ”Um, how did I miss this band?”

On my first listen I found what I initially thought were three songs I had listened to. After checking to see the title I found that I was still listening to Anesthetize and that those “three songs” were the same 17-minute track which featured various moods and sections.

In a nutshell I happened on an album I liked start to finish and a new band I now get to explore.

Alex Hayes: " Don't try engaging me / The vaguest of shrugs / The prescription drugs / So you'll never find a person inside" - Fear Of A Blank Planet

A harrowing concept album relating to teenage alienation and social isolation, Fear Of A Blank Planet is a simultaneously bleak and beautiful listening experience. The lyrics of the album elaborate on those central themes above, through issues such as broken families, prescription drug addiction, mental disorders and excessive 'screen time', all combining to paint a grim picture of a withdrawn youth, both mentally and spiritually lost or 'blank' through numbness. Crikey.

Musically, Fear Of A Blank Planet is sumptuous in places, not least on the album's triptych centrepiece Anesthetize (which features a terrific guitar solo from no less than a guesting Alex Lifeson), but it's a bit too much of a downer to be a personal favourite of mine. I prefer both the In Absentia and Deadwing albums for a start. My introduction to Porcupine Tree was via Up The Downstair in the late 90s, and I still have a huge fondness for that album too (especially the later remix of the album that adds Gavin Harrison's drums into the mix. Vast improvement that.).

Then there is Steven Wilson's solo work, some of which I actually prefer over Porcupine Tree as it's so strong. The Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories) and Hand. Cannot. Erase . in particular, are such exceptional recordings that I honestly doubt Wilson will ever match them creatively, however many musical genres he finds himself dabbling in. Drive Home may well be one of the finest songs of the new millennium.

" This is fate / This is your escape / Leave here now / Leave here like it's over " - Sleep Together

Despite it's beauty, Fear Of A Blank Planet isn't an easy listen for me. The final two tracks make strong allusions towards teenage suicide. Also, it only feels complete to me when listened to alongside the Nil Recurring EP, which elaborates on the concept further. Tracks like My Ashes and Sentimental come even more into their own when listened to in this context. Apparently, there's a double vinyl version of the album that combines both recordings. Likewise, I'd have preferred some kind of double CD set of this.

I have been remiss so far in checking out Porcupine Tree's Closure/Continuation 'reunion' album. This week's album choice will hopefully give me the necessary boot up the arse to get round to that. In conclusion, Fear Of A Blank Planet is too fantastic overall not to be recommended. It's a bit depressing, and a bit of a sad indictment on modern society, but also a captivating listen, and musically exquisite at times. 8/10

John Davidson : Porcupine Tree are a very 21st century prog band, featuring angular and jagged tones that make the listener feel uncomfortable at a subconscious level rather than revelling in the lush melletron infused forest of floating islands that epitomises the 70s.

I was initially drawn to Fear Of A Blank Planet by the Alex lifeson solo but it's got so much more going for it than that. The music is melodic, compelling and addictive while also being a massive downer. It really is an excellent representation of the gloomy Xbox obsessed teenagers that it is about.

This isn't a soft, cosy melancholy it's an expression of restrained anger and despair. It really is an effective work of art but perhaps for that reason it's one I admire more than I enjoy. Deadwing and In Absentia are probably more enjoyable albums (albeit they have a similar tone). I'd still give this an 8/10.

Chris Elliott : It's okay. It's easier to admire than actually like. Its a record/band I never actually choose to listen to. I am far more impressed by Richard Barbiera's other stuff which I do choose to listen to.

Lyrically it's pretty trite - it's like 16-year-old's poetry - and a bit smug despite the bleakness. That and the vocals are pretty average at best. Then there's the random jazzy look at me drum bits which are annoying. But it is an album that's worth a listen. I never got the attraction but lots do - and it's not a wasted hour - it's definitely interesting. It's like art you appreciate, but not in my living room.

Evan Sanders : I found myself liking this musically. I didn't really think the style was keyboard-dominant prog rock compared to the 1970's. The genre seems more like "orchestral rock" or a less metal version of bands like Metallica, with long multi-part songs and a dark tone. I find it lyrically dark as well. I would have enjoyed this in my moody teenage years. Listening to it now feels like a pessimistic version of the Day In The Life Of A Teenager albums, such as The Who's Quadrophenia , which wasn't all that optimistic itself. 6/10

Uli Hassinger: It's always an experience listening to this album. It carries emotions and moods like relaxation, aggression, calm etc. like only a few albums do. The whole album is a feast to the ears. Although the tracks are all over five minutes long it never gets boring or makes you sleepy. There is so much to hear, so much different moods within every song and epic soundscapes.

All the songs are brilliant, but Anesthetize and Sleep Together are true masterpieces and belong to the best prog rock songs ever recorded. 10/10.

Final score: 8.47 (78 votes cast, total score 661)

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PORCUPINE TREE Announces 'Closure/Continuation Live' Live Album, Shares New Video

Grammy Award -nominated British rock band PORCUPINE TREE has announced "Closure/Continuation.Live" , an all-new live album documenting their triumphant return to the stage in 2022. "Closure/Continuation.Live" arrives via Music For Nations / Megaforce Records on Friday, December 8 in a wide range of formats including 2CD/2Blu-ray deluxe version (with 60-page book in a slipcase),vinyl boxset (with 4 x 12" limited heavyweight clear vinyl),and Blu-ray/DVD (featuring the full live show). Both Blu-ray sets include Dolby Atmos surround sound, 5.1 Audio and 24-bit high-resolution audio. Pre-orders are available now. 500 signed 8"x 8" art prints will be randomly assigned to ensure all pre-orders have an equal chance of receiving one.

Recorded November 7, 2022 at Amsterdam's 17,000-capacity Ziggo Dome, "Closure/Continuation.Live" captures PORCUPINE TREE — Steven Wilson (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Richard Barbieri (keyboards, synthesizers), Gavin Harrison (drums) — at the peak of its powers, playing a superlative set of rapturously received songs including the epic "Harridan" , premiering today alongside an official live video streaming now on YouTube .

"Closure/Continuation.Live" — which features Wilson , Barberi and Harrison and touring musicians Randy McStine (guitars) and Nate Navarro (bass) — places the listener/viewer right at the heart of the stage as psychotropic visuals explode alongside songs from 2022's acclaimed eleventh studio album (and first new LP in over twelve years), "Closure/Continuation" , as well as classic tracks from their rich canon, including "Trains" , "Fear Of A Blank Planet" and "Anesthetize" .

One of the most forward-thinking, genre-defying rock bands of any era, PORCUPINE TREE was founded in 1987 by renowned musician/producer Steven Wilson as an outlet for the experimental recordings he was making outside of his acclaimed post-rock duo NO-MAN . With the addition of keyboard player Richard Barbieri and drummer Gavin Harrison , PORCUPINE TREE soon evolved into a proper band, releasing ten studio albums between 1992 and 2009. Each new release saw PORCUPINE TREE exploring new musical ideas, their expansive music shifting from pastoral psychedelic rock and ambient electronic soundscapes to experimental pop and propulsive metal. Later releases like 2007's Grammy Award -nominated "Fear Of A Blank Planet" and 2009's "The Incident" — the band's biggest seller thus far, reaching the Top 25 in both the U.S. and the U.K. — saw PORCUPINE TREE effortlessly melding distinctive genres to create a groundbreaking musical universe all their own.

As relentlessly creative on stage as they are in the studio, PORCUPINE TREE proved innovative live performers known for sonic innovation and inventive visual productions. In October 2010, the band entered a period of hiatus following a spectacular concert at London's Royal Albert Hall — their biggest live show to date.

Recorded quietly and sporadically over the last decade and finished during a period when touring was curtailed in 2020/21, "Closure/Continuation" marked PORCUPINE TREE 's long awaited return and most collaborative album of their highly lauded career. A stunning and timely reappearance of one of rock's most consistently innovative and influential bands, the album was met by ecstatic praise and chart success around the world, reaching No. 2 on the official U.K. album chart, No. 1 in Germany, and Top 10 all across Europe. PORCUPINE TREE marked "Closure/Continuation" with a wide ranging, wildly ambitious global tour — their first since October 2010 — that saw them perform to over 150,000 enraptured fans at sold-out arenas across four continents.

