Porcupine Tree "Deadwing" 2005***

This is my latest Porcupine Tree acquisition, almost completing my collection: I count now 9 studio albums, 4 live ones, and two compilations, plus some scattered tracks in various samplers. I've been following PT since their first steps on the Delerium label, a UK indie that was in my radar for releasing interesting neo-psychedelic albums. I have some nice records from other Delerium bands to present in the future, but none as good as Porcupine Tree. Initially a Steven Wilson solo project heavily influenced by Pink Floyd and Gong, they gradually morphed into a real band with an instantly recognizable sound eschewing early electronic experiments in favor of a modern prog style, and spearheaded a prog revival movement during the 90's and 00's. With every release they seemed to hone their sound further, reaching their apogee (IMO) with consecutive albums Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun. At this point they took a left turn, embracing a heavier sound with traces of Dream Theater, Opeth, and a number of grunge/alt.metal bands. Deadwing belongs to this latter period: their previous melodic ambient style is augmented (or interrupted?) by violent bursts and metallic riffing. The vocals are distinctively PT: dreamy, distant-sounding, and often multi-tracked. To be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of Wilson's voice: it's perfectly adequate for his material, but indifferent to me. Then again, not everybody can be Freddie Mercury or Robert Plant, and that's alright. The album opens with eponymous track "Deadwing", whose short electronic intro is then followed by heavy riffing. The song changes often pace in its 10-minute duration, and includes contributions by guests Mikael Åkerfeldt (from Opeth, on vocals) and Andrew Below (King Crimson, guitar). The latter adds a nice solo that almost justifies the existence of the song's second part, but I think it would have worked better as a straight-up rocker if faded out around the 6-minute mark. Second track "Shallow" is less complicated, and the better for it: a commercial 4-minute rocker a la Smashing Pumpkins/Soundgarden. "Halo" and "Open Car" are two more songs in the same style, while "Lazarus" is the most beautiful composition here. Atmospheric mellotron, wistful piano and dreamy vocals combine to produce one of their best ballads. Not overtly progressive, yet a great song that's bound to broaden their fan base, it has echoes of UK indie bands (think Coldplay, Elbow etc). It is the album's highlight, next to 12-minute progfest "Arriving Somewhere But Not Here" reviving the ghost of Pink Floyd that was lying dormant until now. Great guitar solos, multitracked harmonies, alternating acoustic and heavy passages, everything you ever wanted from PT is here. "The Start Of Something Beautiful" is another alternative rocker with exceptional bass, rousing chorus and excellent guitarwork. The two remaining tracks "Mellotron Scratch" and "Glass Arm Shattering" are typical of PT's earlier airy psychedelic style. While undoubtedly good, they sound over-familiar. Maybe this explains PT's sudden infatuation with heavy rock circa In Absentia as an attempt to break out of the mold somehow. In any case, repetition was unavoidable - already Deadwing sounds too much like its predecessor, and two further albums in the same prog-alternative-metal style were to follow with diminishing returns before Wilson broke up the band. It is also worth noting that the album apparently started out as soundtrack to a ghost story co-scripted for film by Wilson, but never realized. This is partly mirrored in the CD booklet, but not made explicit - there are some spooky photos and cryptic scrawlings, but the lyrics are not included. No worries though because, unlike the Dream Theater's similarly themed Metropolis Pt.2 , here the story is not integral to the music. Finally, I'll acknowledge that my 3* judgement may be selling Deadwing a bit short. It is after all an intelligent, impeccably played and produced album. But after listening to as many PT CD's as I have, the repetition has started to grate on me. I wish this included more memorable choruses/riffs, or a bigger variety of styles: maybe a throwback to their electronic days or some purely acoustic folk diversion. In any case, newcomers have no reason to avoid this: it is a satisfying listen, and as good an introduction to latter-day PT as any.

