September 24, 2002 - In Absentia

It's a double release day! On the same day as my last release, a little over a year since "Recordings", and over two years since their last studio album "Lightbulb Sun", Porcupine Tree released their seventh album "In Absentia" on September 24, 2002. Longtime drummer Chris Maitland is no longer with the band and I thought he was a pretty solid drummer! Replacing him is new drummer Gavin Harrison and there's also a stylistic shift this album as Porcupine Tree move further away from their psychedelic past. There's still lots of progressive goodness but in addition to their usual rock style this is their first album where at times they move into progressive metal! Steven Wilson produced Opeth's "Blackwater Park" last year and this influenced him to lean a bit more metal, which I definitely approve of! Let's see what the new Porcupine Tree is all about!

The album begins with "Blackest Eyes" and they roll nicely into pretty sweet and heavy chorus riff with Wilson playing some great, heavy, and catchy guitar. He switches to acoustic guitar for the softer verse and also sings a very smooth verse overtop. Harrison is playing some cool drums in the background and things carry right into a similarly smooth chorus. After another round they nicely return to the heavy opening riff, only for Wilson to branch out to a new riff that is plenty heavy and also super catchy! Richard Barbieri slows things down with some epic keyboards, then it's back to the main riff to nicely close things out. A pretty awesome way to get things going! Things flow right into the next song "Trains" and Wilson leads the way with an acoustic guitar riff that is smooth and solid. He sings a soft verse to match the mood and after a lone round the rest of the band joins in to give things a little more oomph. After a few smooth rounds Wilson switches to a banjo riff that is very unexpected but actually sounds pretty good, then he adds some cool light electric guitar to the mix as well. The final minute finally has some louder guitar and some nice drums by Harrison for a strong finish to this lighter bjt very smooth song. Track 3 is "Lips Of Ashes" and Barbieri plays all kinds of trippy keyboards on this one, showing that P-Tree do still have some psychedelia left in them. Wilson plays a repetitive light guitar riff to keep the pace, but Barbieri's keyboards are center stage, and it sounds like everywhere else too! Wilson sings some nice verses overtop, holding lots of long notes and sounding generally pretty epic. Even the "la la la" part is pretty smooth and cool and once Wilson adds some epic lead guitar soloing overtop things sound really good! It's another strong finish to a very unique and interesting tune. The next track is "The Sound Of Muzak" and somehow this song isn't a single, despite having one of the catchiest main riffs and one of the smoothest choruses I've ever heard. It's a really cool and super catchy riff by Wilson, a great drum beat by Harrison, and Wilson sings a great verse overtop as well. The chorus sounds very epic, like it's sung by many Steven Wilsons, and it's got a super smooth acoustic guitar riff to back it. After a couple rounds Wilson delivers a fantastic guitar solo that just hits all the right spots, then after another catchy chorus Wilson does a catchy "bada bob ba bada" part to fade us out while also playing some more pretty cool guitar. What a well-crafted and wonderful song! Track 5 is the eight minute "Gravity Eyelids" and it starts with a light, space-y riff as Wilson sings a nice high verse overtop. Barbieri adds some slow, epic piano as they move into the chorus and then Harrison starts up a catchy drum beat and Colin Edwin plays some cool bass for a louder second go through. After this round things get very quiet, only for Wilson to start up a fantastic new guitar riff that hits nice and hard and sounds pretty sweet! This whole metal section of the song sounds awesome and they nicely segue back to the space-y main riff, with Wilson adding some epic guitar to the final chorus before they quietly finish things off. Up next is the instrumental "Wedding Nails" and Wilson dives right into a fast-paced and pretty cool main guitar riff. It's got some nice bite to it and Harrison adds a catchy drum beat to match, with Edwin playing some solid bass in the background as well, though it's Wilson's awesome guitar playing that drives things along. Barbieri's synths epicly drone in the background and the rest of the guys provide a perfect backdrop to Wilson's excellent guitar playing. Wilson shifts to a slow, stop-and-start riff that is pretty heavy and cool and Barbieri's keyboards move into the spotlight more with some trippy, psychedelic stuff. Wilson then starts to solo overtop of all of that, and things sound pretty awesome to me! They nicely return to the main riff and jam out for a heavy finish, so it seems, but there's over a minute of psychedelic keyboards at the end of the song. It sounds very space-y and pretty cool, but it takes the air out of