https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW5v4Ohxk5k&list=PLzhfgETbPF7g8XBkZHFnmLnkfckqctrXD

Already got my tickets for Amsterdam.  Didn't think they would have a reunion.   

Hi,

I noticed that Colin is not on the pictures for the show ... I would imagine that the band will use Nick Beggs since his ability is probably better suited to help the band other than just bass guitar playing ... but you already know it will sound different. 

I thought the single was more of a SW song, than something that PT would do ... which had more trippy long stuff and pieces, which I think SW will do away with for PT as he did in their last 3 or 4 albums. But Colin not being there ... you might see why ... one thing he released was very interesting, but I seriously doubt many PT fans will ever touch it ... it was jazz'y as heck and I doubt that SW wants anything to do with that!

I have the new album on pre-order.......Hoping for a US tour, SW loves Seattle so I'm hoping they make it here. I am fine with Nick Beggs, he's a monster bass player and already tours with SW solo material and they play PT material also.

Honestly, with so much new music coming around, waiting for Godot to come home with some coffee, I'm not sure that it will happen, and we're adding more "hope" this or that to it, than it's worth the thought or idea.

I am of the opinion that SW can not do PT anymore. He will do another version of SW and the PT folks that are coming along, are merely along for the ride ... with the free money they get! I can't blame them, but feeling they will come up with something like they did 20 years ago, is really a drag for me ... there isn't a band out there that has done that ... other than Djam Karet in my book, still creative and different after all these years!

For SW, and PT in its latest form (their last 3 or 4 albums) it was all about SW's songs, and the tripping, and far out moments the band had which was the stuff that we liked the most, was pretty much gone in favor of "more lyrics" that supposedly mean something and are important. More like self-important, I would think, and that's his role in the rock music world. I'm OK with that, but don't expect me to spend a cent when there is so much great music that ... we're not listening to ... because of things like this!

It’s what I always do these days. The last time I listened to a single ahead of an album’s release was SW’s “Permanating”, which I thought was dire when I heard it. I didn’t listen to any of the other “To The Bone” singles, and only listened to the album after I read a review that stated how much the reviewer hated “Permanating” when it was released as a single, and lamented it’s choice as a single because they felt it worked incredibly within the album itself. The reviewer stated that it went from a hated to a loved song once heard within context. I gave “To The Bone” a listen, and I really liked it.

Ever since, I have always ensured to ignore pre-release singles, and I only ever listen to those singles once I have the album, so that I can hear them in context. I thought it would be hard, but it has actually been really easy. There is always so much to listen to, that I don’t need to hear individual songs ahead of an album.

Would I have liked the singles released from SW’s “The Future Bites” if I heard them outside the context of the album? I don’t know - but I do know that TFB is probably my favourite SW solo album. 🤷🏻‍♂️

So, I’m probably one of only a few PT fans who are eagerly awaiting the new album, but haven’t yet listened to the new single.

Hi,

I think this is sort of like the old days in the 60's when the singles came out, and if they hit some reasonable thoughts and numbers, the record company would immediately work an album to try and maintain the momentum.

I think that SW has a lot of different choices and ideas, and is not clear what he wants or doesn't want, and if the single confuses people, or they love it, it takes away 5 other choices he might have had.

Honestly, if you have to go fishing to figure out what you want to do, or need to do, he's just fishing for more money ... just like the old days! Good gawd ... 60 years ... and still the same folks and ideas! Where has progressive gone? To the cows and pastures! Maybe some milk will come!

Settled for front row balcony section, very happy!! 

Agree, but underneath that statement is a link to a "no purchase needed" link. You should have received a pre-sale code as well if you signed up at PT.com

I also pre-ordered last year......

Most bands are like that for pre-sale codes, either that or you have to actually pay and join the band fanclub....that's how Iron Maiden does it if you wanna get pre-sale code.

They never did, just had to beat the computer bots for good seats.....

Grumpyprogfan wrote:   Sounds like PT we have heard before.

Yeah... I think it's solid, OK, not outstanding, but for sure nothing that puts me off that album. I don't think it sounds forced, to me it's organic enough, but then nothing special either.

Fantastic news for sure! As for this song, I am not as crazy about it as I was for 'Harridan' which was a much more interesting listen.

Hopes are still very high for the upcoming new release.

I think the song is OK as well, I do enjoy Harridan quite a lot, looking forward to hearing that one live. I can only expect with all the pent up anticipation for new PT over the past 10 years that this album will be a pretty big seller.

What will be interesting to me, although I am sure I know the answer, is whether Steven Wilson wrote all the music? He has been stating that he was not interested in new PT album unless the other members were going to contribute much of the music creation. Without Colin Edwin, I assume he has done all the writing.....

Some telling thoughts on how things went about in 2010, with Steven Wilson walking away.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/mar/10/reunited-prog-rockers-porcupine-tree-on-surviving-their-rift-you-cant-help-but-feel-bitter" rel="nofollow - https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/mar/10/reunited-prog-rockers-porcupine-tree-on-surviving-their-rift-you-cant-help-but-feel-bitter

Not streaming anymore singles releases, I have the album on pre-order so will await it's arrival.

Grumpyprogfan wrote: Just trying to share the new PT single. Nothing but negative or dismissive comments so far. Fair enough.

It's fine that you shared it. Problem is, it isn't that good (I agree with "samey").

Maybe because some people aren't that crazy about it? Not sure what your reasoning is here, considering no one is being disrespectful about their opinions 

I have learnt my lesson in this regard, too. Leaving aside that this is a “single edit”, any single can sound completely different within the context of an album, than it does apart from it.

Personally, I never listen to pre-release singles for this exact reason. I would rather hear the singles for the first time, when I listen to the album for the first time.

In the past, back when I did listen to pre-release singles, I found all too often that one of two things so often occurred. Either I was blown away by it, and then completely underwhelmed by the album itself; or I was so disinterested by the track, or even outrightly disliked it, that it put me off buying the album. (The latter only becomes apparent, when I eventually decide to give the album a listen, because someone insists I am missing out, and I realise they are right, and even the song that put me off, I find I often end up enjoying - so long as it is in the context of the album.)

It doesn’t surprise me, even though I’ve not heard it yet, that people are not particularly engaged with the new PT material. Everything I’ve seen said about it indicates that it is indeed closure/continuation and a sound somewhat like a combination of The Incident and The Future Bites. Given that neither of those albums are held in particularly high regard around these parts, it’s figures that the new songs aren’t exactly going to set hearts alight.

(As The Incident is a top five PT album for me, and TFB quite probably my favourite SW solo album, I am hoping to quite enjoy the new PT when it finally comes around.)

The Future Bites? That's definitely an uncommon opinion in regards to SW's solo career 

Glad to see someone else that doesn't have Raven as their favorite. Hand Cannot Erase is my personal favorite, mostly because - at least to me - it struck that perfect balance between the proggy and poppy sides of Wilson. Plus, 3 Years Older and Routine are among my all-time favorite songs he's written

I love Grace For Drowning. I find it, Opeth’s Heritage, and the Storm Corrosion album all work really nicely together, and I find it hard to listen to one of those three, without wanting to listen to the other two, too. They really do make a really complementary sort of triptych. I’m not sure how deliberate that was, or whether it is just coincidental because they were all made around the same time,

hmmm... I recently bought Opeth's Heritage for £3 in a struggle to get into their clean vocal music... persevered through 3 listens and shoved it back on ebay. There is quite simply NO band on PA that over the years I have invested in more attempts to get into their music, or at least try to understand what other people see in them.. frankly, I just can't and regrettably, I just won't be trying them again. 

Well then I guess you are definitely right that SW’s Grace was not the best place for you to start investigating his music outside PT! 😄

As with Subsignal and Wolverine though, you are the one drawing the connecting lines between GfD and Heritage. I'm not saying you are wrong, because these things are very personal, but I can't for the life of me see any. For me, the lines take me back to Signfy and perhaps more ambient Riverside, which I'm quite happy with.

