Porcupine Tree
Nil Recurring

Second discographic release of 2007 for Porcupine Tree.

In fact, this "Nil Recurring" is a mini album released just a few months after their last great work titled "Fear of a Blank Planet" and consists of 4 tracks recorded during the same session; the album was produced in a limited edition of 5000 digipack copies, soon sold out and available only through the internet... due to high demand, the band decided to release more copies that will be available during their tour concerts, and in the early months of 2008, the EP will be available in stores for the general public.

Nothing new (or almost nothing) as far as the sound is concerned, which indeed resembles the sonorities of the previous album, confirming that Porcupine Tree have fully entered the magical world of progressive metal. The "concept" also seems to pick up from the previous work, not only thematically but also musically, presenting, with a pleasant surprise, some beautiful citations. The four tracks of considerable length, the first of which is entirely instrumental, continue and further mature the musical idea that Porcupine Tree (or should we say Mr. Steve Wilson) have been trying to develop over the past couple of albums (see "Deadwing" and "Fear of a Blank Planet," but there are traces even in the remarkable masterpiece "In Absentia"); a prog metal that is becoming harder with ever darker sounds without losing sight of the psychedelic idea that has accompanied this band since its beginnings. ... the sound blend is something that refreshes this now stale genre... the atmospheres artfully created with electronic instruments and keyboards mix with distorted and variably effected guitars that distill riffs of majestic and often obsessive and hypnotic rhythm always supported by the expert hands (and feet) of the drummer.

The rhythmic part of these tracks is what excites me the most: odd-time rhythms, syncopation, and offbeats generate engaging and reactive sound vortices capable of expressing the violence and anger of some parts, in contrast to the melancholy of the rest. Wilson's delicate and depressed voice outlines it all with a good melody without ever ending in excess and contributes to painting those reverberated and expanded atmospheres that appear from time to time in the tracks, diverting attention from the rhythmic power. Wilson, besides being a good interpreter of such atmospheres, also shows his ability to master various instruments and stands as the cornerstone of the entire work... the ability to translate sometimes dramatic themes into music confirms the talent of this artist who continues to evolve over the years, even winning the favor of sacred monsters of prog.

The first track (instrumental) features Robert Fripp. The second track begins with a stunning acoustic guitar riff that takes us back with a flashback to the old progressive rock so popular at the end of the '70s. But the last track is my favorite, perhaps because it's an original synthesis of this idea: the driving groove and psychedelic and sometimes "trance" atmospheres move forward like a train in a progressive crescendo of sounds until the well-executed rhythm change that transforms it into a rocking, majestic, and dramatic ¾.

So we must say that Mr. Wilson and Porcupine Tree's goal has been fully achieved: the cold, psychedelic, and sometimes technical and violent sound masterfully translates into notes a decadent and bleak vision of reality of our times, almost casting a shadow of fatalism on our drowsy and value-lacking society that seems to have forgotten what matters most: emotions!