PORCUPINE TREE — Deadwing (review)

Album · 2005 · Metal Related

5/5 · 2022-06-15
siLLy puPPy

PORCUPINE TREE is one of those rare acts that can literally mesmerize you and make you have a transcendental experience once you’ve fallen under its spell. This was a band that took me a while to appreciate mostly due to the slick overproduced style of modern prog that doesn’t always work for me. The band’s works are irresistible though for revisiting and each subsequent listening experience yields subtle elements that one can’t simply pick up in one go. Yep, the melodies are ear wormy candy and the mix of psychedelia with heavier alternative rock and metal showcases the band’s uncanny talent of walking the musical tightrope. Since this band has become quite popular it seems everyone has a favorite PORCUPINE TREE album and it’s taken me many years to go through the band’s many albums and EPs to determine which one stands above the rest. My conclusion is that the band’s top dog of its canon is DEADWING.

This eighth album came out three years after the band’s breakthrough release “In Absentia” which was the first to be released on a major label. DEADWING is the second of three albums that are considered the band’s absolute pinnacle of musical mastery. While many cite the previous or the following “Fear Of A Blank Planet” as their crowning achievement, DEADWING just hits me in the right way with everything the band had evolved into coming into full fruition on this release. Initially this was supposed to be the soundtrack to a film that never came to be. The screenplay was written by Steven Wilson and Mike Bennion and was essentially a ghost story but the funding failed to materialize and Wilson decided to take the best tracks and put them on a new PORCUPINE TREE album instead. The tracks "Deadwing", "Lazarus", "Arriving Somewhere but Not Here", "Open Car", and "Mellotron Scratch” were written for the soundtrack and the remaining were written later but designed to keep the overarching concept.

DEADWING basically takes all the elements of the already outstanding “In Absentia” and takes it all to the next level. The melodic hooks became even hookier and the progressiveness got even more proggy. The metal got more metallic and the psychedelia got even trippier. The production was flawless and the album really captures the essence of the concept like a ghostly apparition. The album features guitar solos from King Crimson’s Adrian Belew and even Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth joins in on guitar and vocal harmonies. Despite half the album intended for another project and various tracks essentially Steven Wilson solo material, the album delivers a consistency unmatched in my opinion even though the albums that bookmark DEADWING are near perfect prog classics. From the very first oscillating electronic sounds that usher in the opening title track, the second lengthiest on the album, the band mastered the art of a rotisserie of diverse dynamics that allow various melodies to act as the skeletal system.

“Shallow” follows the ethereal title track with heavy alternative metal guitar riffs with slightly off-kilter rhythmic cadences and those by then well established changes of musical motifs from heavy guitar heft to piano rolls with symphonic overdubs. The album produced the two singles “Lazurus” and “Arriving Somewhere But Not Here,” the former a short psychedelic ballad based on an arpeggiated piano riff and the latter an intricately designed masterpiece of melody, harmony and display of dynamic shifts from one mood to another with a flawless execution of an evolving flow from space rock to quickened prog rock and then finally a climaxing heavy metal fury. PORCUPINE TREE showcases its impeccable ability to transition from one idea to another without missing a beat in a logical organic warmth that really once fully comprehended sends chills down your spine.

Although its difficult to pick an absolute favorite, i have to say that the combo effect of “Mellotron Scratch” and “Open Car” are two tracks that prog dreams are made of. Infectious melodies and the perfect mastery of building up tension, releasing and then upping the ante, “Mellotron Scratch” opens with a twanging simple guitar lick that provides the recurring melodic hook throughout the track with Wilson finding creative ways to harmonize his vocals around. The track ends with one of the most beautiful displays of harmonizing vocals in classic Gentle Giant fashion after a brilliant series of connecting notes separating it from the primary musical motif. “Open Car” likewise opens with an oddly timed guitar riff and then alternates with heavier metal guitar riffs followed by a pre-chorus and a eerily beautiful symphonic chorus. The album refuses to let up with another brilliant track in the form of “The Start of Something Beautiful” and the closing psychedelic treat “Glass Arm Shattering.”

For those luckily enough to have the American edition we are treated to a re-recording of “Shesmovedon” taken from the “Lightbulb Sun” album. Other editions also add some bonus tracks but all feature the original nine tracks that collectively reach the status of musical masterpiece. This is really one of my favorite albums of all time but didn’t start out that way. This was just another PORCUPINE TREE album for many spins and then somehow really got under my skin and even found the rare honor in my world of MANY repeated spins. This is literally one of those albums i can just push re-play and never tire of. Everything that PORCUPINE TREE had been working up to had reached sheer magnanimous perfection on DEADWING. To my ears, this is the absolute perfect balancing act of PT’s psychedelic 90s, heavy prog mid-years and the peak of its progressive rock compositional creative. Sure “Fear Of A Blank Planet” isn’t far behind but what it really boils down on this one is the vocals, melodies and harmonies offered. This band had an uncanny knack for nurturing simple pop hooks into a never-ending series of variations, contrasting dynamics and brilliant instrumentation all topped off with some of the best modern production and mixing in the music industry. All without losing the main focus of the melodic processions. Masterpiece!