In a musical world where everyone is trying to cross genres, no one is quite as stylish about it as Porcupine Tree. This is the definition of progressive music. Five to twenty-minute opus’s that never leave you feeling jaded. This is music you can share with anyone. I have yet to hear a single bad thing come out of any mouth about this act. And why should I? There are not a lot of people who can be in this band shoes. Their fan base is from all angles and Wilson works with a lot of different people as a producer. He is so talented that you can hear his influence just about anywhere he goes. With his crystalline guitar tone and 70’s inspired atmosphere’s, it’s downright hard to miss. Take Opeth’s Damnation album for example. Opeth just ooze his influence now. Literally. You can hear the shift they took from one album to the next. It’s even eminent in Akerfeldt’s voice now. So, if the man can influence the likes of Opeth, imagine what he does with his own band.

Enter Fear of a Blank Planet. Starting off right where 2005’s Deadwing left us, this track give a pretty good description of what we are in for. If you heard Absentia or Deadwing, you know what Fear of a Blank Planet will give you. Track three has a guest appearance from none other than Canadian prog rocker Alex Lifeson of Rush on guitars. This is the longest track on the record lasting over seventeen minutes long. Somewhere in the middle of this track the song gets real heavy and there is about a 30 second drum extravaganza that cannot be missed. Coolest thing in the entire release, love it.

The best thing about this band is how steady they are and how wide ranged their audience can be. Your mom would like this just as much as your progressive death metal buddy. This is serious stuff for serious music lovers. Abstract jazz/rock solos thrive with any Porcupine release and there is no exception here. For guitar players there is nothing like hearing the clean, crisp, yet dirty sound of Steve Wilson’s almost delicate attack. Signature sound nonetheless. The same could be said for his vocals. He can be quite beautiful and subtle, even over the more rock parts to the music.

Fans of classic rock, metal, folk, jazz, country, prog, and whatever should embrace Porcupine Tree with glee. Flawless band that puts out flawless releases every single time. Take a Sunday drive and enjoy the melancholic and atmospheric rock tunes of Porcupine Tree.

Now, let’s get one thing straight; I happen to think the Phil Labonte (now of All That Remains) fronted effort, Somber Eyes to the Sky and the first effort with Brian Fair at the helm, Of One Blood are the bands best efforts, and the modern more thrash based tones of the bands last two efforts, frankly bored me to tears. So taking that into account, and the fact the band is now officially major rock stars, didn’t bode well for this album. However, I’m actually really surprised at how decent Threads of Life turned out to be.

Lying somewhere between the expected commercial progression (mainly in the now about 80% clean vocals) that comes with being on a major label and their NWOAHM roots, Threads of Life is an album that should appease the suits at Atlantic looking for the new Metallica and their fans. It’s robust, catchy, well played, and with enough single styled material to bolster sales and radio play and enough chops to keep the fan base happy. I’ve got to give the band credit-they truck the balance between mainstream appeal and underground savvy perfectly.

Look no further than the albums first singles “Redemption” (along with high budget video) and “Venomous” for the encapsulation of the bands balance. Chunky, thrashy, yet restrained and with choruses made for radio play. Then for the business/money making side of things there’s simple, radio friendly tracks like “Storm Winds”, “Just Another Nightmare”, “Forevermore” and war ballad “Another Hero Lost”. For the fans, there’s enjoyable thrashers like “Dread Rising” and personal favorites “Failure of the Devout” and “Final Call”.

To top things off, the glossy production of big name producer Nick Raskulinecz (Rush, Foo Fighters, Coheed and Cambria), shows the guy can do metal of any style, making for a polished, well done album that might signal the opening of the metal to major floodgates