Fear Of A Blank Planet

I discovered Porcupine Tree completely by accident while I was listening to music on WE7. It came up as a song suggestion when the album I had been listening to finished. (WE7 is great for trying out music before committing to a purchase btw.)

I love bands like Tool, A Perfect Circle, Rush, Pink Floyd (you get the gist) and when I first heard Porcupine Tree I felt like beating myself over the head for not having found them sooner!

They combine all the best elements of the bands I like, but somehow they do it in a totally fresh and original way.

Fear of a Blank Planet is a great place to start if you are new to the band. The title track thumps you square between the eyes then you are hit with the hauntingly beautiful My Ashes which, if you read the lyrics, will leave you a blubbering wreck! Anesthetize may be 17 minutes long but it never once gets "lost" and moves seamlessly from one section of the song to the next without faltering.

Sentimental, Way out of Here and Sleep Together are all just as good. There's not a bad song on this album IMHO.

Next stop for me will be In Absentia and Deadwing.

Decided to listen to this after meeting the drummer Gavin professionally a short time ago. What can I say.. this rocks... if you like bands like TOOL or Dream Theatre you will love this.

It's very prog rock in places and the contrast in time signatures is out of this world...

Start with this if you are new to PT.

This is a FULL track-by-track review

This album I would say would appeal to a lot of different people. Initially I first heard this band when I watched the video for the title track a fear of a black planet. This was the radio edit, but it still impressed me. Now, however, I feel this is an unfair representation of the album version. That aside Porcupine tree is now one of my favourite bands. The best way to describe this album to you would probably be to break it down track by track.

Fear of a blank planet:

I really enjoy listening to this track, I think its one of the more mainstream songs on the album, with an upbeat feel, nice melodies and a very catchy chorus this is defiantly a song you should check out if you haven't heard any P.T before. Look out for the middle 8 (more mellow section at about the 4 min mark) some very nice drum work and then a really crushing riff. This again just shows how varied the music on this album is. This song I think also sums up the theme of this album nicely, which is basically the consumerism, drugs and terminal boredom that the younger generation of today experience.

My ashes:

This intro to this track really reminds me of No quarter by Led zeppelin. It's a really mellow song with nice melodic movements and some nice use of strings. This song really shows the diversity of the bands writing capabilities. Its one of the shorter tracks on the album. But it need not be long. There are also, I believe a lot of pink Floyd influences here.

Anesthetize:

Here it is... the 17-minute epic. First time I listened to this it blew me away it is a truly fantastic musical journey. It's very hard to talk about the song as a whole because it's so long; the song builds so seamlessly from slow moving melodic verses, to an absolute all out musical attack. At about 4: 56 there's a really cool section where Steve plays a sort of Polyrhythm riff around 4/4 drums. The chorus in this song is extremely catchy and you will find you singing it for the rest of the day after one listen. I can't do this song justice so just buy this album and listen PLEASE! : D

Sentimental:

This track features some of my favourite melodies from Wilson. The drums in the intro sound really cool with the low and high eq cut. This track also shares a chorus with the track "normal" off of Nill Recurring. (Follow up ep) this is a beautifully written song

Way out of here:

This songs minor chord changes give it a really sad feel. But nether the less it is a true epic with a chorus that is just pure sonic brilliance its like a flood of sound that is upon you so suddenly. this song also has some quite heavy parts adding to the texture of the song.

Sleep together:

At first I wasn't so keen but after a few listens I began to really like this track, mostly due to the fantastic orchestration mostly towards the end its an epic end to the album... ruined by a pointless drum fill about 5 seconds after the track has finished. Well I say ruined but these tracks are so good I'm grabbing at straws trying to fault them

Conclusion:

Off course this is all just my opinion but the diversity of this album is really one off its best features. I cant fault it musically and I strongly recommend that you check out a track or two and see what you think, then buy the album because every song works very well within the album and I have found I enjoy it more when I sit and listen to the whole album through. The only reason Fear of a blank planet didn't get 5 stars is that it is just to short, in some respects I wish they had just waited and added the tracks on "Nil Recurring" (also REALY WORTH BUYING) to fear of a blank planet.

Hope yo enjoy it as much as me
Oli Littlefair

Like many I have seen the ratings for this band and this album so decided to explore and have been very pleasently surprised. Like many ageing rockers that often find nothing new out there that comes to anything close to the usual 70/80's past masters this is one band that deserve the praise. The previous reviews of Floyd/rush references (I would also add some metallica in .. and yes it works really well) are spot on and musical is very powerful, complex yet very melodic and is clearly the bench mark which in no doubt the following years many bands will start to follow. And yes I too will be getting the back catalogue. An absolute work of art. Why haven't I noticed this band before....
No need to go into the details on the songs they'll speak for themselves and leave you amazed.

I got this on release, and since then it has been a permanent fixture in the car and on the mp3 player. Every track oozes quality, with a mixture of dreamy layered soundscapes and the odd burst of metal riffing. The musicianship is of the highest order, and the Steve Wilson has progressed his vocal/lyric incredibly well. Obvious highlights are the title track and Anethetize, but as whole this album is very strong, and in my opinion this is probably the best sound production of 2007. If you enjoy this you should also check out the follow up EP Nil Recurring, which is equally good.

Well, after listening to it for the 3rd time in 24 hours I had all these ace things to say about it except - you've all beaten me to it!!!
This is very simple - BUY IT! And buy the CD not a download - if you've got ace Hi Fi - you need the CD version - digital compression ruins it! Also, message for PLAY - can you please stock Lightbulb Son, this is an awesome album for any new PT fan. Stock it!!
That's all - ta!

Just seen them at Download., Donington. The only band really worth watching. Heavy with sublime skill, subltety and thoughfullness. If you like Rush with a twinge of Floyd and deep bass riffs, you can't go wrong. And with Alex Lifeson playing the solo on track 3, what more could you want?! The only problem I have now, is having to buy all their back catalogue... one problem that i'm looking forward to!

I only heard of Porcupine tree after a reccomendation from a friend, so i bought this and tryed it out. What can I say, it is absolutely awe inspiring and steve wilson can create some of the most amazing songs and instrumental work iv hear in a long time. From the first track to the last you get immersed into the world of porcupine tree and you will love every bit of it

You know how worried you get that bands' subsequent releases are not going to measure up to the past? No worries here. This disk is simply amazing. Even for the "mellow fans" whose favorite song is Lazarus (from Dead Wing), there is something for you on FOBP. I read a past review that said this was HEAVY, HEAVY, HEAVY ... so I was a concerned it might be too Metal. No need to worry. It's heavy in that it's deep and lush. I love music that makes percussion an integral part of the experience--instead of just keeping time. The percussion in this is great even for PT.

I heard deadwing when that came out in 2005 and remember thinking woah can anything ever beat this? Well now I have my answer and it's a definate yes. Although you have to look beyond the obvious setbacks the album has when you view it on the site. Firstly dispite only having 6 tracks the album is definatly not short. Anesthetize is a cool 17 minutes long, whilst the other 5 are 5 minutes each at least. Musically this album is not disimalar to PT's last 2 albums 'In Absentia' and 'Deadwing', but it bring in some elements and techniques of the earlier material, bits of the album remind me of signify. This is the real deal, an album you'll be pleased to play in 30 years time. Although a word of advice buy 2 copies, you'll wear the first disc out in a few days...