FEAR OF A BLANK PLANET

Porcupine Tree

Heavy Prog

4.28 | 2829 ratings

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Sinusoid
Prog Reviewer

PA's greatest album of 2007 makes its way into my library about a year behind the moment. Let's see if I can make sense out of this one.

Obviously, Porcupine Tree is one of the most popular bands on this site and this is one of their most popular albums. It's was a strange album when I first listened to it because my first impression was that it was just an above-average indie rock album. It takes a couple of listens to really see where the underlying complexities lie and how much of an artistic statement this really is. This IS NOT prog in a traditional sense; there are no obvious Yes-tones or Genesis-tones, odd time signatures are there but not overwhelming, and the virtuosity is how the compositions are put together, not necessarily how technically proficient the instrumentalists are.

I quite like this one very much, but I'm not going to over-elaborate every last song nor am I going to call this the greatest prog album ever. The only fart in the album to me is ''Sleep Together''; it just sounds like monotonous droning even when the song gets heavier in dynamics (of which I quite like). Other than that, I'm quite pleased with everything else; the lyrics, the segues, the structures, the instrumentation, the vocals, etc. Definitely, ''Anesthetize'' is the centrepiece of FEAR OF A BLANK PLANET due to its length, but I like this one a lot since it only focuses on a few themes throughout its 17+ minute length, but all are developed well and the transitions are nice and smooth.

Most prog fans seem to take this one close to heart despite it not being a prog album in a traditional sense. I think progmetal junkies ought to get a kick out of this one since FEAR OF A BLANK PLANET kind of leans in that direction. I'm going to say it's a five star album, but be warned, there's a slight risk you might not like this one.

Sinusoid | 5/5 | 2009-2-13

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