what was otherwise a great heavy song! Track 7 is "Prodigal" and Wilson plays a smooth guitar riff overtop another pretty catchy rhythm section and he adds a nice verse that matches the mood perfectly. I like Edwin's cool bass line and everything sounds very smooth as they move into a pop-y but solid chorus with Wilson sounding good in a high pop-y voice. Wilson follows this with a short but decent guitar solo and then they hit reset and nicely do it all again! The second solo is nice and epic and the whole song is just so ridiculously smooth, Wilson is such a good songwriter! The next track is called ".3" and Edwin starts us off with a nice bass riff with Barbieri playing some droning keyboards in the background to add some light epicness. Harrison comes in with a fitting drum beat and finally Wilson adds some light guitar, but it's Barbieri's epic keyboards that take the lead as he plays some epic stuff. The first several minutes of this song are instrumental, even as Wilson takes over with a nice acoustic guitar riff, then he finally comes in with a light verse overtop. As the verse ends Wilson comes in with some distorted guitar that sounds pretty epic and they continue to jam things out for another slow, epic minute to finish it off. Track 9 is "The Creator Has A Mastertape" and after some epic guitar, the rhythm section takes the lead with Harrison playing a nice drum beat and Edwin keeping the pace with a pretty cool bass line. Wilson adds bits and pieces of epic guitar overtop and eventually he sings a soft verse as well. Barbieri's keyboards make things sound even more epic as they keep ramping up, then after the chorus Wilson explodes into full guitar mode with some fast and really epic stuff that sounds pretty awesome! The guitar falls away as they nicely start up the next verse and then they build it all back up again. Harrison throws in a nice drum fill as they move into a space-y new riff briefly, then it's nicely back to the main riff for yet another strong finish to another pretty cool tune! Up next is "Heartattack In A Layby" and it's got a slow, light and dreamy feel to it as Wilson and Barbieri play very similar riffs. The light guitar and the piano go together very nicely and things definitely have a bit of a sad mood to them, especially once Wilson starts to sing. After a couple well-executed rounds we start to hear multiple Wilsons singing and the echoes of his smooth voice are done really well so that something is continuously washing over you. Certainly not a headbanger, but a well done sad song. Track 11 is "Strip The Soul" and Barbieri plays some dark, light keyboards in the background, Harrison cues up another catchy drum beat and Edwin leads the way with another pretty sweet bass line, it's this really cool bass riff that drives this whole song! Wilson sings a soft verse that matches the mood really well, then as things move into the chorus we're greeted with some nice heavy guitars as Wilson also sings an echo-y chorus overtop. After a couple great rounds they quiet things down as Edwin continues his catchy bass and Wilson plays some epic light stuff, before slamming into some slow, very epic heavy stuff, before suddenly shifting to an acoustic version the same riff in a great segue, and this somehow sets the stage for a super funky guitar solo! Wilson plays some great stuff and everything sounds super funky and badass! What an interesting and well done shift! They smoothly return to the main riff and everything sounds pretty awesome to me, this just might be my favourite song on the album! Things seem like they've reached a dark conclusion, only for them to slam into a super slow breakdown that is just so metal! I love metal Porcupine Tree! The final song on the album isn't metal at all, it's titled "Collapse The Light Into Earth" and it's driven by a repetitive piano riff by Barbieri that sounds a little sad and decently epic. He plays it throughout the whole six minute song, but there's lots to build on from here as Wilson sings a soft pop-y verse overtop that seems to perfectly match the mood. After a first round of just piano and vocals other keyboards get added to the mix until it sounds like a full symphony is behind the original piano riff. Wilson begins to hold some long "ahhhhhhhh"s and things sound like an epic church choir in full force! Wilson sings the name of the song overtop all the wordless vocals and things just keep sounding more and more epic; until it fittingly collapses back to just the piano riff to finish things off. A very neat bow to wrap up this wonderful album.

That is the end of "In Absentia" and I thought it was a phenomenal progressive rock/metal mix by Porcupine Tree! It still has some psychedelia, it has plenty of pop-y but well done lighter parts, but their branch into metal sounds fantastic! I think it's even better than their previous album "Lightbulb Sun", which means somehow, even seven albums in, Porcupine Tree just continue to improve! Could they have finally peaked? We'll have to keep listening to find out!