Funny that you say that...

To quote Wilson from the Storm Corrosion bio: "We have both always loved the idea of discord, of beauty, and ugliness side by side. Without being too pretentious, that's what life is like, so you hear a lot more of that coming out in Storm Corrosion. It's heavy, but without the use of the metal vocabulary. You can hear that on ‘Grace For Drowning' and on ‘Heritage' too. So I think, in many ways, this is the completion of a trilogy."

I would have agreed with you, and said that you are right, and I am the one drawing the connecting lines between GfD, SC and Heritage, I really would have. But I just read Brendan’s post and I am 😱😱😱

If Steven Wilson himself is drawing the same connecting lines as I have heard, then I’m taking that as a win! 🤪

And you are quite right to do so..  Furthermore, if you had independently spotted the musical connections between these three albums without any hint from SW, then I'd say you have a very finely tuned musical ear. All I can say is that between you, Brendan and Cristi, the PMT is in safe hands.. 

I merely base my comparisons on the albums I know and enjoy, which I freely admit paint a rather patchy picture. I know of but have never paid any attention to his Storm Corrosion album, however it's one I'll certainly check out in time... I simply couldn't get into or appreciate the sound palette of Heritage at all and if I'm being quite honest, don't think I would have noticed any musical comparison between it and GfD, even if SW himself had sat me down and asked me to play them back to back, pointing out key references on the way....  

Maybe a little for which I apologise, although I've actually found the last page quite interesting and we're still talking SW. When it comes to the hype around the new album, I have to say I'm with those here who don't like hearing prog rock tracks in isolation, in advance of the album on Yt, as they are of necessity taken out of context. Rather, I'll wait for the release date to come and go, let the devoted all post their views and have their forum say before buying it myself and then listening through 6-8 times before forming some sort of outline conclusion.

In other news, inspired by this thread, I've just bought Raven for £4 and am looking forward to giving it my undivided attention...   

Yep, as per previous, although I know all the PT albums and first saw PT live back in 2000 promoting Lightbulb Sun, I've never heard or invested in SW's solo catalogue, only owning GfD thus far...

I'm in the same boat, clearly. I am an LP spinner, I play all sides of all records so the context of an album is a main focus point for me. I tend to believe most (prog) artists create albums that are supposed to be listened to from start to finish to capture the entire essence of the record.

That being said, I still am not a big fan of streaming music just to listen to one song......I mean one song is not going to make it or break it for me anyhow. 

Thanks Jose... I'll look forward to hearing it in due course and have intended to pick up Insurgentes, although it seems to be quite a challenging listen?  I agree 100% with your above comment concerning the way to listen to a prog album, and tend not to Yt 'singles' for that reason. When it comes to my partner and a new Within Temptation album however (for example), it's very much about the singles, so she knows three songs before the album is released... we listen to different music for different reasons.  

What prog album is not a challenge..??  It was for me originally, but after so many spins it began to grow roots with me. Now I spin it at least once a month during my listening sessions, it has more of that shoegaze type mood.

The first time wife and I saw SW live on the GFD tour a lot of the material was Insurgentes, which was great. SW came out wearing the gas mask on one of the songs, that was kinda weird . We've seen him live 3x.....

Thank you, I appreciate the shoutout  Being on the PM team has been really fun and rewarding so far - of course, the benefit of discovering a bunch of new bands is always nice as well 

Also, to your defense, I don't really hear a ton of similarities between the three albums either. Grace for Drowning and Storm Corrosion are similar in some ways, but Heritage seems like the odd one out. In any case, GfD would probably be my second favorite SW solo album after HCE 

How? We've been talking about PT/SW the entire time, so it's not like we completely changed subjects 

Storm Corrosion is poasibly the link, then, I guess - as you hear similarities between GfD and SD, but Heritage seems the odd one out to you. For me, there is no real odd one out, but if I had to pick one, I would have said GfD. I find SC and Heritage to be incredibly similar and reminiscent of each other. Far more so than SC and GfD to my ears, anyway.

