FEAR OF A BLANK PLANET

What can be said about this album? I can't think of any words that are not "Amazing", "Brilliant" or "Mind-Blowing". This is a must buy for anyone who calls themselves a music fan. Title track "Fear of a Blank Planet" is amazing. "My Ashes" is soft but also beautiful.

Then we come to "Anesthetize". This track is unbelievably good. I first heard this as a rough demo when PT played it live in Glasgow last year. Since hearing it on the album I have not been able to stop listening to it. The song begins at a slow tempo but it is hauntingly beautiful. Then there is the lead up to the section I refer to as "The Beast". This is the heaviest piece of music you will hear off of the album, complemented by a guest appearance by Alex Lifeson of Rush who plays a solo before the heaviness really starts. Then you are swept away by the bleak lyrics and up-lifted by the catchy-as-hell chorus. The ending section slows right back down and meanders for the last few minutes.

"Sentimental" is another slow song, with the guitar part at the end of the song sounding suspiciously like "Trains" from the album "In Absentia". Nonetheless, it is an uplifting, brilliant track. "Way out Here" and "Sleep together" end the album nicely, with the first being melodic and well written and the latter being bleak but memorable.

Why buy? It is a brilliant album, and I will re-iterate that is a mandatory purchase. And of course, it is well worth it just to hear Anesthetize alone.