DEADWING

Well it's about time I actually got down to writing this review, having put it off for so long. I've put it off for a good reason though, and the reason is this: I can't stop listening to the album!

I'm going to cover the tracks individually so that it makes it easier for you [the viewer] to pick out which tracks you'd be interested in listening to! Before I do however I'll just cover some introductory grounds first.

Deadwing is the first ever Porcupine Tree album I heard, I had always wanted to check these guys out after I heard the track 'Sever' on a classic rock CD that came free with the magazine, but didn't get round to hearing a full album till only last month. Having checked the bands website I downloaded and watched the promotional video for the album which I enjoyed watching Steve Wilson and Co mess around in the studio. So right after watching it, I thought the time is now and immediately ordered a copy, and I wasn't let down when it arrived.

Now there are two kinds of people [in my opinion] when listening to Progressive Music, the 1st would listen to the album once, form an opinion [usually a bad one] and move on. The 2nd person is like I am, an active listener and actually gives the album a chance by many repeated listening's. Truth be told I heard the album once, even twice and thought its alright, nothing special, but nothing could be further from the truth, for it's essential to have many repeat listenings before it strikes you just how good this album is. Then the quality and production of this album really hits you!

'Now enough with the babbling I hear you shout'! 'What are the tracks like, pray do tell?

'Well some are good, and some are absolute masterpieces, which includes the title track, here we go:

Deadwing: Opens with some soft synth in a repeating rhythmic phase, it catches your attention because on the first listen you have no idea where the song is going, and this is crucial for the opening track. The wham, straight into a F# - F progression that's in drop D [gotta love lowering your bottom E!] it carries for a few measures and then, 'what's this your saying?' it sounds like Opeth, yeah it does but with a bit of PT magic in there, SW goes crazy on the guitar and gives us a meaty palm muted riff. Then his voice enters 'Something warm and sumptuous passed me by' he softly sings, what can he be on about, more I must hear more! 'My bleeding heart does not extend to charity.' you can almost feel pain in SW's voice, the lyrics in this song may be on the depressing side, but there's something to relate to for everyone. Midway through the song the main riff is repeated with a mini-solo that sounds cool layered on everything else, and then the best bit of this track begins. It goes all quiet the synths come back, and a guitar with a bit of delay/tremolo is introduced, this is then joined by a palm muted distorted guitar emphasising 'D'. it builds until an AMAZING guitar solo enters, It's slightly out of key [on purpose but of course] but it works wonders, so fast yet hooks you to listen. Then the main theme comes back and the song finishes on the quiet side, it is a 9-minute mini-epic that is very cleverly written. 10/10

Shallow: This track is the most aggressive [at least in the sense of all the way through] on the album, and is the most radio friendly, lets hope it gets some airtime. Nice killer riff is prevalent throughout. With gentler prechorus's and consistent drumming. I'm still trying to figure out what this song is about, I'd like to think its about how Shallow some people can be trivial and take things at face value 'it's easier to talk to my PC' and 'All I know is on my own' would seem to confirm this. The middle 8 of the song has a cool guitar based jam with some excellent sound FX's and voice manipulation, it just screams 'frustration'. This is a good track to show to potential listeners, as it will draw them in real fast! It's not my favourite track on the album though, because it's not as varied and progressive as the others. 7/10

Lazarus: This is a gorgeous acoustically led track, with some synth piano backing, it shows just how good a writer SW is, he can write soft tracks and hard tracks no problem [he combines the two perfectly in Arriving Somewhere Not Here] and this is a great chill out track. Has a sort of Banjo?? Solo near the end of the song that sounds well good as well, only a short track but it has the desired effect. 'Follow me down to the vally below, moonlight is bleeding from out of your soul' beautiful!. 8/10