GfD would probably also be my second favourite SW album (though after TFB, not HCE). Insurgentes, Hand and Bone are probably battling it out for third place, and it depends on my mood and the day which would be the victor.

As for derailing, I have never thought this thread has derailed at all. It has remained on topic the whole time, which is kind of a miracle on this forum. I suppose it is subjective as to what is “on topic”, so if you are particularly anal and pedantic about it, I guess it has gone off on a tangent, but it is one so acutely close, it has barely diverged. 🤷🏻‍♂️

I think for me it's because GfD and SC both share a more experimental stance toward prog, whereas Heritage is much more in the "retro-prog" vein. Obviously Wilson would eventually adopt that approach with Raven (which is a big part of why it's not my favorite SW album), but GfD still strikes me as a more experimental and forward-thinking record for his solo career. In all honesty, though, maybe I need to revisit Heritage; it's easily my least-played Opeth album, and I've never been all that impressed during the listens I have given it. 

I think my SW ranking would go like this at the moment:

HCE

Raven

TTB (underrated stuff in my opinion)

GfD (still excellent though, despite being #4)

Insurgentes

TFB (still has its moments for sure)

GfD, Heritage and SC all have that weird retro/experimental thing going on, and I don’t know why I can hear it and you can’t. It never even occurred to me that others might not find the same resemblances and complementary nature I do (which is incredibly arrogant of me, and I feel a right numpty for thinking that way), because it just seems so overt and explicit to me that all three feel connected in some way.

TTB is definitely underrated, and I’m glad to see you put it in third in your rankings. That is probably where it most often figures in mine, too, though HCE and Insurgentes definitely give it a run for its money!

[EDIT] Today I’m feeling like it’s:

The Future Bites

Grace for Drowning

—//—

To the Bone

Hand Cannot Erase

Insurgentes

—//—

Raven

To each their own though. To be honest, my problems with Heritage have less to do with the retro stuff, and more to do with the album being a bit aimless and scatterbrained for me. As far as I'm concerned, Opeth's post-Watershed output has only gotten better with each album (I'm still a bit mixed on Pale Communion though, to be fair)  Funny how their 60+ minute 2000s records often felt like they went by more quickly than a 55-minute album like Pale Communion

Anyway, Steven Wilson's favorite cheese is Halloumi. Anyone ever had Halloumi cheese? 

another new song, that's pretty good

I'm glad I've heard four songs from the new album, as it has convinced me not to buy it.

"Derailed" is a harsh word here, they still talked about Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson at least. It didn't bother me. And I usually dislike off-topicness. 

Yes, I like halloumi. In fact, I love halloumi. It is one of my favourite cheeses, but (of course) I don’t eat it in the same way I eat other cheeses. Halloumi is the steak of cheeses, so the question is, do you like yours rare, medium or well done?

Edam is possibly prog cheese, as it is the only cheese to be made backwards.

Perhaps the next Wilson & Akerfeldt venture could be Cheese Corrosion. That would be a tasty morsel, indeed! Yum!

The Gorgonzola Bites

The Raclette That Refused To Melt

The possibilities are endless!

🧀🧀🧀

I remember not liking the album at all on release, God I thought it was so depressing and dark and a downer, I generally have to be in the mood to listen to it. But I do think there is some fantastic writing and production on this record.

You’re the one who brought up halloumi. Have you never fried it like a steak? Just as with a steak, you can leave the halloumi in the pan for as little or as long as you like - thus rare, medium or well done. I like my steak (whether meat or cheese) medium. Sometimes medium-rare, depending on exactly what kind of steak. But generally, I would rather if it goes wrong, that it is cooked too long, than cooked too little. I can still eat a steak if it looks cremated, but if it appears to still be able to walk off the plate, it’s not for me.