"Closure/Continuation.Live" track listing:

CD/Blu-ray box:

2x CDs (full live show),2 Blu-ray discs. Disc 1 features full show + bonus material; disc 2 features Dolby Atmos Surround Sound audio, 5.1 Surround Sound audio and 24-bit high-resolution audio.

01. Blackest Eyes 02. Harridan 03. Of the New Day 04. Rats Return 05. Even Less 06. Drown With Me 07. Dignity 08. The Sound Of Muzak 09. Last Chance To Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled 10. Chimera's Wreck 11. Fear Of A Blank Planet 12. Buying New Soul 13. Walk The Plank 14. Sentimental 15. Herd Culling 16. Anesthetize 17. I Drive The Hearse 18. Sleep Together 19. Collapse the Light Into Earth 20. Halo 21. Trains

Blu-ray/ DVD:

1x Blu-ray disc with full live show + Dolby Atmos Surround Sound audio, 5.1 audio and 24-bit high-resolution audio (excluding bonus features),1x DVD of full live show.

01. Blackest Eyes 02. Harridan 03. Of The New Day 04. Rats Return 05. Even Less 06. Drown With Me 07. Dignity 08. The Sound Of Muzak 09. Last Chance To Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled 10. Chimera's Wreck 11. Fear of a Blank Planet 12. Buying New Soul 13. Walk The Plank 14. Sentimental 15. Herd Culling 16. Anesthetize 17. I Drive The Hearse 18. Sleep Together 19. Collapse the Light Into Earth 20. Halo 21. Trains

4 x 12" VINYL:

01. Blackest Eyes 02. Harridan 03. Of The New Day

01. Rats Return 02. Even Less 03. Drown With Me

01. Dignity 02. Sound Of Muzak 03. Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled

01. Chimera's Wreck 02. Fear of a Blank Planet

01. Buying New Soul 02. Walk The Plank 03. Sentimental

01. Anesthetize

01. Herd Culling 02. I Drive the Hearse 03. Sleep Together

01. Collapse the Light Into Earth 02. Halo 03. Trains

Photo credit: Carl Glover

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Closure/Continuation.Live Out Now!

Closure/Continuation.Live, the brand new Porcupine Tree concert film & live album, is out now! It documents our 7th November 2022 performance at Amsterdam’s 17,000 capacity Ziggo Dome. Performed as part of the setlist is every song from our 11th studio album Closure/Continuation, along with favourites including Trains, Blackest Eyes, Fear of a Blank Planet and Anesthetize.

Closure/Continuation.Live features us alongside touring musicians Randy McStine (guitars) and Nate Navarro (bass). It is available 2CD/2BD Deluxe Edition, BD/DVD & 4LP vinyl boxset. An exclusive t-shirt, vinyl slipmat and postcards are available separately or as part of bundles. You can also buy the concert film digitally on the Apple TV app. Order here: https://porcupinetree.lnk.to/PTCC

A cut of I Drive The Hearse from Closure/Continuation.Live is now available to watch on our YouTube channel.

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Why Porcupine Tree’s Lightbulb Sun matters more than you may think

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Porcupine Tree found their sound on seventh album In Absentia , released in 2002. It followed a series of changing directions as Steven Wilson explored his own musical interest in the gradual discovery of something definitive. The albums that had gone before have received varying degrees of respect and re-evaluation over the years. In 2020, Prog argued that, for a number of reasons, 2000’s Lightbulb Sun had been unfairly disregarded, both at the time of its arrival and later.

There were those who failed to comprehend Porcupine Tree’s musical transformation from the elegantly crafted pop rock of 2000’s Lightbulb Sun into a fiery, fearsome progressive metal act in the space of two years. Consequently, those detractors dismissed 2002’s In Absentia as a cynical shift of musical genre to hop onto the then-burgeoning prog metal scene, led by the likes of Dream Theater and Opeth .

