Deadwing

Wondered if I needed another album from Porcupine Tree, but then I enjoyed this very much so I guess I’m good with that. Some someones on here seem to be intent on making sure this band sticks with me… Arriving Somewhere But Not Here is a perfect progressive jam that had me totally in on this album!

You guys sure like your Porcupine Tree! I can see why. My friend wants Lazarus played at his (hopefully far future) funeral, and fair enough, such a lovely song and his name does happen to be David. The album has lots going on lyrically and musically especially rhythmically (check out https://youtu.be/UKmskjwmfdY?si=mrzypzTePHCJ-v68 for analysis of Open Car). I liked the other Porcupine Tree suggested on the list but Deadwind is a genuine triumph.

The second Porcupine Tree album Iv come across on this user list, and a clear step up in quality from the more accessible Stupid Dream. Darker, heavier, and much more in line with my taste. One I can see myself coming back to rather than just appreciating for a single day.

Listening to this album without any additional background info, I thought the guitar sound was a lot better than the often too clean and overthought sound of other Steven Wilson albums. Now I know that's party thanks to the contributions of Adrian Belew (ex-King Crimson and ex-Bowie). It must have been an honor for Wilson to have such a legend and musical hero on his Team. He lifts two of the song enough to make these interesting and fun to me the others are hit (up-tempo ones) or miss (ballads).

Deadwing often sits in the shadow of the two albums that usually get called their masterpieces, but for me this is the one. My personal favorite. It shows how Porcupine Tree strike a precise balance between rock and metal. The Steven Wilson production is a huge part of that. The guitars and drums sound massive, giving even relatively simple riffs real weight. At times, especially with Mikael Åkerfeldt involved, it edges toward Opeth territory, but Wilson’s smooth vocal delivery keeps it from going fully metal. That voice is also the weak point for me, honestly. I respect what he does, but a different singer might have pushed this even further. The opening run is excellent. “Deadwing” and “Shallow” set the tone immediately, shifting the band away from earlier psychedelic influences. The much named “Lazarus” does less for me. It leans too far into the softer side, and the piano feels a bit too obvious. I clearly prefer the heavier end of this band. “Halo” stands out for its rhythm section and the guitar work from Adrian Belew, which adds a different texture. “Arriving Somewhere but Not Here” is the centerpiece and one of the best things they’ve ever done. A long, controlled build that fully justifies its length. Incredible album

Bias exists. I love me some PT.

Absolute masterpiece of modern progressive rock, Steve Wilson is absolutely brilliant. Hard to pick a favorite Porcupine Tree album but this one is the running for sure.

super-prog - sounds about 30 years older than it is. the "soundtrack" concept doesn't really come through, but the songs definitely hold their own. a very smart album, by a band I am thoroughly enjoying my time with whenever they show up. does not feel like an 8th album!

Best. Album. Ever.

Better than Fear of a Blank Planet but that set the bar low. No more PT please, it's just not really my thing.

Yet ANOTHER Porcupine Tree?! Who knew? This one may have been the best though...even though I think 3 albums is entirely unnecessary. 3/5

I've tried really hard to like Porcupine Tree. It's not that I dislike them, but I feel like, because I love progressive rock like Pink Floyd, Yes, Jethro Tull, ELP, etc, that I should really like them as well. But every time I listen to them, it's just okay for me. Not bad, but doesn't really grab me either. 3 stars.

A second porcupine tree album in the user list. They clearly have an adoring fan base however it will not include me. This one was better than stupid dream but it still felt like it was lacking. To me early 2000s British prog rock is more just like American hard alternative rock. This wasn’t bad overall it just feels like there are significantly more albums that dod it better than they do in Deadwing. By the last third I was becoming a bit drained of the album. 5.5/10

At this rate, I've apparently heard this band like 3+ times on the list and I don't recall a second of it.

I don't know, they clearly know how to structure a song and progress chords and stuff, but lyrically it feels a bit A-level, a bit Muse.

