Fear of a Blank Planet

Fear of a Blank Planet
Porcupine Tree

2007 - Atlantic

I was able to procure a copy before the release, but I will be buying this as soon as it comes out. For those of us who saw the Arriving Somewhere Tour, you will have already heard the majority of material on the album. I was anxious to see how the live energy would translate to this recording, and I was not at all disappointed. Now for the review...

Fear Of A Blank Planet - A twist on Public Enemy's 1994 album, Fear of A Blank Planet, this track cleverly spins the title into a warning about the effects of the computer age on the youth of the world. The lyrics clearly condemn the mesmerizing effect of video games and the computers ("XBOX is like a god to me" etc.), a theme that revisits Steven's earlier apprehension about the internet (see "Every Home is Wired"). The music is decidedly deadwing-ish and gave me the impression that the rest of the album would follow suit. I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't. Overall, an average track IMO.

My Ashes - Lazarus move over. This is a soaring ballad with amazing contributions from Mr. Barbieri on synths and Steven on piano that really give this song feeling. The lovely floating verses sweep into a chorus that will absolutely floor you. And just where I thought this couldn't get any better, Steven is joined by John Wesley to create an amazing harmony on the chorus, as well as a beautiful string arrangement. Perfect song.

Anesthesize - Ah, and now we reach "The Beast". Those who were fortunate enough to see this performed live at nearly 20 minutes will not be disappointed by this incarnation. The raw emotion is captured perfectly, Steven's vocals sound like someone struggling to break free from a thousand chains, "Shut up, be happy. Stop whining, please." The music dives in and out and through beautiful vocals, and then.... Meshuggah? Well apparently, Meshuggah's time signatures really rubbed off on Steven, and this new dimension catapults the song to a whole nother level. The middle section of this song is one of the most incredible sections I have ever witnessed, restrained guitars with eerie keys, and then techno-synths, and then back to "crush-mode". Gavin's drumming is impeccable, and perfectly fits the guitar here. At 9:17 we find a beautiful riff that leads into decidedly Opeth-sounding guitars. And then finally after a few more minutes of brutality, the song recedes from pounding against the shore to gently washing on the beach. A beautiful ending. I could describe every minute, but I'll leave the rest of the shifts for you to hear. This track is the greatest epic PT has ever written, and maybe their greatest song.

Sentimental - Beautiful piano to drumming that sounds like it came off of a Boards of Canada album opens this ballad. Accompanied by beautiful guitar and more synths, this song contains one of the most beautiful choruses Steven has ever written. The repeated "Sullen and bored the kids stay, but in this way wish away each day" is indescribably beautiful. As the previous reviewer stated, this track also contains some guitar near the end that sounds like it was directly lifted from "Trains", but it works well. The track ends in ambience.

Way Out Of Here - A very slow, building song courtesy of Robert Fripp's excellent soundscapes. The pensive verses evolve into a great chorus, and the song gradually gains momentum. The lyrics are quite disturbing at times, "Burn all your pictures, cut out your face. The shutters are down, and the curtains are closed, and I've covered my tracks. Disposed of the car, and I'm trying to forget even your name." Overall, a very good song that really benefits from Fripp's soundscapes, excellent drumming, and a heavy-but-not- too-heavy chorus.

Sleep Together - Well not exactly my cup of tea, but a great song none-the-less. If you're a Tool fan, I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy this. Heavy guitars, goods keys, decent vocals. But nothing that blew me away. Thankfully, this does end on a good note with a full orchestra playing a rather Jethro Tull sounding melody.

Well if you could sit through my entire review, bravo. I guess in short what I'm saying is that this is a brilliant album and yet another transformation for Porcupine Tree. If you don't mind the constant synths and the odd time-signatures, you will love this album. Steven's ability to write stunning choruses is obvious and he puts his talent to great use on this album. Not perfect, but as close as you are going to get. 4.9/5.

Fear of a Blank Planet - The album starts off with the sounds of a keyboard as a 10 year old child logs on to the internet to download all the song, watch all the pornography, and waste his life at his computer, fitting the title "fear of a blank planet." The album goes through a slow section, then picks up steam with vocals similar to that of strip the soul. Finishes off with a mellow section that fits perfectly into the song. 8/10

My Ashes - Ballad. Very slow in the beginning, but becomes much more impressive as the song progresses. has a great verse, great chorus, great vocals in general, and uses strings perfectly.