Have you not been paying attention? Grumpy brought up halloumi on the previous page, and as he is the OP, the topic is in his hands. Or under his grill, potentially? Grilled halloumi is also nice. But I do prefer to fry it. I love to hear that sizzle!

Now sizzle - is that ever a word you associate with SW? Have you ever thought that any PT or SW music is sizzling? I can think of some sizzling prog, but as much as I might like PT and SW, I wouldn’t call any of the music sizzling. Cheesy, perhaps. But not sizzling.

Also, derailment is fine, because PT had that song about trains, so going off the rails is kind of keeping on track…

He's not the OP.

Let's get back on topic. 

And, of course, moaning about it being off topic is what caused it to become off topic.

Also, I brought it back on track, but you ignored that.

Give me your best sizzling SW moment. Go!

https://www.youtube.com/c/NathanNavarro/videos

Honestly, every day is a school day. For some reason I thought SW was a vegan, so I thought Grumpy was just joking about the Halloumi.

Thanks for the education, Mr Grumspsta! It is appreciated. I guess that’s my something new for the day. 🤗

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/steven_wilson_im_a_vegetarian_because_i_believe_humans_dont_have_any_right_to_eat_animals.html" rel="nofollow - https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/steven_wilson_im_a_vegetarian_because_i_believe_humans_dont_have_any_right_to_eat_animals.html

https://culturecheesemag.com/cheese-iq/squeaky-cheeses/" rel="nofollow - https://culturecheesemag.com/cheese-iq/squeaky-cheeses/

Very informative. Thanks! I've never tried it either. Article says it tastes similar to Mozzarella. 

It doesn’t taste like mozzarella to me, but I guess taste can be subjective and individual.

I do love halloumi, though. I prefer it hit to cold, bland prefer it fried to grilled, but I’ll eat it however. You can get halloumi “fries” at places like McDonalds and Burger King these days. It used to be a cheese not many knew about, but now it is fairly ubiquitous.

I first found out about it when I holidayed in Cyprus. I’d never heard of it before, but it was love at first bite!

Man, I'd love to go back to Cyprus. I only went there once during my 2018 deployment, but the food there was so good... including some of the best grilled lamb chops I've ever had 

.....pull my finger....

To be fair, it is still able to be related back to SW, because he is quoted as saying halloumi is his favourite cheese. I have Grumpy to thank for that, as that is something about SW I never knew, and it is a fact that I am likely to now always remember.

Will it squeak like halloumi?

Excellent!! I see them in 2 weeks...

I'll gladly miss all this. I did not think that the material shown around from the new album was that great, or "better" than a lot of things out there ... and I think that many have confused the incredibly well recorded manner of the album, for the artistry of the songs that was not there.

The medium is NOT the message! PERIOD!

Hi,

The band, or even SW, has ALWAYS sounded fantastic on stage. You can check this out on many videos, and it was quite clear that they worked at making sure they sounded right, and good.

It made for a nice evening, and yeah, a positive vibe, even in the show that Richard was forced to do the music without his trusty Prophet 5 (took a spill on the airport and they could not fix it before showtime!) ... in 1999 ... in SF ... and while a roadie said they sounded terrible, I have to tell you that they sounded absolutely magnificent and that show should have been recorded for an album ... maybe a slightly different version of this or that, but still ... strong, and very well done!

My tastes, and experiences, however, died after seeing GONG three times and spending time with them on the 2nd go. Not that they did not sound right, or good in the show, but in the end, sometimes, their time has already showing signs of fading. I doubt this will be the case for PT, mostly because I really thought that the production values in the material on the new album were outstanding, and WAY BETTER THAN THE MUSIC ITSELF, which for me makes for a slightly fake thing. It took away the meaning of the whole thing to a less than important value!

I'll save my money ... thanks! Only one person I would love to see, and never will ... Peter Hammill with or without VdGG. Too late for Vangelis, and I doubt we will ever see Mike Oldfield in America!