Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet Review
Posted by Dan Marsicano on 04.25.2007
What do teenagers, drugs, video games, the internet, depression, and our society have in common? Find out here!
The Band:
Steven Wilson-Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar
Richard Barbieri-Keyboards, Piano
Colin Edwin-Bass
Gavin Harrison-Drums, Percussion
Special Guest:
Alex Lifeson (Rush)-guitar solo on “Anesthetize”
Robert Fripp (King Crimson)
John Wesley-Backing Vocals
The Review
When I started to listen to progressive rock/metal bands, like Dream Theater and Opeth, a lot of my friends were telling me about this band, Porcupine Tree. I had never heard of them, so I decided to pick up one of their albums, Deadwing. When I put the CD into my car stereo, I was surprised at how excellent the band was instrumentally and lyrically. I became enthralled with quality songs, such as “Shallow,” “Halo,” and the epic “Arriving Somewhere But Not Here.”
Porcupine Tree’s newest album, Fear of a Blank Planet, shows the band, headed by lead songwriter Steve Wilson, making a statement musically. Instead of continuing on the path of Deadwing, Porcupine Tree has made a fifty minute song broken up into six different piece ala Dream Theater’s “Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence.” Wilson writes and sings about technology, I-Pods, video games, and other aspects of society from the perspective of an average teenager. Does Wilson succeed in writing an epic on today’s teenager or does he fall a bit short?
The album starts off with the lead single and title track. Typing on a computer leads into a soft beginning with acoustic guitars. The band joins in and the first thing that is noticed is the production, with the bass upfront with the guitars and the drums. The lyrics are also noticeable for their perfect view of an average teenager. Lines such as, “X-Box is a god to me. My finger’s on the switch. My mother is a bitch. My father gave up ever trying to talk to me” and “TV. Yea it’s always on. A flicker of the screen, a movie actor screams. I’m basking in the s**t flowing out of it” really have an impact on the listener. The song goes through different sections, including a melodic middle section with a piano in the background, leading to a drum solo, and the heaviest riffs in the song before coming to a close with a soft ending full of keyboard and acoustic guitars. The title track is a great song to start the album off with, being catchy yet forceful and heavy.
“My Ashes” is the shortest song on the album, clocking in at a little over five minutes. “My Ashes” is a slower song that shows the main character seeming to be very depressed about his situation in life. Piano and acoustic guitars are the only instruments used for the first half of the song, with occasional violins in the chorus. Even when the bass and drums come in, the song continues to move at a comfortable pace. “My Ashes” is a relaxing track and a perfect song to lead into the epic of the album.
“Anesthetize,” at a few seconds shy of 18 minutes, is the longest song done by the band since The Sky Moves Sideways, which was released in 1995. The first part of the song is a constant drum beat with a lonely electric guitar in the background. The song builds up to a solo by legend guitarist Alex Lifeson of Rush fame. His minute solo is a brilliant way to end the first part of the song.
The second part of the song brings the guitar right into the front of the track, instead of staying in the background. The drum beat is still there with a growing presence of keyboards in the mix. All of a sudden, about six minutes, all hell breaks loose. A heavy riff seems to come out of nowhere. Wilson sings about the effect drugs are having on the main character, “Only apathy from the pills in me.” A mini solo comes in, played by Steve Wilson. Then the song becomes very progressive-like with changing tempo’s and a keyboard solo. A thrash metal-like riff and double bass drumming end the second part of the song.
The last part of “Anesthetize” slows the song down with clean electric guitars. The backing vocals, done by John Wesley, come into full effect. The lyrics are very dark and depressing, talking about a “black sun” throughout. The track ends on a slow note with atmospheric keyboards.
It is tough for any band to follow an 18 minute epic, but Porcupine Tree tries their best with “Sentimental,” which is a five minute song driven by piano. The song is not too bad, and the piano work is great, but is still a bit of a disappointing song to follow up “Anesthetize.” The next song, “Way Out Of Here,” really brings the dark atmosphere back to the album with the softly played keyboards starting it off. The highlight of this song is definitely the one minute solo halfway through, which is surprising for Porcupine Tree, which is not known for having many solos in their music.
The last song, “Sleep Together,” starts out slow, like most of the other tracks with just a keyboard playing. A catchy, yet heavy riff jumps in out of nowhere and leads the track along. “Lets sleep together, right now…switch off the future, right now…let leave forever” is probably the most depressing line in the entire song, quite possibly, the entire album. The violins come back about halfway through along with the keyboards and end the track beautifully.
Lyrically, Steve Wilson is at the top of his game. His 50 minute story of a teenager’s life and how MTV, computers, video games, and prescription drugs affect his life is depressing, yet an innovative way to look at our current society and to see how Steve Wilson views today’s teenagers.
Steve Wilson’s vocals and lead guitar work is well done. Wilson does not play any fancy solo’s or fast riffs, but is able to use his guitar to set the mood right and make the listener feel the emotions that the main character is going through at the moment.
Richard Barbieri does a phenomenal job on the keyboards and the piano. Not only are both instrument used as atmospheric tools, but they help to lead the song along. The prime example is “Sentimental,” with his piano work being an integral part of the entire structure of the song.
Colin Edwin does a good job at bass. The mixing, done by Steve Wilson, allows Edwin to be up front and center, which makes hearing the bass much easier. The highlights of the bass include the title track and the end of “Way Out Of Here.” Gavin Harrison keeps the songs going on the drums, whether it is slowing down the song or pulling off a brief drum solo. He even pulls off some double bass work in “Anesthetize.”
I knew, when I bought Fear of a Blank Planet over Itunes, that I was going to listen to something special. For the most part, that is what I got. Progressive Rock/Metal fans will be drooling at this album, including the 17 minute epic, “Anesthetize,” which is almost as good as Dream Theater’s 24 minute classic, “Octavarium.” The album does have some lowpoints, including not enough solos and just one or two too many slow sections, but overall, Fear of a Blank Planet is a highlight of Porcupine Tree’s career and another stellar release from the British foursome.
The 411: Porcupine Tree has done it again with another brillant release. Progressive Rock/Metal fans, who have been eagerly awaiting the new album, will love Fear of a Blank Planet. While it may take more than one listen to fully comprehend the story and the music, it is worth the time and effort to listen to the album repeatedly to really appreciate the effort that Steve Wilson and company put into this concept album.
