IN ABSENTIA

Ah, here comes my review of Porcupine Tree's best masterpiece so far. This has also got to be the saddest album I've heard in a while, the kind of chill out sad which you cannot associate with frustratingly depressing doom bands like Anathema and My Dying Bride. Here it goes:

1. Blackest Eyes: A quiet intro paves the way for a grand entrance, with a very hard and progressive guitar riff in an uncommon time signature. It all immediately quietens down and Wilson's effected vocals come in. The tunes are very melodic, and the strumming keeps the song dynamic and moving. The proggish riff is repeated, this time leading to another hard syncopated riff. The riffing is very present and bright. A spaced out section follows this bit, before the riff is repeated once again, this time leading out with a small bridge. Good melodic song overall, but slightly repetitive. Not among the best in the album [7+]

2. Trains: Oh this makes for such a great song live. And not live. It is the staple of Porcupine Tree. This song defines their recent sound and style in my opinion. The relaxing strumming and heavenly vocals lead into the same riff with a slightly distorted guitar layered on top. Altough the 'train' is as such a metaphor, this song really instils an idea of motion. The clapping and banjo in the middle are quite a nice surprise, making for an unpredictable song. Some ambience leads back into the catch tune very beautifully. The drumming is also very interesting and uncliched. Great song. [9]

3. Lips of Ashes: Starts with some very atmospheric sounds and guitar arpeggios. To be honest, the intro didn't hit me as anything spectacular, but when it contrasted with the change at 1:20 or so, I noticed the beauty of Wilson's songwriting here. A very drifty song, sounding like older Pink Floyd to me, especially the way the vocals are written. The song also has a warm solo. Good, but not great. [7+]

4. The Sound of Muzak: A great intro. The sound of the acoustic is really beautiful and solid. I wonder what magic Wilson does in the studio... A very mellow and melodic section follows, with some perfect singing. The atmosphere is the perfect chillout you can imagine. A change and solo in the middle keep things interesting. The solo sounds distanly Opeth-ish to me. I think the collaboration between Opeth and Porcupine Tree was actually creating a mutual influence. The drumming is also very dynamic. Great song [8]

5. Gravity Eyelids: Though I dislike the suddenly all-too-evil intro, I love the rest. The vocals are clear and sharp. Very very spaced out, with almost science fiction mechanical sounds (highly effected drums). Then comes the catch tune. Ahh, amazing. Everything is good, down to the minute details, even the single chord strum that occurs just before the change. The heavy riff at 4:03 sounds prog metal in a restrained kind of way. I like it, especially when the sound opens up and the heaviness is let loose. At 5:15 comes a riff whose distant evilness is reminiscent of Opeth. The last part of the song is undeniably Opeth-inspired, with the slow lead and interesting melody lines. Great song. [8+]

6. Wedding Nails: This intro is surely memorable. It literally sounds like nails being nailed into your head. Amazing songwriting technique. The riff after this part sounds just a bit Opeth-inspired too, probably simply because of the octave intervals. This all leads into a very spaced out and psychadelic sounding section, complete with syncopated guitars, highly-reverbed drums, and crazy sounding lead lines. Very interesting. Another heavy riff at 4:30 or so fades out to more crazy mechanical noises. The ambience here sounds straight out of a horror movie. It reminds me of Silent Hill. It fades out on the ambience. [8]

7. Prodigal: A not so spectacular intro, which goes into a very melodic section with vintage sounding vocal lines. The song starts to get interesting at 2:22, taking a more Porcupine Tree like approach, though I dislike the totally modulated vocals here. A clock like sounding solo comes up around here. A very bluesy solo towards the end gathers some dignity for the ending song, which fades out quite quickly. Not one of my favourites. [7]

8. .3: The intro is one of the best I've heard from Porcupine Tree. The bassline beneath the atmospheric melody somehow manage to put me into a very nostalgic mood, bringing up memories of the past. Perfect composition and balance. The intro could literally go on for minutes because you'd never get tired. It has a certain soundtrack- quality to it, and is also quite Pink Floyd-ish. The song transitions slowly, with guitar strumming helped by some phasey synthetic sounds. The main vocal line is supplanted with some of the most beautiful backing vocals I've heard. The wah'ed guitar line is also very fresh sounding. The song fades out on the atmospheric string section. Spectacular. [9+]

9. The Creator Has A Mastertape: Bah, I hate the beginning. Sounds funny yet stupid. This song reminds me some of the tracks in Flying in a Blue Dream by Joe Satriani, especially Big Bad Moon. Especially the effects on the vocals and the funny bass line. Some heavy riffing comes in at around 1:40 to keep things interesting. 3:20 sees an almost techno like section with stuttering guitars and modern sounding vocals. I don't like this song very much, though it fades out quite nicely. [6]

10: Heartattack in a Layby: This has to be the most depressing song Porcupine Tree released. Piano, guitar, and ambience lay the groundwork for the heart-rending vocals. The guitar strumming that starts at around 1:20 reminds me of Pink Floyd or Anathema. This is heavily depressing stuff. Outstanding emotional content. The lyrics are beautiful. The way that the vocals are repeated distantly all around your head is amazing. Though this is not progressive music at its most progressive moments, I will give this a high mark because it is a very welcome break. [9]

11. Strip the Soul: A bassline very similar to the one in .3 opens up here. Wilson's bright vocals come up front. A heavy section follows, which immediately cuts back to the spacey bassline and back again. Nothing that great so far. A melancholic lead comes up, with the bass still going steady beneath it, going into a very Opeth-sounding riff at around 3:00, complete with the break preceding it. A funky section comes after this, with a noisy sounding solo, before going into the Opeth-ish riff yet again. It all calms down a bit after this, before going into one of their heavier riffs. Perhaps because I like Opeth, I find the riffs much to my liking, but the overall structure is somewhat lacking. [7+]

12: Collapse the Light into Earth: A melancholic closing. A piano playing simple chords plays while Wilson sings sad lines. The line "Collapse light into Earth" is so beautifully performed. A mellotron plays in the distance, setting up a beautiful atmosphere, along with all the nice synthetic instruments. This song would fit perfectly for a sad movie ending. Nicely done. [8+]

All in all, this is probably the best Porcupine Tree album. I'd very much like to give it a full five stars, but I think this album does have a few shortcomings that prevent me from doing so, especially the weak Mastertape track and Prodigal. However, I still recommend this album to absolutely anyone. Great album. OVERALL, 8.0