by Vai Helmer

Created on: June 13, 2009   Last Updated: June 14, 2009

Porcupine Tree stand as one of the most incredible acts on the modern music scene, kept from the limelight only by public adversity to progressive acts, despite exceptional talent and myriad emotive albums. Steven Wilson,multiinstrumentalist and vocalist, founder of the band, is widely considered one of the most influential figureheads of the underground. A few spins of Fear Of A Blank Planet gives a strong argument for just why he deserves such a position.

Fear Of A Blank Planet was released in the April of the 2007, and was Porcupine Tree's ninth release. The lyrics and dark overtones forge a stark image of the dangers present in the electronic youth culture of today, and the desensitization the media is inflicting upon that scene.

Far too many more popular bands are critically acclaimed musicians, dubbed genius by too many critics, who clearly have no idea what true musicians sound like. Every instrument on Fear Of Blank Planet is incredible, played with range and flair. Piano and keyboards carve landscapes for the band to fly above, a faultless bass can be heard (a triumph in itself considering a lot of music prodution these days) thrumming out a rhythmic tattoo, the drums move organically from style to style, and the guitars...

...The guitars flow through silken tones and unnerving power chords, heightening the depth and progression of each song. Every riff is packed with groove and emotion, no note wasted. The solos alone demand a proper listen (King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp and Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson make superb contributions). Inspiring work, even more impressive to those who understand just how hard some of it is to play.

However, despite the superb musicianship, I felt the length of the album created problems. I'm not adverse to a long album, particularly if all the tracks are as good as these, but the album is best appreciated in one sitting, since each track flows into one another like a huge orchestral composition. Personally, I don't feel there is enough variety in the music to hold me in place for that long. However, it's worth keeping in my mind I ussually enjoy some highly progressive acts, and a listener to more standard rock anthems would probably find much more variety in what they hear. The other problem is that the best track, Anesthetize, cannot simply be dipped into, since it clocks a huge seventeen and a half minutes.

I'd reccomend this to all fans of progressive rock (though chances are you've already found this band, and possibly have become aquainted with progressive rock through Steve Wilson's work). Fans of darker metal music will probably find some pleasure in the gritty moments, and followers of the classical scene may delight in the orchestral flow I've mentioned.

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