FEAR OF A BLANK PLANET

To be honest, the first listen of this album disappointed me, but it grew on me very quickly. By the fourth or fifth listen now i'm positively rocking to the tunes. Another solid album by one of the best progressive bands there is out there at the moment. One thing has to be said: this album is very spacey when compared to previous albums. You won't get the in-your-face riffing of Trains or Wedding Nails here, and the synth and effects have a larger role now.

1: Fear of a Blank Planet: An intro that doesn't give you a hint of the depressed music that is to follow. The mix hits you as soon as the drums start. Beautiful mixing here. This song has some heavy riffs, like the one at around 1:40. The singing is graceful and melancholic, pulled off perfectly as usual. This is a very ambient song overall, washed in moody reverb and spacey effects. I liked how the dissonant clean riff at 4:35 or so leads into the same riff but distorted. Then you get a solo with weird effects, a staple of Porcupine Tree, and a welcome one at that. A great song, perhaps not one of the best, but nevertheless good. [8]

2: My Ashes: This song is very melancholic and sad. The first chord change causes your hair to stand, somehow reminding me of Pink Floyd. The spacey lead at 2:17 fills the mix perfectly. The multitude of effects and modulation that Porcupine Tree uses never ceases to amaze me. This is quite a static song, without the many changes usually associated with prog rock, but nevertheless well done. [7+]

3. Anesthetize: An epic 18 minute long song. The beginning is not so memorable in my opinion, and the singing seemed to remind me of a particular pop band whose name I cannot place. And then the song changes all of a sudden, becoming dark and depressing. Great. The contrast between the relaxing intro riffs and the sad second riff is very effective. At four minutes the song changes somewhat, giving it an evil and foreboding sound. Very well done. Interspersed with ambient parts, the song gives us enough time to relax before the next plunge into darkness. A solo at around five minutes, weird enough to mett our melodic requirements. An interesting panned riff after this prepares us for a very heavy proggish riff at about 7:30. Then comes a part which I cannot term anything other than sexy. Yes, this riff is sexy, with bass, drums and guitars playing an intricate pattern. There are several proggish changes in the middle of the song, riffs that never get old no matter how many times you listen to them. A very heavy riff just after the twelfth minute leads back into the singing song structure. The song quitens down during the thirteenth minute, with a strange sound fading in, a sound that puts you somewhere foreign and alien. And then comes a beautiful slow section, with Steve's voice helped perfectly by the backing. Very depressing. The song ends with a 70's prog sound, right out of King Crimson or Camel. Great epic. [8+]

4. Sentimental: This one didn't really do anything much. A straightforward spacey yet moody song. Not bad, but not great. The song also uses the catchy riff from Trains, and though this is pulled off perfectly, it can be attributed to cheap songwriting. Just good [7]

5. Way Out Of Here: This song... really strikes me deep. It probably starts as one of the most melancholic songs from Porcupine Tree. Don't be fainthearted, it just might make you shed some tears. The lyrics are beautifully composed, and happen to have special meaning to me. The fourth minute sees some oddly timed arpeggios which lead into a heavy riff that jumps right out of nowhere and smacks you in the forehead. The second half of the song is not as heartwrenching as the first, more on the experimental side than standard songwriting. Nice song [8]

6. Sleep Together: I am not really into 'random' sounding artificial noises so I didn't really like the intro, though fans of older prog will surely love this part. Overall, I didn't find anything really memorable in this song. The sounds I mentioned keep on going throughout the middle of the song, and they do annoy me a little bit. This is a very pscyhadelic song, and as someone mentioned, it feels very 'narcotic'. Very trippy, but not spectacular. [7]

As I mentioned, the album will quickly grow on you. It does have a few weak points, but nothing really disappointing. OVERALL, 7.7