I used to complain about how many boring-ass boomer Bruce Springsteen albums were on the OG list, but then you absolute numpties have gone and put THREE albums by the most boing band of all time on this user-submission list. What the fuck are we even doing here? Life is way too short for this shit.

This band now has 3 albums on the user list so there's clearly some devoted fans here. This LP feels much like the last two, and my thoughts are much of the same – there are some great melodic/instrumental ideas here going on under this heavier modern prog umbrella, but a lack of editing means they get washed out relative to a good deal of filler. There's so many passages here that could've been left on the cutting room floor and heightened the album by making it meaner, sleeker, and more impactful.

Fuck yeah Deadwing is one I've heard a bunch over the years actually. Great album. Title track rules. Shallow really reminds me of Tool. Lazarus is extremely accessible for Steven Wilson/Porcupine Tree. Arriving is such a cool sounding song. Bass fucks on Start of. Glass Arm has sounds on it that remind me of OKC Radiohead. That was sick.

Porcupine Tree smack dab in their heavy era. While still retaining much of their successful progressive rock songwriting, Steve Wilson occasionally indulges in some metal riffing akin to Tool or Helmet. As someone who enjoyed Fear of a Blank Planet (also on the users' list), this is more of the same which means it's great! CONTENDER FOR THE LIST: It's gotta have at least one of the Porcupine Tree's albums, right? This one is a good nominee.

I haven't listened to much Porcupine Tree, but I have enjoyed all that I have (In Absentia and Fear of a Blank Planet). Deadwing taps into a similar energy to some of my favorite parts of Fear of a Blank Planet, without fully committing. Lazarus is a distinctly different side of PT than I have heard before. I've definitely heard this somewhere before, but did not know it was them. It sounds like it could be any number of 90s one hit wonders. Not a bad thing, but weird coming out of the ripper that is Shallow. Halo is delightfully funky. I feel like if I had to describe PT to someone I'd just show them Arriving Somewhere But Not Here. Good ol' patience testing long-form prog that taps into many of the varied sounds that PT is good at making. Musically I feel like this is a solid album, but I feel like it lacks a certain directionality that others of theirs have. Glad for the listen -- will be back. Low 4 in my book.

Here's this Steven Wilson fella again but this time with his band that Brandon and Kevin wrote about in their review. Good timing. Always love some progressive heavy rock so this is going to go very well for me I can imagine. Arriving Somewhere But Not Here was awesome. The rest of the album was also quite cool, but a bit long and song songs just didn't quite hit. Sitll a high 4

The second Porcupine Tree album I've listened to on the post list (the first being Fear of a Blank Planet). I liked this album a lot more than the other one. These guys are like prog lite. Not bad at all. Favourite songs: Shallow, Halo, Open Car, Start of Something Beautiful, Deadwing, Lazarus Least favourite songs: Glass Arm Shattering 4/5

A very interesting modern take on prog rock. At some points, it feels in the same vein as Pink Floyd or King Crimson. At others, it fits more closely with early 2000s hard rock. The marriage of the two is really engaging. I'd definitely listen to more from these guys.

Probably their most accessible album to date.

Actually liked this more than I expected when I saw the genre. Wasn't too noodle-y which is good. A lot of alt-rock type influences which I enjoyed.

I adore Lazarus. The rest of the album is fine.

Apparently, people who finished the list really love this band. 2 albums already in the user's suggestion! I must say that this is incredibly much better than "Fear of a Blank Planet". I really enjoyed this listening session. ven not considering a masterpiece due to the repetitiveness of the last songs. Apparently they have a quite long discography, and now I'm hoping someone else will suggest another album from them.

Maybe my favourite of the Porcupine Tree albums added. However I am not going to return to it. My personal rating: 4/5 My rating relative to the list: 4/5 Should this have been included on the original list? No.

Porcupine Tree are honestly kind of slept on in the prog scene honestly. This album is really hauntingly beautiful with just the right amount of heavy moments for contrast.

Banger. This and "Fear of a Blank Planet" are Steven Wilson's best work. Strong 4/5.

