Porcupine Tree
„Deadwing“
Progressive Rock.

• 2 LP, Black Vinyl. 2021 (2005)
• Reissue
• Transmission
• TRANSM242LP
• new

The album Deadwing was released in 2005. Steven Wilson remastered it in 2017. Transmission released a 130g black vinyl reissue in 2021.

Let me say right away that I'm also an enthusiastic listener of this album. Some had expected something like "In Abenstia II", but PT has once again changed his interpretation. 

Deadwing is actually a ghost story, based on a screenplay co-written by Steven Wilson. It has not yet been made into a film, but to this recording. It is worth mentioning that Mikael Akerfeldt from Opeth contributed to it.

The opener “Deadwing” is a masterpiece of prog “In a Nutshell”. It starts gently and playfully and then the driving beat sets in. Wavering guitars and then the hard ride to metallic heights. And then back to the beginning. Heart, what more could you want? “Shallow” sounds like hard rock at the beginning, then pop, then hard rock again. Good. With “Lazarus” the otherworldliness returns, with piano and gentle guitar. The song lives from the interplay of lyrics and music. For me the song would otherwise be too gentle. So pay attention to the lyrics. “Halo” lives from the beautiful bass line played by Colin Edwin. The band in general. At first congenial implementers of Wilson's philosophy, Porcupine Tree transformed from a solo thing into a band. Gavin Harrison on drums and Richard Barbieri on keyboards. Masters of their craft.
"Arriving Somewhere But Not Here" isn't just the longest song at 12:02; for me, it's the heart of this album. Slightly psychedelic, with wonderful lyrics and musically complex, yet not over the top. There's real structure to it. And I love that! That feeling, that the work that went into creating this exact atmosphere is undeniable. Simply brilliant. "Mellotron Scratch" takes things back to a calmer, more psychedelic feel for almost seven minutes. With a fine structure. The concise "Open Car" brings us back to reality with hard riffs. "The Start of Something Beautiful" delivers finely crafted prog again, which never gets boring for me because there are always some unexpected twists. Lyrics and music are top-notch once more. The last side begins with "Glass Arm Shattering," which is calmer and more dreamy. PT consistently manage to create a good balance on Deadwing. "So Called Friend" is wilder again. “Half Light” is, in turn, a dreamy song and a good way to end the evening.

Conclusion.

Anyone who likes prog will find something to enjoy here. Porcupine Tree doesn't make simple music. Everything is exactly where it should be. Every bar, every line of lyrics is perfectly placed. Reviewers who find this unsurprising are confusing personal taste with technical expertise. "Deadwing" is no less intense than "In Absentia"—but less hard.

One more thing about the 130g records. They were warped and had to be flattened first. There are no disturbing surface noises.

Colin Edwin – Bass
Richard Barbieri – Synthesizer, Keyboard
Gavin Harrison – Drums
Steven Wilson – Vocals, Guitar, Keyboard
John Wesley – Backing Vocals

On The Sunday Of Life 1992
Voyage 34 1992/1993 (2022)
Up The Downstair 1993 (2021)
The Sky Moves Sideways 1995 (2021)
Signify 1996
Coma Divine (Live) 1997
Stupid Dream 1999
Lightbulb Sun 2000
Recordings 2001
In Absentia 2002
Deadwing 2005
Fear Of A Blank Planet 2007
Nil Recurring 2007
Anesthetize – Live In Tilburg 2008
We Lost The Skyline Live 2008
The Incident 2009
Octane Twisted Live 2012
Closure/Continuation 2022
Closure/Continuation Live 2023

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

TheProgThief
©21.08.2024
Mk 2