Track Listing

1. Deadwing
2. Shallow
3. Lazarus
4. Halo
5. Arriving Somewhere But Not Here
6. Mellotron Scratch
7. Open Car
8. The Start Of Something Beautiful
9. Glass Arm Shattering

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3969 in Music
• Released on: 2005-03-28
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Enhanced, Extra tracks

Album Description
The new Porcupine Tree album, Deadwing, is an ambient work that highlights band's progressive side whilst also bringing contemporary influences to the fore. Recorded between March-October, the album has been mixed in collaboration with Grammy Award-winning producer Elliot Scheiner. There are also guest appearances by Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth, and Adrian Belew of King Crimson.

Customer Reviews

Do You Believe In Ghosts?
As classic rock magazine recently said, Porcupine Tree are the most important band you've never heard of; Now onto their 9th studio album, their second on a major label, the band seems on the verge of bobbing above the commercial rock surface that they've floated just underneath for so many years.

Based on ideas from a ghost film script (not a full-blown concept album though) written by a friend of front man Steve Wilson (No Man, Blackfield, and many more projects), Deadwing is one of the more diverse albums the band has recorded, with more creative input from Colin Edwin (bass), Richard Barbieri (keyboards) and Gavin Harrison (drums) this time around.

The title track starts the experience with an electronic intro which leads up to the feet tapping main-riff. The band has carried on the heavier rock sound of 2002's In Absentia, but it's more blended into the overall sound this time. The track features some fantastic vocal contrasts, unlike any the band has done before.
Shallow, as Steve Wilson describes it, "is a big dumb rock song, done the Porcupine Tree way". It's probably the one song that will divide the long-standing fans opinion. Not the best on the album, but has received favourable radio airplay over in the U.S.

After the all-out-rock of the first two tracks, Lazarus calms things down; it's a really beautiful song, full of pianos and slide guitars. It really wouldn't sound out of place on mainstream radio alongside current pop acts like Keane and Coldplay.
Halo bring the sonic experience back into heavy rock territory, it's obviously a track Colin, Richard and Gavin gave a lot of input to - the drums, keyboard effects and bass are really prominent here.

Arriving Somewhere, But Not Here is my highlight of the album, it's pure perfection, all 12 minutes of it. It really showcases Steve Wilson's writing and vocal talents.

Mellotron Scratch suffers from coming directly after Arriving Somewhere.... It's by no means a bad song, it just hasn't quite grown on my yet.
Open Car, the shortest track, is a bit of a schizophrenic song, altering between hard riff and sublime sing-a-long chorus.

The Start of Something Beautiful starts exactly that, beautifully, and carries on; one of Barbieri's showcases. At the 4m50s point the song gets even better, entering into a more traditional PT sound heard on some of their previous albums.

And so we come to Glass Arm Shattering, which carries on the PT tradition of ending an album on a relaxing high, full of luscious harmonies, pianos and sound effects.

Now that we've addressed the songs, I suppose we better address that little word beginning with a P in Amazon's current description of the album.... Progressive.
This isn't progressive as in 70's Prog Rock. These days the term refers to music and bands which aren't afraid to stray from the 3 minute verse-chorus-verse structure. In that respect, yes you could describe this album as having progressive features. Some songs flow into each other, some don't.

It's probably at this point where I should say, you'll like this album if you're a fan of blah blah blah. I could do that, but the list would be far too long.
If you're a fan of intelligent rock music, and aren't afraid to stray beyond the mainstream 3 minute single, give this album a chance. Be warned though, as any PT fan will testify; One album is never enough. You'll soon find yourself hunting down their entire back catalogue, then all the side projects and then all the albums Steve Wilson has produced with other artists, and then dear reader, Mr Wilson will have you hooked for life!
You have been warned!

Outstanding
Another month, and another batch of releases from the prodigious Mr Wilson, this the most recent from his long running, and criminally under-rated Porcupine Tree outfit. Hot on the heels of the excellent Dronework, released under his Bass Communion moniker, and the equally high quality Continuum Volume I (Continuum being a collaborative project between Bass Communion and Belgian soundscape artist VidnaObmana), the latest addition to the huge, albeit mostly deleted, Porcupine Tree catalogue does not disappoint. Quite the opposite.

The album is a masterpiece. Somehow this band, with the possible exceptions of The Sky Moves Sideways and Lightbulb Sun (though these are both excellent albums that should grace any music lover's collection) manage to keep improving with each release - an outstanding feat considering the consistent high quality of their output.