My favourite album of theirs, a good balance of their different sides. But no more PT, please

This was a fine album

The prior offering from this (hitherto unknown to me) band I recall finding a little too relentlessly gloomy, with a bit of holier-than-thou thrown in. While still very dark this felt to me to have a more sprightly energy (and diversity in sound) that helped move that down around, and I liked it quite a bit better.

I will choose to interpret this submission as the one made by a user that does not necessarily agree with the inclusion of *three* Porcupine Tree albums in the second list -- most especially *Stupid Dream*, which was quite a stupid choice indeed in my book. It's better that way, believe me. *Deadwing* fares far better compared to *Stupid Dreams* from the start, thanks to its dense full-prog rock title-track, the Soundgarden-adjacent "Shallow" -- which effectively hits its hard rock mark --, a bittersweet ballad about death named "Lazarus" that might admittedly verge a little too much on twee territory, and a great "Halo" that benefits highly from the dissonant guitar skills of King Crimson's Adrian Belew, just like the opener and title-track did. "Arriving Somewhere but Not Here" then fully fonctions as an epic centerpiece, thanks to its interesting chord changes -- perfectly serving the aimed prog-rock aesthetics without ever totally aping its more famous seventies progenitors. Not to mention that brilliant and very sudden heavy metal hairpin turn right in the middle of those 12 minutes... After that high point there is an intricate mix of underwhelming, decent, good and great moments, as usual with PT when they're struck with interesting bursts of inspiration at times (which is not always for me). Of course, you still have weak spots with the aseptic production values and Steven Wilson's vocals, too often lacking the personality that would make those songs memorable from the get-go. But the whole thing is at a minimum decent, generally speaking. I might also revisit *Fear Of A Blank Planet* later, and *maybe* bump my 2/5 grading and review to a 3/5 one. Won't change my 1/5 star protest vote for *Stupid Dream* though, or my 4/5 star vote for Wilson's *Hand.Cannot.Erase* for that matter). The 35-60 year-old target demographics that Wilson's audience truly is will still cry out in protest, but who cares? Not me, at least. I still take issue with Wilson's views on a couple of things related to current news and the state of this sick sad world, but I have already heavily ranted about that elsewhere, so I will spare you such rant now. I will only say that Wilson was right to publicly denounce the horrors and war crimes that happened in Oct. 7, but I'm still waiting for him to express the same amount of outrage for the war crimes then committed by the Israeli army and far-right government in Gaza since that tragic day. When you start to make public statements about such grave issues as an artist, you don't want to look as if you're having double standards. Apart from that, I believe I have now left a very benevolent grade and a very benevolent review to a Porcupine Tree album... So can the boomer and gen-x fans of this band stop holding the 1001 Albums Generator hostage now? Please. Give us a break, OK? Thank you very much. 3/5 for the purposes of this list dedicated to essential albums. 8/10 for more general purposes (4.5 for the musicianship and production values + 3.5 for the artistry) ---- Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ---- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 115 Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 119 Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 267 (including this one) ---- Émile, *quatre* nouveaux messages pour toi au dessus, du *Solid State Survivor* de Yellow Magic Orchestra au *Atrocity Exhibition* de Danny Brown

