In Absentia - Porcupine Tree - 2002
Personell:
Steven Wilson - Lead and backing vocals, Guitar, Piano.
Gavin Harrison - Drums, Percussion.
Colin Edwin - Bass.
Richard Barbieri - Keyboards.
Porcupine Tree was formed in 1987 by Steven Wilson first as a solo project but eventually evolved into a band, their influences range from the space rock of Pink Floyd and Hawkwind (more notable in their early work) to ambient, electronic and metal, over time the band developed a more accessible sound. This is the 7th Porcupine Tree album, and it's the first to embrace more metal influences, though overall it's still a very mellow album, somewhat contrasted by some very dark themes about death and insanity.
This is basically a concept album, and the songs can be interpreted in different ways and very often reference each other. The first side is notably lighter (I use that word relatively because the lyrics are still pretty ****ed up) and the second is darker, very much in the spirit of Floyd, but it dosen't actually sound like Pink Floyd, so please ignore all those foos who write the band off as nothing more than a Floyd ripoff. This is a fantastic album, maybe a bit too commercial sounding for some prog fans, and the radio friendly riffs and processed vocals will surely turn others off as well, but nonetheless I think this is an excellent record.
Blackest Eyes: Starts off with an almost Tool-ish kind of riff but ends up being a very mellow song, I like this song, it's a very upbeat sounding song, so I was surprised to learn that it's about rape. Maybe a bit christian rock sounding at times, but this is a really good opener.
Trains: This is one of my favorites, the lyrics are about Wilson's childhood, it start out with acoustic guitar and mellotron, before everything else kicks in, somehow Wilson managed to throw a Banjo solo in there (or at least it sounds like a Banjo). A very damn good song.
Lips of Ashes: I don't know what this song is about, but if I had to guess I'd have to say it seems to be about f*cking a corpse. Yet this is a very beautiful and angelic song, with gorgeous guitars. God I hope I'm wrong about the necrophilia thing.
The Sound of Muzak: To break away from the main themes of this album, this is a critique of the music industry, with Wilson explaining that "The music of rebellion makes you wanna rage but it's made by millionaires who are nearly twice your age". I guess Wilson ain't much of a Who fan.
Not quite as memorable as the other songs on here, but I like it.
Gravity Eyelids: Finally things are getting more proggy. This a f*cking gorgeous song, and it's easly my favorite. A very serene sounding sound, it starts out very mellow with some ethereal piano and mellotron, but the song eventually turns heavy. Wilson really has fun with lyrics that could be interpreted different ways. Since this song has been interpreted to be about a variety of things, either it's about a troubled relationship, or it's about a murder, or it's about child mollestation, or it's about.... butt ****ing? God songmeanings.net is no help at all. Seriously.
Wedding Nails: PT embrace their metal influences fully with this instrumental track. Wilson really shows off his guitar licks here, awesome guitar riff.
Prodigal: Another real highlight here, and this for me is one of the most moving songs for me, it's about contemplating suicide. I really love the vocals (Wilson obviously uses processing to create all the vocal harmonies, since no one else in the band sings) and melody here, great guitar too, especially the solo at the end.
3: Really lovely one here, starts out with a simple drum and bass beat, eventually a string section comes in. And the vocals which simply repeat the lyrics "Black the sky, weapons fly, Lay them waste for your race". So yeah, know you know why they called it 3. I really love this one, the strings combined with the great bassline and the guitar that comes in later.
The Creator Has a Mastertape: So after all this stuff about rape, murder, suicide, war, necrophilia and possibly butt ****ing, Wilson finally brightens things up... with a song about a guy who tortures and kills his family. Happy music. Musically this one is quite different from everything else so far, with a more uptempo rhythm and an industrial metal kind of thing going for it.
Heartattack In a Lay Bay: This is such a moving song, and quite a contrast to the rest of the album, lyrics deal with love and death, yet it comes out being a more uplifting song for this very dark album. An absolutely beautiful song.
Strip the Soul: According to Wilson he was inspired to make this album after reading a story about a family that lured people into their homes, raped and killed them and buried their bodies around their house, this song deals with that directly. A very grungey sounding song at first, with a little Opeth sneaking in at the end. It uses practically the same bassline as 3. Really love this one.
Collapse The Light Into Earth: This has been a really depressing album so far, so Wilson widely ends things on a more uplifting note, though it still deals with the main theme of death, I think this is about the victim coming to terms with fate, or something like that. Good ballad and a great closer for the album, really wraps everything up nicely.
If theres one criticism to be made here it's that it's not quite prog enough, but while Porcupine Tree are certainly a prog band, they always make melody and the lyrical themes the top priority, they certainly don't lack chops, and theres certainly some great licks here to admire, if not enough to please some of the more stingy prog fans.
I really love this album, it's so dark but beautiful at the same time.