THE INCIDENT

The most anticipated album of the year lives up to its potential.

After the incredibly formulaic and successful Fear Of A Blank Planet, PORCUPINE TREE continues to surpass all expectations. The Incident is undoubtedly the pinnacle of the band's work, combining elements of all their past compositional material and elevating the music beyond reality.

As usual, the musicians are at the top of their game. Richard Barbieri (synthesizers, keyboards) adds to the flavor of an incredibly balanced rhythm section, namely Gavin Harrison (drums, percussion) and Colin Edwin (bass), with his incredible talent for creating atmosphere, and Steven Wilson (vocals, guitar) further progresses the music with his creative guitar playing and knack for compositional effect. For me, its the little subtleties that propel PORCUPINE TREE's music above the masses. This album, along every other album in their discography, is very heavy when it comes to the "ear candy" element. Samples, gentle piano, and other sound effects are meticulously placed within this record, adding immensely to the final effect.

The album is composed of two discs. The first disc contains the 55-minute title track, composed of 14 movements divided into separate tracks for convenience's sake. The second disc is comprised of 4 standalone songs, which surprisingly are incredibly well thought out and not just an extra thrown in to an already fantastic album.

All in all, this album is the pinnacle of PORCUPINE TREE's career achievements. I personally believe this is the one of the best prog albums so far in this century, and worthy of every proghead's listen. Fans will enjoy this album, and newbies to the magic of PORCUPINE TREE shouldn't be let down either. Awesome.