Based upon a film script written jointly between PT leader and multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson and Mike Bennion (who directed the band's Piano Lessons video from the Stupid Dream album of 1999), the album is a complex and intelligent work of power and beauty. The undoubted highlight of the album, the centrepiece Arriving Somewhere But Not Here, clocks in at just over twelve minutes and flows between a smooth haunting beauty to an almost metal-esque structure and back without losing a sense of flow. The same can be said for the rest of the album, with harder tracks such as Shallow balanced out by mellower tracks like the excellent Lazarus and the emotive Mellotron Scratch. The switch in styles mid album is incredibly effective and in no way seems uncomfortable - the layout of the album is remarkably cohesive and well thought out.

Put simply, there is not a weak track, or even a weak point, on the album. With any justice, this should be the album that sees Porcupine Tree hit the major stage in terms of worldwide audience and success, although it is an almost predictable certainty that this will not happen, as the majority of the music buying public continue to follow the whims and demands of the moguls of the "music" industry. This is a crying shame, as it is the work of artists such as Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson that keep real music alive. I would strongly urge people with a love of real, intelligent music, of whatever style, to take a chance to discover this incredible band. I would challenge anyone to be disappointed with what they find.

This album should be in everyone's collection. Buy it now and let yourself be seduced by their finest album to date, and undoubtedly one of the releases of the year. Glory in its perfection! And struggle to consider how it may be possible for Porcupine Tree to improve on this master work for their next album!

Afterword - also keep an eye out for the forthcoming limited edition version that will be released on 26th April (coinciding with the general US release date of Deadwing) in hardback book format with 72 pages. Furthermore, on 10th May Deadwing, as happened with previous album In Absentia, will be released on the DVD-Audio format mixed into DTS5.1 surround and complemented by extra tracks. In the meantime, do not deprive yourself of this amazing album and buy the standard version today.

Porcupine Strike Again!
Take a good, hard look at this album, because it's arguably one of the best you'll ever see. Presumably you're here because you're either a fan or Porcupine Tree, or you're looking to get into them- firstly, let me congratulate you on making a sound choice. :P And this is probably the best album to get for someone looking to get used to Porcupine Tree. Many would find their earlier work slightly too psychadelic and weird, but Deadwing strikes an awesome balance between every aspect that you could want in an album. It's just...excellent. Steven Wilson has been somewhat criticised for moving towards a more mainstream aspect, but this is partly what makes the album so accessible, and in the end, it makes for great listening too! Far lighter and more melodic than it's predecessor, In Absentia, Deadwing has a fine balance of songs to capture the interest of many types of fans.

1)Deadwing- The title track, in my opinion, ties for best track on the album. I'm a huge prog fan, so for me, it's a good opening. From the cool little melody at the start to the solo-ridden ending, everything about this song screams quality, and the distorted vocals of Wilson work so well with the overall tone of the song. Dark lyrics, mind.

2)Shallow- The undisputable rocker of the album, right from the heavy riff at the start, Shallow really hits the mark after the very balanced Deadwing. The cacophonous section in the middle of the song will either be loved or hated, but overall, the song's a pretty good effort at a mainstream single. ;)

3)Lazarus- Possibly the best song when I went to see them live, this is just as good on the CD. One of the most beautiful piano melodies in recent memory, this is perfect for just listening to in awe- just don't listen to it if you're feeling sad, or depressed. You're almost guaranteed to cry. You can really hear the emotion in Wilson's voice as he churns out the vocals here, making the hair-raising ballad one of the highlights of the album.

4)Halo- At first, I didn't like this song so much, because of the fairly funky chorus. But after a while, it grew on me, and now it remains a worthy song! However, the bass riffs in this song totally rock, one of the bass highlights. I think this song suffers slightly from being sandwiched between two of the best songs on the album. :P

5)Arriving Somewhere But Not Here- Tied with Deadwing for best track on the album, though I personally might give the title track the edge. The song begins hauntingly, with Wilson's chilling vocal messages clear for all to hear- ("Never stop the car on a drive in the dark..."). The song just keeps on building and building, with continued vocal brilliance from Wilson, until the guitar soloing kicks in at around 4 minutes. From then, the song keeps rattling on, until it changes pace completely and radically, turning into basically a heavy metal section, which is surprisingly cool. Then the song winds up again with the guitar...it's an amazing song.

6)Mellotron Scratch- The scratching of a mellotron...beautiful. That's what this song is. Placed in the same category of emotion that Lazarus rules, it's another cracking vocal performance from Wilson here.

7)Open Car- The closest Porcupine have gotten to a real lead off single since Blackest Eyes, it doesn't disappoint. With two alternating sections throughout most of the song, one light and pacy, the other heavy and distorted, it's a real mixed bag- but a good mixed bag. The chorus is one of the better ones, too.

I'm getting tired now, so I can't do the rest- but it follows a similar trend of awesomeness. Whether new to Porcupine, or a fan, this is an almost essential purchase.