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Once upon a time, I couldn't go beyond excessive, technical, and virtuosic prog-rock. My tastes still favor that form, but I've discovered that the more melancholic, sentimental, and introspective prog is also astonishing, like that of Porcupine Tree, a band that manages to communicate emotions that go straight to the heart.
And honestly, I love their latest album for the melodies it offers and the very contrasting emotions it manages to convey, from the darkest to the most sentimental.
Of course, it has to seriously contend with masterpieces like "In Absentia," "The Sky Moves Sideways," and "Signify," but I must say that this "Fear Of A Blank Planet" is indeed an excellent album! Steven Wilson, as usual, leaves nothing to chance, and if he were to leave anything to chance, I think it would be a minor distraction.
The title track is honestly one of my favorites written by the group and manages to impart an energy that few other of their songs can convey: powerful guitars and a fast and smooth rhythm but also space for keyboards and some delicate acoustic moments. Remarkable and melancholic "My Ashes" with piano and keyboards in the spotlight; definitely a song for the romantics. But probably the album reaches its peak in the suite "Anesthetize"; 17 minutes of dark, dramatic sound among delicate guitar touches, electronic experiments, distorted guitars in a metal key, Hammond parts, all very well curated. In "Sentimental", again, very touching melodies, while "Way Out Of Here" is another song with dark and dramatic tones, as can also be demonstrated by Steven Wilson's vocal performance in the chorus, and once again metal influences emerge before the final chorus; a good song to release anger, to listen to in difficult moments. Pleasant, even if perhaps a bit subdued compared to the others, is the closer "Sleep Together" where evident electronic influences and good orchestrations emerge in the chorus.
An overall well-made album but before listening to it, keep an eye on the masterpieces created in the past!
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
02 My Ashes (05:07)
All the things that I needed
And wasted my chances
I have found myself wanting
When my mother and father
Gave me their problems
I accepted them all
Nothing ever expected
I was rejected
But I came back for more
And my ashes drift beneath the silver sky
Where a boy rides on a bike but never smiles
And my ashes fall on all the things we said
On a box of photographs under the bed
I will stay in my own world
Under the covers
I will feel safe inside
A kiss that will burn me
And cure me of dreaming
I was always returning
And my ashes find a way beyond the fog
And return to save the child that I forgot
And my ashes fade among the things unseen
And a dream plays in reverse on piano keys
And my ashes drop upon a park in Wales
Never ending clouds of rain and distant sails
03 Anesthetize (17:42)
A good impression of myself
Not much to conceal
I'm saying nothing
But I'm saying nothing with feel
I simply am not here no way I...
Shut up be happy stop whining please
And because of who we are
We react in mock surprise
The curse of "there must be more"
So don't breathe here, don't leave your bags
I simply am not here no way I...
Shut up be happy stop whining please
***
The dust in my soul makes me feel the weight in my legs
My head in the clouds and I'm zoning out
I'm watching TV but I find it hard to stay conscious
I'm totally bored but I can't switch off
Only apathy from the pills in me
It's all in me, all in you
Electricity from the pills in me
It's all in me, all in you
Only MTV cold philosophy
We're lost in the mall, shuffling through the stores like zombies
Well what is the point? What can money buy?
My hands on a gun and I find the range, God tempt me
Well what did you say? Think I'm passing out
Only apathy from the pills in me
It's all in me, all in you
Electricity from the pills in me
It's all in me, all in you
Only MTV and cold philosophy
***
Water so warm that day
I counted out the waves
As they broke into surf
I smiled into the sun
The water so warm that day
I was counting out the waves
And I followed their short life
As they broke on the shoreline
I could see you
But I couldn't hear you
You were holding your hat in the breeze
Turning away from me
In this moment you were stolen
There's black across the sun
04 Sentimental (05:26)
I never wanna be old
And I don't want dependents
It's no fun to be told
That you can't blame your parents anymore
I'm finding it hard to hang from a star
Don't wanna be
I don't wanna be old
Sullen and bored the kids stay
And in this way they wish away each day
Stoned in the mall the kids play
And in this way they wish away each day
I don't really know
If I care what is normal
And I'm not really sure
If the pills I've been taking are helping
I'm wasting my life
Hurting inside
I don't really know
And I'm not really sure.....
Sullen and bored the kids stay
And in this way they wish away each day
Stoned in the mall the kids play
And in this way they wish away each day
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Other reviews
By Gregor_Lake
Fear of a Blank Planet is certainly a further confirmation of the band’s maturity, allowing us to appreciate not only the technical prowess but also the compositional and arrangement tastes.
The standout piece of the album is the suite 'Anesthetize' which is smooth and fluid in all its 17 minutes, never suffering from repetitiveness or various expansions.
By DanteCruciani
The songs seem to flow anonymously, only rarely is the stage illuminated by some good insight.
Fear of a Blank Planet feels cold and distant.
By omegabass
The six tracks of 'Fear Of A Blank Planet' are pure perfection, and this time they are even beyond appearances.
'Anesthetize,' seventeen minutes that split the album in half, flows more than three minutes of Sanremo and is... perhaps the most emblematic piece of the Porcupine Tree style.
By MORPHEO 33
Porcupine Tree continues to climb, album after album, to unattainable heights; to places where common people do not think and especially cannot reach.
Anesthetize is destined to become one of the band’s most beautiful and successful suites.
By NoodlesMurphy
From Steven's first guitar stroke, you recognize them, these Porcupine Tree.
Anesthetize... All perfect, a 10 and praise closure.
