What The Hell Happened To... 12:17:07: Porcupine Tree - In Absentia

Posted by Dan Marsicano on 12.17.2007

This week, 411's Dan Marsicano dwells back into the progressive rock genre and looks at Porcupine Tree's In Absentia. What makes In Absentia an underrated album? Find out inside for a revealing look at Porcupine Tree's seventh album.

The Introduction

Well, what do we have here? It's the sixth edition of What The Hell Happened To and I'm Dan Marsicano, the man with no free time on his hands. How else can I juggle going to school full time, working 30 hours a weekend, and doing this column?

Thankfully, I do have enough time to write What The Hell Happened To and I'm excited about this edition. This week, I'm diving back into the progressive genre with a look at Porcupine Tree's 2002 album, In Absentia. Now, some of you hardcore progressive rock fans may go, "Well, Dan, I love Porcupine Tree and In Absentia is one of their more well known albums. Why don't you write about one of their earlier albums?"

The answer is quite simple. While In Absentia sold about 100,000 copies in its first year, it didn't really make a splash in America. It topped the charts in several European countries, but it wouldn't be until Deadwing that the band even made it on the charts in the United States. So, for that reason, I have decided to start at In Absentia. I hope to work my way backwards eventually through Porcupine Tree's entire catalogue, which is filled with one underrated masterpiece after another, in my opinion.



The Band

Steve Wilson-Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar
Gavin Harrison-Drums, Percussion
Colin Edwin-Bass Guitar
Richard Barbieri-Keyboards

The Guests

Aviv Geffin-Backing Vocals
John Wesley-Backing Vocals, Additional Guitar


The Track Listing

1. Blackest Eyes-4:23
2. Trains-5:56
3. Lips of Ashes-4:39
4. The Sound of Muzak-4:59
5. Gravity Eyelids-7:56
6. Wedding Nails-6:33
7. Prodigal-5:35
8. .3-5:25
9. The Creator Has A Mastertape-5:21
10. Heartattack in a Lay By-4:15
11. Strip the Soul-7:21
12. Collapse the Light Into Earth-5:52


The History

Porcupine Tree began in 1987 as a joke band. Steve Wilson and his friend Malcolm Stocks made up a mock seventies band, with fake names and a whole made up history on the band. To make the band sound more legit, Wilson recorded hours of music, which was basically done as self-indulgence on Wilson's part.

However, Wilson found some good material amongst all the recordings, and decided to try to make something out of it. So, Wilson made a cassette out of the material, entitled Tarquin's Seaweed Farm. It was circulated in the underground music scene in the UK and became popular enough to be actually released on a record label.

Wilson used this material, alongside other material from his second cassette, The Nostalgia Factory, to create the third official Porcupine Tree album, On the Sunday of Life…, released in 1992.

With the success of Wilson's other band, No Man, Porcupine Tree became a side project. However, it became a successful side project over time, enough so that Wilson had to find members to play live shows. Colin Edwin (bass), Chris Maitland (drums), and Richard Barbieri (keyboards) were added in and eventually became official members of the band. Barbieri and Edwin played on the previous Porcupine Tree album, Up the Downstairs, so Wilsonn knew them well. These four guys worked for some time on new material, which would later turn out to be The Sky Moves Sideways. It became very popular in Europe and even made a bit of a splash in America, mostly in the underground scene.

For the next couple of years, the band would release several albums, which progressive rock fans have hailed as classics, including Signify and Stupid Dream. 2002 was a big change for the band, with Chris Maitland leaving the band and Gavin Harrison filling in on the drums. This would lead into In Absentia, which would show the band's heavier side, while keeping in touch with their moody, progressive side as well.

The Analysis

Porcupine Tree was the second progressive rock band I really got into. I found out about the band because of my growing love of Dream Theater throughout the winter of 2006. The first album I had heard of theirs was their newest one, Fear of a Blank Planet. I loved it, thinking it really was just everything a progressive rock album should be. So, I worked my way back, next getting into In Absentia.

When I decided to do this column, some six weeks ago, I knew that Porcupine Tree needed to be in it. Porcupine Tree really doesn't get enough credit in the music industry for the quality albums they have released, only recently getting huge media attention with Fear of a Blank Planet. So its time to spin In Absentia and break this album down!

"Blackest Eyes" builds up with a single riff in the background before all hell breaks loose. It's about as heavy as Porcupine Tree can get, with down tuned guitars in the chorus as an added emphasis. Since this is Porcupine Tree we're talking about, the acoustic guitars are always around the corner, driving the main melody in the verses. The song is held together by the solid rhythm duo of Edwin and newcomer Harrison.