Of course, such blinkered, keyboard punditry failed to appreciate the one aspect of Porcupine Tree that was at the core of their existence – their deliberate desire to avoid repetition, predictability and having their creativity curtailed by the confines of a debilitating genre box.

It’s an attitude that has continued to infuse Steven Wilson’s solo works. Porcupine Tree began in Wilson’s bedroom in Hemel Hempstead, where he recorded two psychedelic-influenced cassettes which would eventually be released as On The Sunday Of Life .... Following the launch of the trancey Up The Downstair in 1993, he began to realise that there was a live market for his music.

With Richard Barbieri , Colin Edwin and Chris Maitland recruited, Porcupine Tree made their live debut on December 4, 1993 at the Nag’s Head in High Wycombe. “The first time I heard the music, I thought, ‘What the fuck is this?’” admitted original drummer Maitland when referencing Wilson’s early material. “I thought some of it was pretty awful, but then you can apply yourself and begin to love it by being part of it. So suddenly you’re like, ‘Bloody hell, I really like that actually.’”

During the summer of 1993, Wilson started writing and recording for what would eventually become The Sky Moves Sideways . It remains a fan favourite – even if the band themselves now view it as veering too closely towards the type of progressive rock that Pink Floyd had created during the 70s.

Previously, they’d attracted a hippie audience on the back of comparisons to acts like Ozric Tentacles . With a move towards more traditional progressive rock, shows were gradually beginning to captivate older fans keen to discover what they viewed as “new Pink Floyd.”

That was something Wilson became acutely aware of; and although undoubtedly appreciating the attention, that association rapidly began to alarm him. The threat of the band merely recreating spacey, progressive rock that was infused with nostalgia wasn’t a career path he wanted to take.

Signify was the first album to gain plentiful reviews in the mainstream music press – even if they were far from glowing

Almost instantly dissatisfied, he was eager to move away from what he perceived as an “easy option.” Crucially for the development of Porcupine Tree, that realisation coincided with his growing confidence in the abilities of the other members of the band.

In that sense, 1996’s Signify would be the first of the modern Porcupine Tree albums, with the band’s four personalities all adding their own inspirations. It would become a pivotal record with those musical influences colliding and forming a distinctive sound that saturated the record.

There was also an avowed determination that Signify would add a fresh dimension to their approach. It moved away from classic progressive rock and towards a sound more influenced by krautrock acts like Neu! .

The transformation of the band towards krautrock posed yet another problem for their label, Delerium, in terms of marketing – it was, after all, the third distinct musical genre the quartet had embraced in as many years. They’d initially been touted as psych/space rock before reinventing themselves as a Floydian band, so Delerium didn’t exactly relish the prospect of repositioning them in the public eye. “Yes, that was another relaunch,” recalls their then manager, Richard Allen, dryly.

“With Signify , we ditched the whole psychedelic space rock thing and we went for krautrock. Krautrock was very hip at the time and there were all types of reissues of really obscure stuff appearing. Steven was into it, Neu! were hip, Julian Cope had just put out his Krautrocksampler book, so we sold Porcupine Tree as being influenced by krautrock.”

Becoming obsessed with harmony vocals and creating the perfect compact song, Wilson absorbed the musical leanings of such artists as The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson and CSNY

The strategy appeared to work: Signify was the band’s first album to gain plentiful reviews in the mainstream music press – even if they were far from glowing. Yet in the main the press were supportive, particularly those magazines where musical knowledge and appreciation was more important that the vagaries of musical fashion.

Wilson had started work on creating Porcupine Tree’s next studio album as early as October 1996, initially recording a single cassette of demos that were written over the following three months. Those six songs included Even Less , Piano Lessons and Slave Called Shiver , all of which were in a roughly familiar form to the versions released several years later on their Stupid Dream album.

Wilson’s musical direction began to take on a distinctive new bearing, which shifted their sound away from krautrock shaded music and towards something very different. Becoming obsessed with harmony vocals and creating the perfect compact song, he’d absorbed the musical leanings of such artists as The Beach Boys , Brian Wilson and Crosby Stills Nash And Young .