Anesthetize - The best song on the album. starts very upbeat and then goes into a mid- section which is not only the best piece of music on the album, but maybe in PT history. After the mid-section, the song cools down into a mellow section that couldn't fit the song any better. 10/10

Sentimental - Another ballad with another great vocal performance. The chorus is very catchy but at the time time depressing repeating "Sullen and bored the kids stay, but in this way wish away each day," again referring to the theme of the album. The song ends with almost the same riff as there is at the end of Train off In Absentia. 8/10

Way out of Here - This is an interesting song. It picks up very slowly, and while the verses aren't too impressive, you can feel the buildup to the chorus where steven wilson sings out "way out of here." amazing songwriting on this song. probably the most balanced song on the album in terms of heaviness. it's sure to be a fan favorite come concert time... 9.5/10

Sleep Together - This song starts off with an eerie keyboard riff and vocals enter, and then drums. The product is a song that sounds like a blend of gothic metal and prog metal, except with something that neither genre usually has - GOOD VOCALS. another great use of string instruments and making the best out of a simple song. 9/10

There is music. And there's music with substance. Music which, from feeling to feeling, touches our soul, even for a glimpse. Music to be loved. Art. How many artists can we say, 18 years later, to have sensibility to build, one after another, true odes to Human Feeling. And so, this is no immediate music. This can only fully be understood by a focused commitment, a strong and willed desire to understand, to seek for the inconspicuous beauty on it. The album is one of the most cohesive and intense albums Porcupine Tree have ever made, flowing, from piece to piece, to a glorious 50 minute journey of self consciousness and liberation.

10 year-old kid. "The pills that I've been taking confuse me". Pills for emptiness. Futility. Ephemeral. All the drugs that seem to take out the humanity in us, which make we forgot that the most beautiful is not what is seen, but indeed what it is felt. And in this way the title track flows, an energetic and blasting convincing rock opener, resembling the mood of "Deadwing" track: anger-climax-peace, with some psychedelic piano paintings in the middle. But the album then evolutes to a different kind of feeling, different from the overall nostalgic, sad, quasi-romantic feeling of its predecessor. Strings put "My Ashes", a sweet quasi-acoustic layered track, to an ethereal level, elevated by the kid's comprehension that part of him is empty "And my ashes find a way beyond the fog, and return to save the child that I forgot...". And then the album flows into its art peak. All the subtle feeling, all the utterly blistering sonic rock power blended in one song. Anesthetize. Memorable refrains, impressive riffs (with some touch of post-metal), disturbing soundscapes, splendid cascades of celestial backing vocals and even ethereal zen moments, all together fueled by some precious moments like "You were stolen... there's black across the Sun...". It ends. Terrifying, only 17 minutes? Next one, Sentimental. Sentimental is the moment to cry. All the emotions evoked until now explode in the piano-laid dreamy guitar tone of the track: "I've wasted my life... I'm hurting inside...". No excesses or dramas, just feeling as the way it is. Time to recover is not encountered on "Way Out of Here", another moving track, with some anger explosions, leaded by its disturbing soundscapes, marking bass lines and with the delicious original guitar solo. And then it comes the last track, "Sleep Together". Class. The band had reinvented themselves again. They did what it seemed impossible. To fuse perfectly the most bizarre and psychic electronic industrial a la Nine Inch Nails with the most majestic symphonic arrangements. The album ends in a cathartic explosion of strings. We're literally disintegrated in particles, voyaging through the cosmos infinitude. "Let's leave forever". Leave forever. Forever from this, many times, inhuman place we call Earth.

Then the album ends. We're shocked. We want more. And then we put the album from the beginning. Feel, cry and leave again. Like we were in an intense and beautiful dream. The dream of escaping from this blank society, in which we assist growingly to the terrifying indifference of pointing a gun, of causing suffering, of killing. Lives guided by destruction.

This album is the manifest against the emptiness that plagues the humanity. Steven Wilson has the power to touch people. Every single album of the band has its own feeling. I still can't resume what I feel in this album. But it feels a lot... Masterpiece.

Fear Of A Blank Planet is, simply put, a perfect conclusion what Steven Wilson has strived to achieve with each record of this space-metal-era Porcupine Tree. Not saying that I would mind him pushing his musical boundraries even further, but I can't think of anyway he could. The album is cohesive, creative, effortlessly beautiful.

The album has everything that one would expect from PT, but the concept is strong and so is the songwriting - through the entire album. The first album I bought by Porcupine Tree was In Absentia. So while I respect Wilson's prior phases, I hold the sound of Porcupine Tree of In Absentia through the new album closer to my heart. In Absentia was one of my favorite albums, but as the years passed by, I noticed that some of the songs flat-out blew some of the weaker ones out of the water(IMO), making an innconsistant listen. Then Deadwing came, which was still good, but left something to be desired (lyrics like "okay whats next, after the sex" I can do without.) Fear Of A Blank Planet has no bad songs. Okay, there are only six, but maybe when Wilson focuses on a few songs instead of many, he gets really into it. Also the lyrics are mostly tasteful and personal.

As always, the music is the stongest aspect of Porcupine Tree. The melodies here are absoluetly chilling. The heavy guitars are heavier than they have ever been, while maintaining a "comfortably numb" vibe, an accomplishmentI have a profound respect for. The heavy guitars do remind me (again) of Opeth, but this time they don't sound like they were ripped from an Opeth song. They sound like something Porcupine Tree would write. It's hard to explain, but I think you'll see what I mean. In fact, just listen to Anesthetize and try to deny the fact that it is both the heaviest and (one of ) the best Porupine Tree has ever recorded! Also, Wilson writes vocal harmonies that would make Brian Wilson blush. Really awesome stuff.

This is probably the best space-metal album since Cave In's masterpiece, Jupiter. And the most fun I've had listening to a Porcupine Tree album...ever. This is one for the ages.