Deadwingby Anonymous
Reader Rating:
See Detailed Ratings
October 31, 2006:
This is a great CD. There's a great mix of heavy rock with obvious prog saturation. My only complaint is that many of the songs don't seem to know when to end. Most trail off into repetetive material. I get the impression that these guys just can't let go.
Deadwingby Anonymous
Reader Rating:
See Detailed Ratings
January 25, 2006:
Ah, Porcupine Tree. The best band you've never heard of. In their early days they were more psychedelic/prog-ish, and seemed like a modern Pink Floyd. But as the years went by, they turned into a much heavier band with metallic sounds, such as King Crimson in their early days. Deadwing, for the most part, is a very dark and heavy album, and is flat-out intense. "Deadwing" starts the album with a heavy metal explosion without the harsh vocals or evil lyrics. If you would hear just this one song, you'd immediately come to the conclusion that Porcupine Tree was metal. And the same for the next song, "Shallow," which is just as heavy as the title track. But just when you are expecting yet another dark and exciting song, "Lazarus" comes on. This is one of my favorite songs on the album. In this song, Steven Wilson plays an acoustic guitar, and it mostly focuses on the piano. It is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard and nearly made me cry the first time I listened to it (I love the Christian meaning behind the lyrics). Then on comes "Halo," another heavy and hard-rocking song, and then comes "Arriving Somewhere But Not Here," by far and away my favorite song on the album. It starts out soft, slow moving, and sad. About four minutes into it, it erupts into a guitar solo, and then settles back down to the same melody that started it, only much faster and louder. And then six minutes into it is the real explosion. A heavy metal-ish guitar solo comes on and is way out of place in this song, which is what makes it so spectacular. After a while it settles down quite a bit into a soft moment in the song, but not for long. It picks up out of nowhere and guaranteed will catch you off guard. The song ends the same way it began. "Mellotron Scratch" is a ballad like "Lazarus," only is a bit heavier at parts and quite frankly isn't as moving. "Open Car" is another top song on the album. It starts off with softly spoken vocals with explosive and speedy guitar playing coming right after. The chorus counters the verses in the song, by being slow moving with clear vocals. "The Start of Something Beautiful," like "Open Car," alternates between heavy guitar playing and soft sections in between, only the soft sections in this are actually pretty. "Glass Arm Shattering" isn't really anything to get excited about. It's a beautiful song, but is too slow moving for my liking, and at the end of the song is six minutes of silence. It still is a good song. Finally, the bonus track, "Shesmovedon," comes on. It starts out soft and sad, but then after the first chorus it becomes angry and heavy. In the end, the album is absolutely amazing. It's a combination of heavy metal (without the harsh vocals) with prog rock and a ballad or two thrown in. Every song is brilliant, whether it be an intense and dark song or a beautiful and moving ballad. If you want to get into Porcupine Tree, Deadwing and In Absentia are the perfect places to start, but that's not to say Lightbulb Sun or Stupid Dream aren't just as good albums. Check this album out, I recommend it to anyone.
or link to hear an audio clip.
loading...
© 2009 All Media Guide, LLC