**** for Shallow, Lazarus, Arriving Somewhere but Not Here, Open Car, Start of Something Beautiful

*** for Deadwing, Halo, Mellotron Scratch, Glass Arm Shattering

Iron Maiden "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" 1988****

With the exception of a phase of constantly listening to Powerslave around '85, I wasn't a huge Maiden fan as a teenager in the 80's. You might say I liked the artwork on their LP's more than the music inside. Strange to find me bingeing on Iron Maiden during the last week, now that I'm in my middle years - owing to my finding some of their classic era CD's on sale for €1 or €2. Stranger still for this to coincide with the death of Martin Birch, producer of all these albums as well as many other classics by Fleetwood Mac, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Whitesnake etc Of all the bands he had worked with, Birch valued Maiden the most because of their down-to-earthness, energy and team spirit. He produced every one of their albums from 1981's Killers until 1992's Fear Of The Dark - his last work before retiring from music at the age of 43.

I may only have bought Seventh Son of a Seventh Son lately, but at the time (some 30 years ago) I listened to it a lot: a cassette copy would play often at Babis' cafeteria opposite the Medical School where we'd go between lessons. A bunch of us (the "rockers" of the Dental School which was housed in the same buildings) would tape music for Babis, and he'd play our cassettes often enough - at least when we were there. In my memory this album was dominated by its ultra-commercial singles "Can I Play with Madness" and "The Evil That Men Do" whose clever use of synths and rousing choruses place them somewhere between New Wave and NWOBHM. But it seems that music critics consider this to be one of the band's "serious" works, assigning it to the Prog Metal subcategory. Apparently, it's a concept album born from the desire to celebrate the fact that this was the band's 7th album. Taking a cue from Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker novels, bassist/main songwriter Harris made the connection to folk tales about seventh sons having certain supernatural powers such as prophecy and built the whole album around that idea, with the rest of the band joining in the composition to make it one of Maiden's most collaborative efforts. The album opens and closes with an acoustic snippet, Bruce Dickinson in earnest "toss-a-coin-to-your-witcher" medieval troubadour mode, which segues into "Moonchild" featuring -after a short synth intro- the trademark Iron Maiden sound: sinister lyrics, fast tempo, operatic vocals and screaming guitars. It's followed by the more epic/atmospheric "Infinite Dreams" while side A closes with the aforementioned singles which rank among Maiden's best and catchiest. Side B opens with the obligatory 10-minute epic, in this case the title song. With its atmospheric keys, operatic vocals and time shifts it justifies those who labeled 7th Son... prog metal. After an epic first part, the tempo lowers around the 4-minute mark for a slower part with narration, followed by a fast and technical 3-minute instrumental part. "The Prophecy" is another proggy piece featuring theatrical vocals and metallic guitars playing medieval-sounding melodies, closing with an acoustic coda. It's followed by the third commercial single "The Clairvoyant", a metal dynamite and live favorite. The album closes with another catchy tune called "Only the Good Die Young". The illustration -which, as I already said, always fascinated me- is by their (up to that point) exclusive designer Derek Riggs, and shows his creation (and Maiden mascot) Eddie mutilated and transported to some unknown time and icy landscape. It contains a lot of surreal details, making it one of the band's weirdest album covers. Although some fans found 7th Son... too "proggy" for their taste, it did very well commercially, propelled by the catchy singles and well-made videos. Creatively it's often considered their last great album. Guitarist Adrian Smith left before the completion of 1990's No Prayer for the Dying, and singer Bruce Dickinson left after 1992's Fear Of The Dark - the last ever Martin Birch production, and coincidentally (or not) their last album I bothered listening to, before giving up on them. Dickinson and Smith are now back into the fold, but I couldn't tell you if Maiden can still cut it as a band. I did read an enthusiastic review for their latest opus Book Of Souls on Classic Rock Magazine, so that might be worth checking out - once you've finished with their essential 80's albums, that is.

