IN ABSENTIA

"In Absentia" is diverse, like "Lightbulb Sun" was... But much more. The hard riffs are really harder than everything than Porcupine Tree made before... The psichodelic elements are here, and the typical Wilson's experiments and innovation... But the main innovation is the mind-blowing riffs in songs like Blackest Eyes, The Creator has a Mastertape, Gravity Eyelids, Strip the Soul... I love this mixture of the paceful Wilson's voice, with his mellow guitar solos wiht this savage guitars rythms... This fact make the Porcupine Tree's music ever more diverse than before, and really interessant to listen to.

This new Porcupine's face would be really perfectionated in "Deadwing", better than "In Absentia" in my opinion, with a real and clear direction... While "In Absentia" its a little erratic sometimes. Some songs are just great, but is not a flawless album... Lips of Ashes is a little boring, a song in the style of the Steve Wilson's project No-Man; Gravity Eyelids is just acceptable; and other songs like 3 or Heartattack in a Layby don't leave a deep mark... I miss some long songs here too, a Wilson's speciality.

Ok... But Strip the Soul is just great, Blackest Eyes is a perfect start, The Sound of Muzak has a great guitar melody and chorus, Prodigal mix pop melodies and heavy riffs in a sublime way, I love the Barbieri's piano in Collapse the Light Into Earth... The album has a lot of memorable tracks. Conclusion: a change in the Porcupine Tree's music... All the typical Wilson's elements are here, but the strong and heavy guitar riffs are a new thing, a fact that gives the album a lot of variety and makes it really enjoyable in my opinion. And this new way of making music, would be even better in later albums like "Deadwing"... "In Absentia" is not as good as this masterpiece, but it's really near... An excellent album.

My rating: ****

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