Album #35 (1001 challenge extended): "Deadwing" by Porcupine Tree (2005) "Deadwing" is the eighth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree. Progressive rock, progressive metal and alternative metal are the Wiki-listed genres. The album was based on a screen play written by bandmember Steven Wilson and Mike Bennion and is a ghost story. The bandmembers included Wilson (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, dulcimer, bass), Richard Barbieri (keyboards, synthesizers), Colin Edwin (bass) and Gavin Harrison (drums, percussion). Commercially, the album reached #132 in the US and #97 in the UK and received solid reviews. The self-titled "Deadwing" opens the album. A soft, undulating synth, a ringing melodic guitar and rock beat. An underlying heavier guitar comes in and the song becomes driving. The vocals and music kind of sound like Incubus. The song turns more prog at the end with layering of synths and guitars. The first single was "Shallow" and has more of a standard hard rock riff. Echoing vocals and there's a bit of Tool here. The other released song was "Lazarus." Piano and softer vocals takes this into pop territory. A pedal steel guitar, higher octave vocals, nice backing vocals, synths and a acoustic guitar. "Arriving Somewhere but Not Here" starts out with a dreamy synth and acoustic guitar. Wilson with wondering lyrics and echoing vocals. The song becomes more rock then more metal. Interesting transitions. The album closes with another song that starts dreamy in "Glass Arm Shattering." A slow drum beat and soft layered guitars. The underlying synth makes this not out of place on a Radiohead or Grandaddy album. The pace picks up and builds. A piano, harmonized vocals, synth and guitar carry it to the end. Best song on the album. The music on this album is a mix of hard rock, a little metal and prog especially near the end of songs. Guitar riffs, upfront drumming and underlying dreamy or eerie synths. I didn't pick up on the ghost story narrative but the lyrics are meditative, searching or pondering past relationship failures. I admit to not getting into this album for awhile. There is nothing wrong: the album is well produced but there is nothing outstanding. That was up until the last song which I thought was great and prompted me for a re-listen where I enjoyed it a lot better for what it was. So, an overall decent album and is recommended for anyone who is a hard rock, progressive rock or metal fan. Just remember, it is definitely not any of the extreme ends of those styles. 3.5 out of 5

Dunno what it is, but at this point I’ve listened to a lot of Porcupine Tree on this thing, and it really just hasn’t clicked for me at all

Well paced for prog rock.

I don't know man. Perhaps this could grow on me

More Porcupine Tree for Kevcon. Nothing outstanding here, but it was solid.

Sweet prog rock, I'd give it a 3.5 and would listen to it again.

Deadwing probably falls into the middle of the pack of Porcupine Tree/Wilson albums we've had, I preferred it to Stupid Dream but didn't like as much as Fear of a Blank Planet, though it's generally all very similar. Earns a low 3 therefore.

man, not my genre but that's good

I always enjoy a good Prog Rock/Metal album, but this is a little too bland for my taste. As in: I see what they're trying to do, but most of the songs just aren't that memorable. Listening was not a waste of time by any means, but for me, the record chugs along without any real emotional highs or lows. So it's ... nice, but I fail to get any more enjoyment from it. 2.5/5

Música mezcla de pop, rock algo más instrumental y experimental. Canciones en un punto correcto de sintonía y saber estar. Alguna canción con más intensidad, sin llegar a ser rockera.

There was another Porcupine Tree record on here that I preferred. This was fine but didn’t do much for me.

It was ok. Didn’t really make a mark in my musical memory.

I've tried before to get into this band. It's too contrived and smooth for me to latch onto- no rough edges. It's like they're trying so hard to be something that isn't really them but evidently there are a lot of people who disagree with me. A lot of American metal influences mixed into lyrical touches. I need to force myself to listed to this over and over and over until I 'get' them.

Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Lazarus

Just a couple of weeks after the other Porcupine Tree album in the user submissions. I didn't enjoy the edgy prog of Fear of a Blank Planet, but the more traditional harder rock of this prog is more tolerable. I don't "get" it - there is zero danger of me listening to this again. It's just too big of an investment to commit to a full hour of something in the hopes it would gripper me on a second listen that it failed to even hint at on the first. I can't really fault the musicianship of this, or the production or execution. It just isn't for me, and that's OK.

Normally I really like prog, but this just didn't work for me. It felt a lot like the music you would hear in a TV movie.

Difficult to tell what genre they were going for. Some good songs, but some mediocre ones and a bit all over the place.

This goes hard now and then

Fine whatever

Of course, more porcupine tree Lazarus is good 2 Arriving somewhere but not here is really good as well. 3

Progressive rock, progressive metal, alternative metal. Ni fu ni fa.

I know everyone seems to like Porcupine Tree, but I just can't link up with it. It just ticks all the boxes that make me dislike 2000s prog rock. Progressive rock has always been cheesy, but when it's as clean as this is, it really stands out.

Boring and at times annoying.

Nope.