***** for Can I Play with Madness, The Evil That Men Do

**** for Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, The Clairvoyant, Only the Good Die Young

*** for Moonchild, Infinite Dreams, The Prophecy

 

Dream Theater "Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory" 1999****

I recently presented Dream Theater's Images And Words in this blog. Coincidentally that was only a couple of days after their appearance in nearby Amsterdam, during which they played  Metropolis Pt. 2 in its entirety (to commemorate the album's 20th anniversary). Friends who went to the concert had a lot of praise for the band's performance. Apparently the album was meticulously recreated onstage despite the absence of original drummer Mike Portnoy - not an easy feat, but perhaps the only way to listen to it: you don't want to mess too much with a concept album such as the one I am about to present. 

Compared to Images And Words there is a direct connection but I also see an improvement in the following sectors: a) the concept album format makes the long instrumental passages and abrupt changes within the same song seem more palatable, as the songs aren't necessarily meant to stand on their own. Their lyrics, which I used to find indifferent, are now in the service of the story and therefore more meaningful b) La Brie doesn't constantly sing in the high register which allows him to interpret the various roles and display more sentiment c) The band seem to have added Pink Floyd to their list of influences, with Petrucci often trying a Gilmour-inspired psychedelic guitar style, in addition to his usual pyrotechnics d) the compositions seem to me to be better, no more over-reliance on generic metal riffs e) not that there was anything wrong with the previous guys, but new member Jordan Rudess on keys proves to be a perfect fit - and indeed has become their longest-standing keyboardist (currently in the band for 20 years). To return to the connection of Metropolis Pt.2 to Images And Words, that album contained a track named "Metropolis Pt. 1" that turned out to be very popular. The "Part 1" of the title was added playfully as an afterthought but fans took it seriously and kept asking for the sequel. So the band sat down to write "Part 2", and they had to devise a story to make sense of "Part 1"'s cryptic lyrics, which is how they ended up with a whole album of material. As it turns out, the story is about a person ("Nicholas") who has troubled dreams brought about by memories of a previous life (I know! let's just accept it, shall we?). So he goes to hypnotherapist who puts him under ("Scene One: Regression"). The album opens with the hypnotists' instructions followed by a short acoustic piece that sounds like a snippet ripped out from Pink Floyd's The Wall. The same can be said of two excellent ballads we encounter later ("Scene Five: Through Her Eyes" and "Scene Eight: The Spirit Carries On"), especially regarding Petrucci's guitarwork (emotive rather than bombastic) and female backing vocals. "Scene Two: I. Overture 1928" is an instrumental with fancy guitar solos, while hard rocker "Scene Two: II. Strange Deja Vu" takes us back to 1928 where where our story begins: Nicholas learns that in another life he was a woman named Victoria. From here on, Victoria's story unfolds song after song: She was part of a love triangle with two brothers, until she and one of the brothers (I won't say who because I don't want to spoil the crime aspect of the story for you) was murdered. The murder was never properly resolved, which is why she keeps reappearing in Nicholas' dreams. "Scene Three: I. Through My Words" is a short piano interlude, while "Scene Three: II. Fatal Tragedy" starts off as a power ballad before getting overrun by heavy riffing. "Beyond This Life" is an 11-minute song with many changes, mostly heavy but with some nice slow segments. Ballad "Through Her Eyes" closes "Act I" of the album, and at that point I can say I'm satisfied, not only by the band's trademark excellent musicianship but also by the member I consider the weak link: singer La Brie delivers an histrionic-free performance, and even sporadically manages to put in some humanity and feeling in his singing. "Act II", which reveals another perspective to the story, opens with "Home", a marathon metal tune introduced by a playful oriental melody, followed by complex prog instrumental "The Dance of Eternity". "One Last Time" is a hard rock power ballad, slightly marred by a somewhat exaggerated vocal performance. After an excellent ballad "The Spirit Carries On", the album concludes with "Scene Nine: Finally Free". My final thoughts are that "Metropolis Pt. 2" stands out not only as Dream Theater's crowning achievement, but probably as the best showcase for the whole "progressive metal" genre. The band's playing is as dazzling as ever in its virtuosity and the storyline intricately structured. Then why not give it 5* you ask? The reason is that, despite the complex arrangements and time changes, I still find the compositions rather mundane at heart and melodies forgettable. It is nevertheless an essential album for any metal or modern prog fan.

