PORCUPINE TREE
THE INCIDENT (Album)
2009, Roadrunner Records


DISC 1 - The Incident

1. Occam’s Razor
2. The Blind House
3. Great Expectations
4. Kneel and Disconnect
5. Drawing the Line
6. The Incident
5. Your Unpleasant Family
8. The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train
9. Time Flies
10. Degree Zero of Liberty
11. Octane Twisted
12. The Séance
13. Circle of Manias
14. I Drive the Hearse


DISC 2 - Bonus Disc

1. Flicker
2. Bonnie the Cat
3. Black Dahlia
4. Remember Me Lover


Vinrock666
With their usual penchant for creating absolutely wonderful sound-scapes coupled with thought provoking and emotionally driven lyrical themes, Porcupine Tree has created a near-masterpiece with their 2009 double CD release “The Incident” This review covers part one of that album.

Musically, “The Incident” is a tightly connected concept album that effortlessly and seamlessly flows throughout by using both contrasting movements and repeating themes. With the former, five tracks are acoustically driven, while four tracks are headlined by heavy guitar riffs. This applies to structures within some songs as well, like the soft/hard verse/chorus structure on “In The Blind House”, the acoustic 1st verse and heavy electric 2nd verse on “Time Flies”, and the spacey interludes that appear in a number of songs like “Drawing The Line” and “The Incident”. Concerning the latter, the opening overture, “Occam’s Razor” appears a second time on the later track, “Degree Zero Of Liberty” and “The Séance” is basically a part 2 to the prior track “Octane Twisted” by way of the same main theme.

What holds the entire project together (including the arguably filler tracks to round out the main musical pieces) is the expertise level of musicianship that all of the members possess. The result of these kinds of abilities not only transforms mere sounds into impressive music, but evokes such a wide range of emotional reactions that adds to the listening experience as well - from uneasy and moody to trippy, eerie, spacey, and other-worldly. The interlude “The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train” is a perfect illustration of that with its peaceful lull led by a synthesized female vocal line. Another impressive example is the variety of resounding percussional sounds on the third movement of “Octane Twisted”.

Lyrically, the notion of “The Incident” being a concept album becomes a little bit less clear. Although there are repeated lines and themes in some areas, other songs are a little harder to tie into a supposed main idea, which centers around the life of a man who joins a cult of the David Koresh variety. To be sure, many parts will whiz over the heads of those trying to understand the concept completely, but it isn’t confusing or misleading - just complex, perhaps to a fault.

What saves “The Incident’ from flying too far out of reach is the number of songs of simple construction that succeeds in hooking the listener with main choruses that resonates in the ear afterwards, including possible best track “I Drive The Hearse” with it’s finale type feel and “Drawing The Line” - possibly the most engaging song with its Hammond solo, muffled trumpet line in the intro, and spacey (once again) drum segments. Even “Time Flies”, with it’s obvious and possibly intentional echoing of Pink Floyd’s “Animals” proves it’s strength with it’s reverberating bass line, powerful lyrics, and aggressive acoustic strumming of which the main theme is delivered by.

The only legitimate criticism that can be made of “The Incident” can someday be it’s greatest aspect - that its an album of considerable genius by default due to the complex nature of the overall concept. However, if one were to just sit back and let the music of “The Incident” be the guide, Porcupine Tree will deliver in providing a most wonderful journey. Nonetheless, it is one of the most creative and amazing progressive metal albums to have come out in 2009.

2010-07-23 00:00:00


Vinrock666
With their usual penchant for creating absolutely wonderful sound-scapes coupled with thought provoking and emotionally driven lyrical themes, Porcupine Tree has created a near-masterpiece with their 2009 double CD release “The Incident”. This review covers part two of that album.

None of the four songs on the second disc are connected to “The Incident” storyline; nonetheless, the same spacey, psychedelic, and mood-swinging music, as well as each song’s dark lyrical content, are just as thematically similar as if on a larger, more abstract scope, they are all still somewhat connected.

Musically, “Bonnie the Cat” and “Remember Me Lover” both use a peaks-and-valleys approach to flow seamlessly from the hard guitar riffs to the softer movements, while “Flicker” stays constantly afloat with its trippy vibe, and “Black Dahlia” stays comfortably confined to its ballad-like parameter. Concerning tempo, all of the tracks are slow to mid range with no radical internal time changes.

While not overly complex, the sounds and tones coming from the percussion and synthesizers specifically are varied and creative, thus making part two an equally engaging and easy listening experience. The most notable aspect of part two is the balance between the synthetic (synth and distorted guitar) and the organic (percussion, and lots of it). Although “Bonnie the Cat” (featuring a strange, monotonous vocal approach to its verses) exhibits this balance best, all of the tracks share this characteristic to some degree.

Lyrically, the themes are presented in a much more direct and straightforward fashion with broad poetic strokes intentionally reduced. Possible best track “Black Dahlia” illustrates a stark picture of suicide, as the best example. All of the songs are highly accessable and easily likeable because of this approach.

While it is inherently unfair to compare both parts of “The Incident”, it does stand to reason to state that these four separate songs do not measure up to the very high level part one has set. Still, part two is just as wonderful in totality when you consider all that each song encompasses. Part two of Porcupine Tree’s “The Incident” is really four beautiful encores to the main attraction that is part one.

2010-09-07 00:00:00