Porcupine Tree - Deadwing (2005)

[Progressive Rock]

Porcupine Tree's 2002 album In Absentia was an unexpected runaway success for the band, and fans worldwide eagerly awaited the next album to see where they would take the music next. Deadwing, released three years later, was certainly similar in style - but this was still a whole different animal. Porcupine Tree had again emerged transformed into something new, but not so unfamiliar as to be alienating. The title track opens the album with the big guitar crunch that made In Absentia a winner, and the big hooky feature riff quickly drags the listener in. The band has chosen to stay close to their prog roots, and the songs twists and turns unpredictably through multiple verses that have no chorus to break them up. It somehow works, and when the big stadium rock riff of 'Shallow' fills the speakers you are nothing short of hooked. This song doesn't leave anyone wanting, and not only features the biggest riffs of the album, but it also has a fist pumping chorus. If any song on the album is going to be called 'metal', this is it. The barrage lets up for the soft ballad 'Lazarus', which once under your skin proves itself to be a true highlight of the album, with its weaving piano pattern wonderfully integrated with the lyrics. The production on the album is pristine, with every instrument shining, and every note crisp and clear. Steven Wilson's vocals are perfectly levelled to compliment the harshness and/or subtleties of the music. King Crimson's Adrian Belew provides solos to a couple of songs, including the slinky 'Halo', another album highlight. Opeth's Mikael Akerfeldt also makes an appearance, adding a solo and vocals to 'Arriving Somewhere But Not Here'. It isn't until track 6 ('Mellotron Scratch') that the album starts to stray into the more progressive side of the band, and this track could easily have fit on one of their earlier albums with ease. In fact, from here on most of the tracks are less accessible to a casual listener. If one compliant could be made about the album as a whole, it's that it is 'front loaded' with the punchier songs. It isn't that the tracks on the second half aren't up to the quality of the first, they are just far less memorable overall, meaning that the album doesn't really end on a high note. 'Open Car' is possible the best of the later tracks, with a few great riffs driving the song along. Everything ends on a quiet note with 'Glass Arm Shattering', and the ride is over. Deadwing adds another new dimension to the already wide range of Porcupine Tree, and again shows why the band is one of the best in the modern prog playing field.