***** for The Spirit Carries On

**** for Regression, Strange Deja Vu, Through My Words, Fatal Tragedy, Beyond This Life, Through Her Eyes , Finally Free

*** for Overture 1928, The Dance of Eternity, One Last Time

Dream Theater "Images And Words" 1992****

By rights Dream Theater should be among my favorite bands, as I love all progressive rock - except maybe the most experimental kind. Knowing that, friends suggested Dream Theater to me early on: their music was supposedly intricate yet accessible, and the musicians were all top-notch. My first approach was, as usual, through a compilation. This one was called GreateSt Hit (...And 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs). I'll present it in detail in another post, but the gist of it is that it was good and yet not particularly interesting. The playing was as good as advertised but, although one can find no fault with the compositions, my impression was that they were too commercial, too safe - certainly not what one thinks of as progressive. But that actually seems to be the general conclusion i.e. that the compilation is not indicative of the band's true style, so I tried again - this time with the band's original album series box set, containing 5 of their classic albums. I will present them one at a time, starting with Images And Words, the oldest album here and widely considered to be among their best.

The first 3 songs here were already familiar from the GreateSt Hit comp. "Pull Me Under" is the band's hit, as referred to in that title. It opens with an atmospheric intro followed by a barrage of metallic riffs, and evolves into an epic rocker which is often reminiscent of Rainbow. James LaBrie is an operatically trained vocalist with a typically "metal" high pitched voice - as opposed to most "rock" singers. It's a bit of an acquired taste, but at least it fits the song perfectly. Combined with the heavy riffing, virtuosic solos and catchy chorus, the song has all the elements needed to endear it to all hard rock fans. "Another Day" is your typical Reo Speedwagon-style power ballad. Some fans are appalled by the mellow saxophone, but I liked it as it reminded me of the saxes on Supertramp and Pink Floyd albums. "Take the Time" is introduced with metallic riffing followed by some funkier lines and by LaBrie displaying his vocal range hitting some high notes. After the 4-minute mark it becomes more diverse with proggy keyboards and fast guitar solos of the Steve Vai/ Joe Satriani school. "Surrounded" is a softer, melodic, tune that's pure 80's AOR. Which brings us to fan favorite "Metropolis—Part I". It's evident that the band intended this as their showcase: an epic song derailed by long instrumental passages of ridiculously difficult solos accompanied by very busy and complex drumming. "Under a Glass Moon" has all the hallmarks of generic metal: Metallica (riffs) Iron Maiden (vocals) and Van Halen (solos) come to mind. Maybe for that reason, it's the most indifferent to me, as well as likely to win pure metalheads over. It's followed by my favorite tune here: "Wait for Sleep" is a short beautiful piano piece with genuinely emotive, histrionic-free, vocals. It serves as intro to the most progressive composition, the 11:30 minute "Learning to Live" - basically a patchwork of mini-songs, charming melodies, and guitar/keyboard solos that lacks cohesiveness but takes you on a musical journey akin to sitting on the window seat of a train enjoying the constantly changing scenery. Images and Words remains the band's best selling album to date. It defined their sound and served as a blueprint for prog metal in general. It displays considerable complexity and versatility for a Metal album - which is of course akin to describing an animal as considerably graceful for a rhinoceros. On the other hand, if you like 70's prog and have no metal background you may find it unnecessarily bombastic and lacking in finesse. Sure, the extended solos and unexpected time changes bring it into prog territory but the compositions are rather pedestrian compared to the classics of the genre. It nevertheless warrants 4* just on the basis of the excellent musicianship involved: Petrucci and Portnoy are obviously masters of their respective instruments, Moore's keyboards add that classical element, and Myung's bass solo on "Metropolis Part 1" is among the most impressive I've ever heard. LaBrie on the other hand is a technically capable singer whose style fits well with the band but he's difficult for me to warm up to - at least in this record. Anyway the latest careful listen of Images and Words still didn't convince me to let Dream Theater in among my favorite bands, but it made me appreciate them a bit better than I originally did. Time to give the other 4 CD's in this box set a good listen, and maybe even give Octavarium another chance if I still have it - I remember putting it aside after a couple of listens many years ago, unimpressed. It didn't turn up when I cataloged my collection, and it isn't in the right genre/alphabetical position, so I may or may not have sold it or given it away at some point. In any case we'll return to Dream Theater later.