"Trains" is almost completely opposite from the last track. This almost ballad-y song starts out with acoustic guitars before the band kicks in. A live favorite, "Trains" is just a deep and catchy song that Wilson explains as memories of summertime as a child. However, others see a different lyrical message. I'll get to the lyrical content later in the column. The song is pretty solid and flows steadily, until the acoustic country breakdown near the end of the song, complete with hand claps, which lead into the return of the electric guitars.

"Lips of Ashes" starts with some keyboard effects and acoustic guitars. The atmosphere screams early 1970's Pink Floyd and King Crimson. Wilson's vocals are given a dreamy effect to them, along with the backing vocals. The song is just very peaceful and aims for mood more than technical abilities, with the exception of the melodic solo. "The Sound of Muzak" has the whole band returning with another melodic, acoustic guitar driven song criticizing the music industry. "The Sound of Muzak" is a solid song, with a great solo, and some steady drumming by Harrison.

The keyboard highlight "Gravity Eyelids," as they provide a dark, yet peaceful feel to the song. A slowly played piano piece only adds to the feel of the song. The rhythm section does come in, but only to provide a backbeat for Wilson. The song picks up slowly, until the heaviness comes in halfway through, with the return of the down tuned guitars and driving riffs before reaching a satisfying conclusion.

The electric guitars don't go anywhere for the instrumental "Wedding Nails," which is a little bit repetitive, but shows the band at both their heaviest and softest. The instrumental has a groove to it that will make you want to tap your foot or bang your head very fast. "Prodigal" is the last song on the album that could be considered upbeat. The drums have a nice kick to them and the keyboards play briefly in the background. A catchy chorus and a laid back feel to the song make "Prodigal" a solid song to follow up a great instrumental.

The bass guitar leads ".3," and the album in general, into darker territories. This is where the album gets interesting, to say the least. The only word to describe ".3" is eerie, with the constant bass line and random sound effects coming from the guitars and the keyboard. Hell, Wilson's vocals don't even come in until halfway through, but that peculiar feeling never goes away. "The Creator has a Mastertape" is pure evil, mixed with a strange groove from the fast rhythm section. The lyrics are basically about a family who abuses and murders people. Not a happy song to say the least. Unless you get pleasure out of hearing about people being tied up to beds and beaten. Wilson's vocals, as well as the electric guitar, are distorted, giving "The Creator has a Mastertape" a wickedness to it.

"Heartattack in a Lay By" is a depressing song. None of the instruments bring any light or joy to the song, especially in the introduction. Everything, from the piano to the slowly played guitar, just screams dismal. "Heartattack in a Lay By" is not something you want to listen to if you want to feel happy and enjoy a good groove down. Personally, its one of my favorite songs, and definitely one that is underrated on an already underrated album. It is a shame that they haven't played this song live during this current tour, as it has this undeniable bleak mood to it that also has some underlying beauty behind it as you listen through the entire track.

"Strip The Soul" is another song driven by bass guitar in its introduction, like ".3." Another song about abuse and murder, Steve Wilson's vocals fit the song perfectly. There is no emotion or compassion heard in his voice. The whole band is on fire, with a heavy sounding chorus and some nice bass work throughout. The song has a great acoustic passage halfway though with some creepy whispering and some guitar effects. My favorite part is the end, where the band gets as close to doom metal as they ever have with a slow burning finale that will tear at your…….well, soul.

"Collapse the Light Into Earth" is the last track and is probably the most basic, yet emotional, track on In Absentia. By basic, I mean it's just basically keyboard/pianp and some orchestration work. The song ends the album on a bit of a sad note, but the emotion that comes out of it more than makes up for that fact. I would not have ended the album any other way, personally. It's the perfect choice for closing song.

Before I finish up the analysis, I do want to take a paragraph to write about the lyrical content. The first and second halves of the album are radically different, not only musically, but lyrically. The second half seems to deal with darker subjects, such as murder, death, and physical abuse, while the first half is more of a lighter side, at least compared to death. However, the great thing about the lyrics is that most of them can be perceived any way you want. Some may listen to "Gravity Eyelids" and hear a love song. Others will hear it as a deeper song, with lyrics of violence and brutality. It all depends on what you get out of it, which is nice to hear in a culture where songs are linear when it comes to their lyrical content, with most people only getting one message out of them. That is not only true today, but also in 2002, when In Absentia was released.


The Conclusion

Well, that's all I have to say this week. Join me next week when I take a journey back to the late 1960's to look at a band that flew like a butterfly before they crashed landed and disappeared off the face of the earth. Any comments can be made clicking the nifty comment button on the bottom of the page or by e-mail.