Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet

PORCUPINE TREE - FEAR OF A BLANK PLANET (2007)

1)Fear of a Blank Planet [7:28] 2)My Ashes [5:07] 3)Anesthetize [17:42] 4)Sentimental [5:26] 5)Way Out of Here [7:37] 6)Sleep Together [7:28]

Best song: Anesthetize

Porcupine Tree are an english Progressive Rock band, originally the one-man project of mastermind Steven Wilson (Guitar, Vocals, sometimes Keyboards, sometimes Everything), showing prominent influences from Pink Floyd, Radiohead and King Crimson (to name a few). And METAL. Sometimes it's a lot like Pink Floyd playing metal. Their approach to metal is somewhat similar to that of Tool. They're considered one of the most prominent and best bands of modern prog rock.

Fear of a Blank Planet is one of their most successful albums to date, critically and commercially; It has been called one of the best albums of the year by many metal and progressive rock sources and reached #59 on the Billboard Charts.

It's actually quite ironic that it sold so well, given the lyrics and concept: Criticism of today's youth.

It may seem that Steven Wilson is becoming a crotchety old man as he turns forty. On the surface, HELL YES he is, the senile bastard. However, upon looking closer, its a bit deeper than that. Specifically, Wilson talks about networking overload (as he said, "living vicariously through gadgets"), heavy drug use, psychological problems, media and entertaiment overload, and overall, a type of "terminal boredom", with life becoming "white noise" (quoting the man himself) to today's youth; concerned about how we will grow up to be. And as we all know, stereotyping is FUN!

Notwithstanding, The lyrics are actually well-written enough to be much more than a senile old man on a porch saying, "IN MY DAY, WE ONLY HAD 4 CHANNELS AND MADE OUR OWN FUN AND HAD NO TEXBOXES OR WHATEVER YOU VARMINTS CALL IT" etc. etc. For example, the title track is an excellent depiction of an empty, pointless life; being dependant on an overload of entertainment and drugs. The next song, "My Ashes", is much more tender and sympathetic; displaying the world from the perspective of a kid realizing his emptiness and reaching out for help. And then there's the incredible epic "Anesthetize", which switches between the atmospheres of both of the abovementioned songs - vitriolic and scathing one section, empathetic and emotional later on. "Sentimental" is just another chunk of the concept- pretty good but not that remarkable. Moving on, There's "Way Out of Here", some of the weakest lyrics on here. Steven Wilson is dangerously close to the Crotchety Zone with lyrics like, "I don't like the questions 'How do you feel?'/'How's it going in school?'/and 'Do you wanna talk about it?'". The album finishes with "Sleep Together", A cry of final escapism.

Oh, hey, I haven't said a word about the music yet. The music is.... well, plain excellent. Performed by the Steven Wilson, Gavin Harrison (drums), Richard Barbieri (keyboards) and Colin Edwin (bass); with Alex Lifeson of Rush giving a guitar solo on "Anesthetize" and Robert Fripp of King Crimson contributing Soundscapes (electronics that he developed back in the 70s) on "Way Out of Here". Some of Porcupine Tree's best stuff is contained within the three-part, 17-minute epic "Anesthetize", with ambient rock, vicious metal and soothing Pink Floyd-esque balladry melding together wonderfully. Without a doubt the best song here and one of Porcupine Tree's greatest. Despite being somewhat lame in lyrics, "Way Out of Here" has some of the best music, with rhythmic guitar sounds, heavy metal, Robert Fripp's abovementioned electronic work and mixture of mighty keyboards and rapid acoustic strumming in the chorus. "Fear of a Blank Planet" progresses from a haunting acoustic line to rushing prog metal, intimidating keyboards dominating and accompanying the mixed heavy and acoustic guitars and fast, occasionally close to rapping vocals. "My Ashes" is very gentle and touching; with gently forceful guitar lines and a sad, resigned vocal melody. "Sentimental" is melodic; one could even call it close to pop if it wasn't for its atmosphere. Bleak rhythm piano dominates the song. Lastly, "Sleep Together" merges ambient rhythms with yet more prog metal. Orchestral parts occur throughout, with a melodic effect somewhat similar to the string parts in "Cimbing Up the Walls" by Radiohead.

The band performs well throughout, yet two things stand out: Steven Wilson and Gavin Harrison. Wilson's guitar throughout the album is varied and expertly played, going from David Gilmour-like ambient lines to Tool-style metal assaults. His vocals rarely get to typical modern metal screaming, and when he does get near to it (in parts of "Sleep Together" and "Anesthetize") it's still a somewhat delicate, Gilmour-esque vocal delivery. Gavin Harrison's heavy, precise drumming is definitely some of the best I've ever heard. Kinda like Phil Selway, Mike Portnoy and John Bonham merged together? I suppose you could say that.

In conclusion, Fear of a Blank Planet is a great modern progressive album with a coherent, thoughtful concept, excellent music and few flaws.

9.5/10