THE INCIDENT

I skipped the last Porcupine Tree as I felt they were leaning too heavily on the metal side of things. Although, I suppose that's how they've managed to break into the US market. Given the hype surrounding this release, as well as news of it entering the UK charts upon release, I was really look forward to it. In addition, I was intrigued by the prospects of PT's take on that old horse, the concept album (or "song" in this case).

I've tried listening to this at least 5 times and I still find it dreary and all too often following the PT template - slow and pensive, loud crunchy metal riffs, bit of improv, slightly upbeat outro. I still love the "sound" of the band, although there seems to be a dearth of ideas on this album. "Time Flies" is in the classic tradition of their better known songs - strong melody, vocals and hook tied to a slow build up from the other band members. But this time I find little else to recommend, especially as the "concept" side of things doesn' have any common touch points or continuity, it's just a bunch of songs queued up one after another with very little in common.

While they are still a band I really enjoy, I'm giving it only 3 stars based on their ability and talent. Most other bands would still kill to produce just one album like this.