FEAR OF A BLANK PLANET

Porcupine Tree's Fear of a Blank Planet is their third foray into prog metal. Some of this I really like A LOT. Yet there is some that I can easily live without. The band is stable, with Wilson on guitars, vocals, and some piano, Barbieri on keyboards, Edwin on bass, and Harrison on drums including guest spots by touring member John Wesley (vocals) Alex Lifeson from Rush (guitar on Anesthetize) and Robert Fripp from King Crimson (soundscapes on Way Out of Here).

I really like Anesthetize, Sentimental and Way Out of Here, I think these tracks are some of the best work by the band. Absolutely essential. I wish they had included Nil Recurring and Normal from the EP Nil Recurring, recorded at the same time as the rest of the album, and to me, would have left the album better off with their inclusion. However, they didn't - they put on My Ashes and Sleep Together, two of the bands weaker songs in my opinion. The title track, at times strikes me as boring, and at other times as thrilling - I can't pin it down, it depends on my mood.

All in all, I enjoy the album, but I don't find this to be amongst the Tree's finer efforts.