Review : PORCUPINE TREE – “The Incident”

Porcupine Tree – The Incident
released September 15, 2009 on Roadrunner

With Porcupine Tree, Dream Theater and Opeth now all under the Roadrunner banner (not to mention PT and DT releasing albums within months of each other that both contain a car crash motif), we may have even loftier hopes from these progressive powerhouses. This daunting enterprise from the British quartet succeeds in generating atmospheres, delicately balancing the heaviness, and never losing sight of the grander album picture.

Still largely constructed by Steven Wilson, the whole band is credited with some of the music on the main disc (xi, xiii) and most of the epilogue (1, 2, 3). With the sweet riffing and vocal harmonies, lyrical passages, and eerie atmospheric finish, “Octane Twisted” is easily the best song here. Followed by an acoustic track (with a riff that’s no less mean) and then the album’s heaviest moment, the concept piece concludes with a bitter taste of honesty. They actually one-up this with the heavier “Remember Me Lover”–the iciest ‘Dear John’ letter I’ve ever heard.

FCC: ii, vi and 4 (I don’t sweat these much).
Try ix, *xi*, xiii and 2, 4.

Disc 1 - “The Incident”

1. i – Occam’s Razor
2. ii – The Blind House
3. iii – Great Expectations
4. iv – Kneel And Disconnect
5. v – Drawing The Line
6. vi – The Incident
7. vii – Your Unpleasant Family
8. viii – The Yellow Windows Of The Evening Train
9. ix – Time Flies
10. x – Degree Zero Of Liberty
11. xi – Octane Twisted
12. xii – The Séance
13. xiii – Circle Of Manias
14. xiv – I Drive The Hearse

Disc 2

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

Rating: