FEAR OF A BLANK PLANET

Fear of a Blank Planet took me a few listens to get into. Initially it felt a bit bland but after a few listens I found myself playing the same tracks over and over again. Sadly, for me, there are some weaker tracks which just don't do it.

It opens with the track Fear of a Blank Planet which has a strong driving electric guitar-led heavy sound. If you listen carefully the lyrics are pretty depressing though. [3/5]

The second track My Ashes is more of a ballad with the acoustic guitar coming more to the fore and therefore much slower than the previous track. Lovely mellow track which I feel it is the second strongest track on the album. [4/5]

Then we come to Anesthetize which weighing in at 17mins 40s is by far the longest track on the album. It starts with superb jungle drumming at the front of the mix providing a real drama to the sound. There is an excellent guitar solo at about 4 minutes in. Slowly the drumming takes less of the front of the mix and at 6.20 we are into a classic PT switch to a metal sound. An overall heavier sound then takes over. At 9.20 we start to get the first instance of a fabulous bass riff. At around 11.10 we get about 15 seconds of metal mayhem to suddenly switch back to the main chorus followed by that great bass riff. And then at 12.10 we suddenly get a complete switch of pace and sound - gone are the more metal sounds to be replaced by a simpler almost ballad-like section. I love the lyrics of this section and the way the "verse" is sung here. The track ending reminds me of some recent Marillion. This track is a masterpiece! [5/5]

Sentimental is next up starting with a piano chords against a hissy background with a very electronic drum coming in soon afterwards. There is something a bit Peter Gabriel about the sound to my ears. There is a very nice but brief piece of acoustic guitar towards the end. However, ultimately I find this song somewhat unmemorable. [2/5]

Track 5, Way Out of Here, lulls the listener into thinking this is going to be a bit of a ballad until the first chorus crashes in. The lyrics at this point turn scary. There is a great guitar solo about mid way followed by a very sudden change in pace and sound followed again by a dramatic heavy metal riff. After another chorus the track slowly closes. Probably my third favourite on the album and a great piece of music. [4/5]

The final track, Sleep Together is to my mind the weakest track on the album. I feel it doesn't really go anywhere. It sounds as if it was about to end at around 4.20, but continues on for another 3 minutes with the last minute or so adding much needed drama. [2/5]

My verdict: Anesthetize is brilliant, truly a masterpiece and My Ashes and Way Out of Here are excellent. However, the other tracks just don't lift the quality up quite enough for me to give more than an overall 3 stars though if you absolutely love PT's music I can quite easily see why you would rate this 4 stars.