Halo: My 2nd favourite track on the album got hooked on this the first time I heard it. Starts with an immense bass line, backed up with some drums and synths, then a crazy bit of fast picking guitar line enters, as the lyrics continue. This song seems to have a religious theme to it, I'm non-religious but I just love some of the lyrics, especially the chorus: very catchy 'you can be right like me, with god in a hole you're a righteous soul, I'm not the same as you cos I've seen the light and I'm gaining in height now, I've got a halo round my head' I think he trying to imply that a lot of religious people seem to think they are better then non-religious people, when it doesn't really matter. Still the song is awesome, nice heavy middle 8 with a crazy solo in it, before the main theme is reprised and the song ends. 10/10

Arriving Somewhere But Not Here: My Favourite track on the album, it's so immense and achieves its aim. The way it builds up is very clever, it starts soft and you'd be mistaken in thinking it's going to keep like that, for as the song builds up and segues into the middle 8 section, it's happy days for headbangers! The middle 8 is driven by such a forceful riff, that changes into another forceful riff, and then by the wonders of multitracking is joined by another cracking riff, before merging back into the main song after a quieter bit, that is also excellent in its execution, some rhythmic drumming almost sound like bongo's and some added acoustic guitar solo carry it through back into the main theme. Right good!!!! I also like the song title, it vagueness appeals to me. 10+/10

Mellotron Scratch: Starts with a nice clean electrically led riff, with some decent electronic percussion joins in, the SW's voice enters, sounding rather downbeat before the song picks up some pace. It's the chillout track of the album there's no doubt about that has a decent enough chorus and the lyrical content is ok. It is a little sublime though, especially the outro, which I think, is the best part of the song. Has a nice repeating riff, backed by a light electric guitar solo. My least favourite track on the album but its still top notch. 6/10

Open Car: This track has grown on me a lot; at first I thought it was just a Shallow clone, but its actually better then shallow and a lot heavier in places. Opens up with the kind of palm muted riff that Tool or Opeth would use extensively with SW hitting you with strong lyrics. Then wham into a heavy metal riff, as the drums enter. The chorus is a little lighter on the ears at least till the end, killer riff and excellent vocal work by SW, 'Head Blown in an open car' he yells! I'm still trying to figure out what this song is on about; I think maybe it's about things falling apart in your life. Nice song to rock to. 8/10

The Start Of Something Beautiful: This song is the least accessible song on the album, at least for me; the music itself is very strong, what you would expect Porcupine Tree of delivering now. I particularly like the solos, which sound quite menacing in places. The main riff is good, and the piano that follows it is a bonus. The outro is very simplistic in the fact it's just the main riff but heavier and some uplifting SW lyrics, about not giving a damn. I think this song is about being knocked down at the beginning of a relationship, when you in fact thinks its all right, but then after thinking about it not actually giving a shit about it. That's cool. 7/10

Glass Arm Shattering: The final song on the album [not counting the bonus song which I'll cover next] is wicked, perfect for rounding off what's been quite a trip throughout the whole of the album. Starts off with some static and some nice guitar, then some spacey synths enter [bonus!] before SW starts singing in an uplifting [as if he's come to a conclusion about something] voice, which is very relaxing to listen to. The track progresses quite nicely, with a nice piano led middle 8. The song finishes after a heavier section more or less as it started, nice and mellow, the lyrics lead out to finish the song. Lovely! 9/10

She's Moved On: [Bonus Track] Deadwing contains a re-done version of this song, that appeared on the PT album 'Lightbulb Sun' which is also another excellent PT album, and I'm not to sure why SW felt the need to re-record it. Sure it's better then the original simply because the guitars sound stronger, but I felt the original version was just fine. It's like SW doing a re-done version of Open Car and sticking it on the next album, pretty much pointless, although a bonus nonetheless. He probably has his reasons though. 6/10

So there you have it, its pretty much there best album to date as regards progression of there sound, since they have leaned towards an harder edge this time round, which is certainly refreshing. Be nice if the soundtrack could accompany a film of some sorts as SW originally intended. The futures bright for this band, and I eagerly await the next release, you never know quite what your going to get with this band, and that's what progressive music is all about.

8/10

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