CLOSURE / CONTINUATION.LIVE

I was present at the recorded show on November 7th 2022 in Amsterdam and we were told the concert would be recorded for video purposes. Well, I've been waiting and looking forward for the Blu-ray to arrive and after more than a year it's finally here. And what a treat it is. The visuals and the sound quality are on par with all Steven Wilson's other releases, wether his solo and collaboration projects or his remixes of classic albums from the 70's and 80's. This man is a master of sound. Unfortunately at the concert I wasn't near the stage due to the fact that I was with a friend who was not able to stand up for a long time because of an accident. So we had seats on the balcony and had to enjoy the show from a distance. But this release puts me right up front on the stage with the band and the sound was already good at the venue, but this sounds like you're inside the music. The Blu-ray contains a hires stereo mix, a 5.1 and a Dolby Atmos mix. They all sound incredible and oh, by the way, the concert itself was mindblowing. PT played just the right mix of old and new stuff and Steven was in his funniest mood. This was my 5th time seeing Steven, twice with PT and three times under his own moniker. I saw SW a sixth time with PT after this show on Bospop in The Netherlands last summer (2023). And again it was awesome. SW and PT have never ever disappointed me with their concerts and this release proves again what a fantastic band and performer PT and SW are. A must have for every progfan. I can't give this anything less than 5 stars because it gives me goose bumps every time I play it.

The reconfigured Porcupine Tree offer up not merely live renditions of most of the Closure/Continuation album, but also a wide range of cuts from their past (including material dating back as far as Lightbulb Sun). With Randy McStine on guitar and Nate Navarro on bass rounding out the live lineup - Navarro in particular doing a fantastic job - this is a shift from the old Porcupine Tree with Colin Edwin and John Wesley, yet then again Wesley didn't join until In Absentia and Edwin wasn't on the earliest Porcupine Tree releases, so unless you have a very odd definition of what is "real" Porcupine Tree this lineup is as legit as any that has existed, and the band manage to integrate the Closure/Continuation material into the setlist in a way which really helps all the disparate material here feel like it belongs in the same overall ethos, despite the changing shape of the band over the years.