Released in 1999, Stupid Dream was dismissed by many as an example of Porcupine Tree somehow “selling out.” From an outsider’s perspective, there was a certain logic to their claims. A band who’d previously delighted in writing sprawling, non-commercial tracks were suddenly recording an album with three-minute songs, many of which contained a natural pop charm. There were viable explanations as to why the music had taken such a turn – not least Wilson’s interest in making an album that was packed with songs, and his obsession with treating songwriting as a distinct art in itself.

Follow-up Lightbulb Sun appeared in 2000. The music followed a similar path to its predecessor, and although Wilson now considers the album to be a “weaker relative of Stupid Dream ” that “didn’t really advance the band’s sound at all,” the songs retained an air of sophistication.

With many of the tracks on Lightbulb Sun being suited to radio play, it was the perfect opportunity… However, there was a practical issue

It was, however, well balanced between the simpler, poppier approach and those songs that demonstrated more ambition. Whereas Stupid Dream had an unmistakable exterior gloss, Lightbulb Sun had an untreated rawness that was a natural match for the material.

Of course, the desire to expose one’s music to a wider audience is fraught with complications. Wilson has stated that the reason he makes music is ultimately “to share it with as many people as possible,” which entails being “forced to embrace whatever means there are for that music to do that.”

As someone for whom money has never been a prime motivator, he saw the release of singles as a necessary marketing evil that could help him achieve those goals. With many of the tracks on Lightbulb Sun being suited to radio play, it was the perfect opportunity for the band to finally gain some greater exposure. However, there was a practical issue: their record label weren’t set up to deal with a single that charted highly.

Part of Wilson’s frustration during this period was also the fact that Radiohead – who at the time were producing music in a similar vein – were selling millions of albums worldwide. Meanwhile, Porcupine Tree’s music was on a parity in terms of quality but was being wilfully ignored by the mainstream.

They didn’t go drinking backstage with Gaz from Supergrass at Glastonbury, and they hadn’t got a hope in hell of getting in with that lot

In the 90s, with prog remaining terminally unfashionable and unable to acquire media support, Radiohead had been seen as a lifeline for the genre. More traditional prog bands were able to tailor their sound and namecheck Radiohead in interviews, and yet distance themselves from what they saw as the millstone of the prog moniker. The problem was that Porcupine Tree didn’t move in the same social circles as those influential acts who could provide them with tour support slots.

As their booking agent Glenn Povey neatly summed it up: “They didn’t go drinking backstage with Gaz from Supergrass at Glastonbury, and they hadn’t got a hope in hell of getting in with that lot. You have got to be part of their social scene to get on with those people.”

One irony of Lightbulb Sun is it was the first time the band had failed to drastically recast their sound. From psychedelia, through overt prog and krautrock, to a more song-orientated output, they had always progressed. Yet on Lightbulb Sun , aside from the more organic feel, the overall approach and sound possessed clear similarities to Stupid Dream .

The result was a vociferous criticism from a small proportion of fans, who slated the band for what they perceived as merely treading water. It was an unusual paradox: most acts spend the bulk of their careers recording stylistically similar albums and when they do try and change, they’re met with abuse. The fact that Porcupine Tree were being harassed for daring to not transform provided an insight into the type of ambitious listeners they were now attracting.

It’s to Wilson and his bandmates’ credit that they had a fanbase with such a broad taste – the result was that they generally maintained support even when their music had drastically shifted. Wilson has continued that approach of creating and performing music that’s both creative and not necessarily commercially appealing.

I wouldn’t be surprised if he released a New Wave Of British Heavy Metal album at some point

It’s an asset that long-term No-Man collaborator Tim Bowness recognises and applauds. “Steven’s music may be more mainstream in some respects, but I would make a very strong argument that he’s doing it because he likes the types of music that he’s investigating now,” he says.

“It’s similar in a way to the mid-80s’ argument that Genesis were a sell-out. I’ve known Steven since 1987 and he loved artists like Tears For Fears and Prince as much as he liked Stockhausen and Pink Floyd, so his music is entirely honest.

“I think he’ll continue to make music that he loves. I wouldn’t be surprised if he released a New Wave Of British Heavy Metal album at some point, as that was another key influence for him.”

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