| CD Reviews Last updated: 12.9.05 Porcupine Tree Deadwing Tracklist: 1. Deadwing (9:46) (Lyrics, Music: Wilson) 2. Shallow (4:17) (Lyrics, Music: Wilson) 3. Lazarus (4:18) (Lyrics, Music: Wilson) 4. Halo (4:38) (Lyrics: Wilson, Music: Porcupine Tree) 5. Arriving Somewhere But Not Here (12:02) (Lyrics, Music: Wilson) 6. Mellotron Scratch (6:57) (Lyrics, Music: Wilson) 7. Open Car (3:46) (Lyrics, Music: Wilson) 8. Start of Something Beautiful (7:40) (Lyrics: Wilson, Music: Wilson/Harrison) 9. Glass Arm Shattering (11:12) (Lyrics: Wilson, Music: Porcupine Tree) 10. Shesmovedon [*] (5:00) (Lyrics, Music: Wilson) Total: 1:09:35 [*] �Shesmovedon� is not listed on the tracklist of the album. Introduction: Deadwing is the much-anticipated follow-up to Porcupine Tree�s popular 2002 release, In Absentia. The album features 10 songs (one of which is �hidden�), as well as guest contributions from Adrian Belew of King Crimson and Mikael �kerfeldt of Opeth. Deadwing continues Porcupine Tree�s transition from ambient space rock into more heavier, metal based songs, but still has that Porcupine Tree sound that we all know and love. Synopsis: The title track �Deadwing� opens up the album. It�s a very versatile song that combines some heavy guitar riffs, loud drumming, and sorrowful synths with melodic vocals. Throughout the song, the vocals get a strange, deep effect that actually works out well. Adrian Belew provides simply excellent guitar solos in the song. Overall, this is one of my favorite tracks on the album. �Shallow� is the first single off of the album, at least in the U.S., and it�s one of the heavier songs on it as well. The song begins with a heavy riff, but then goes into a melodic section, then alternates between the two. This one�s an okay track. It�s pretty catchy, too. �Lazarus� is nice, mellow piano-driven ballad. It showcases vocalist Steven Wilson�s great singing. The song has a pleasant chorus ("Follow me down to the valley below/You know moonlight is bleeding from out of your soul") as well. �Lazarus� is definitely one of the standout tracks on the album. The fourth song on the album, �Halo�, features a distinctive drumbeat playing to various strange vocal effects. The song is about God being everywhere as evidenced through the lyrics. This is an okay song. It�s not one of the more enjoyable songs on the album, but is still worth listening to nonetheless. �Arriving Somewhere But Not Here� is the longest song on the album, clocking in at 12:02. Truthfully, I didn�t think much of this song at first. But after a few listens, the song really, really grew on me. Now, it�s one of my three favorite songs on the album. This song will appeal to fans of Porcupine Tree�s melodic, space rock-based material from previous albums. It starts off slow with weird, spacey sound effects, and then Wilson comes in with some great vocal work. The middle section of the song erupts into a blast of metal, then transitions into the slower part. The next song, �Mellotron Scratch�, is similar to the previous song in the sense that it starts out boring and doesn�t get interesting until towards the end of the song. Steven Wilson�s vocals are very good in this song, though. �Open Car� features a heavy riff with vocals that goes along with the riff. This song is actually kind of annoying, thanks to that vocal style. The song doesn�t have much feeling, and therefore doesn�t catch my attention that much. This is probably my least favorite track on the album. �The Start of Something Beautiful� is a rather slow song, but it�s actually interesting and is a good track to listen to. It has some really good vocals and keyboards, as well as some interesting electronic effects. The end of the song is really good. Next up is �Glass Arm Shattering�, another one of my favorites on the album. It�s another slow ballad, and a beautiful one at that. The choir-like vocals on this song are probably the best on the album, in my opinion. After about a little over six minutes, the song fades, and about five minutes of dead, awkward silence occurs. This leads up to the hidden track� �Shesmovedon� may be a familiar song to Porcupine Tree fans. That�s because it was a song featured on the band�s 2000 release, Lightbulb Sun, albeit this is a new, reworked version. It sounds better, with better sounding vocals and new effects that make it even more interesting. Highlights: �Deadwing�, �Arriving Somewhere But Not Here�, �Glass Arm Shattering� Overall: Deadwing may take some time for Porcupine Tree fans to get used to. It did for me. But once I listened to the album a few times, it really grew on me and I started to appreciate the simply beautiful songs on it. Deadwing is highly recommended. Newbies, this is a good album to start from, slowly working your way through their back catalog. Final Score: A Additional notes: The DVD-A version of Deadwing includes three additional tracks: �Half-Light�, �Mother and Child Divided�, and �Revenant�. The vinyl version includes the song "So Called Friend". Any questions, comments, submissions, or anything related to the site should be e-mailed to me: shadowdragonxx [at] hotmail [dot] com. Don't take anything from the site without permission. |
| Deadwing Album line-up: Steven Wilson - Vocals, Guitars, Piano, Keyboards, Hammered dulcimer, Bass guitar on 1,3,5,7 Richard Barbieri � Keyboards and synthesizers Colin Edwin � Bass guitar Gavin Harrison � Drums and percussion Additional Personnel: Adrian Belew � Solo guitar on 1 and 4 Mikael �kerfeldt � Harmony vocals on 1,3,5, second guitar solo on 5 Release Year: 2005 Label: Lava/Atlantic Produced by: Steven Wilson |
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