Porcupine Tree
Coma Divine
Prog Rock. Live. CD. Reisue 2004 (1997)

My first encounter with PT (Porcupine Tree) was actually "The Sky Moves Sideways" and "Signify." Only now (2025) have I come across "Coma Divine," the band's live recording from Rome in 1997. About half of the songs come from each of the aforementioned albums. It was recorded on all three dates. I'm reviewing the CD, specifically the 2004 two-CD remaster. Chris Maitland can also be heard on drums.

While it's "forbidden" to introduce individual songs, I'll still highlight "Radioactive Toy." I consider this song to be one of PT's best. Overall, "Coma Divine" demonstrates the shift from psychedelic-oriented music ("The Sky Moves Sideways") to song-oriented prog rock with a psychedelic touch ("Signify").  This is precisely what makes this live CD so special for me.

PT performances are always something special. Although this album features songs from three nights in Rome, everything sounds seamless, and the live character comes across very well. I highly recommend this live album to all PT fans who started listening to the band with "In Absentia." And everybody else as well.

Chris Maitland – Drums
Colin Edwin – Bass
Richard Barbieri – Keyboard, Synthesizer
Steven Wilson – Vocals Guitar

Signify 1996
Coma Divine Live 1997
In Absentia 2002
Deadwing 2005
Fear Of A Blank Planet 2007
The Incident 2009
Anesthetize – Live In Tilburg 2008
We Lost The Skyline Live 2008
Octane Twisted Live 2012
Closure/Continuation Live 2022

The photos are all from my CD. The rights to all motifs, logos, texts and fonts that can be seen in the photos are of course owned by the copyright holder.