**** for Pull Me Under, Another Day, Take the Time, Metropolis Part I 'The Miracle and the Sleeper', Wait for Sleep, Learning to Live

*** for Surrounded, Under a Glass Moon

After Forever "Remagine" 2005**

Pretty cool on the part of record companies to stamp promos with big capital letters PROMOTIONAL COPY-NOT FOR SALE. That way, when they do appear for sale they're dirt cheap. I got this one for €1. My knowledge of symphonic metal doesn't go too deep, but After Forever have a good name here in (their home country of) The Netherlands - so I thought I'd try them out. I had an idea of what to expect because I'd already seen the band of their former guitarist/co-leader Mark Jansen, Epica. They played a free festival in The Hague and had a huge show with exploding fireballs and a pretty female singer with an impressive operatic voice. Listening now to After Forever (and looking at the CD cover) it's obvious what their blueprint was. Singer Floor Jensen is the main draw here, and not only for the reasons obvious on the record cover. Throughout the record she showcases her vocal abilities to the max, singing in an operatic soprano style as well as in earthier rock tones. She has immaculate technique, not surprising since she's classically trained and -before going professional- made her living as a vocal coach. Guitarist Sander Gommans adds occasional infernal death metal growls as well as metal riffage, while a further ingredient is the atmospheric synths. The overall sound is an amalgam of Nightwish's symphonic metal, Opeth's prog-meets-death metal sound and compatriots The Gathering's goth rock. As it invariably happens, though, the result is less than the sum of its parts, suffering from lack of inspiration and discernible hooks. This album takes a more pop approach than their previous ones - nothing wrong with that, if you have the hooks to support it. Fans, of course, cried "Sell Out!", starting their criticism from the cover and Floor's see-through blouse -a blatant attempt for commercialization. I mean if you have to show some skin, why not dress her as Xena the Warrior Princess? I can't think of any metal fan objecting to that. The music is a mix of metallic riffs, operatic vocals, symphonic orchestral passages and choirs. "Boundaries Are Open" is the stand-out track, as it has a memorable chorus and introduces synth-pop elements in the usual mix. "Being Everyone" is the one with the most commercial sound, Floor abandoning the opera for a straight pop performance with a catchy chorus and synths reminiscent of 80's pop-metal acts like Europe. "Living Shields" is a personal fave: although the Carmina Burana choir does sound slightly ludicrous, I like how it integrates with the metal riffs, death growls and rolling bass line. "Free of Doubt" is full of symphonic/prog passages, "Strong" is the token power ballad and "Face Your Demons" tries a more alternative/nu-metal approach with Floor wailing like a rock singer instead an opera one. "No Control" sees the male vocalist taking the lead (both growling and clean vocals) and "Forever" is the big prog moment, with everyone giving his best in an oriental melody that reminds me of Rainbow's "Gates Of Babylon". The rest of the album is a nondescript mix of all the elements I mentioned before. It's well played and cleanly produced and I imagine it may appeal to fans of its genre as it ticks the right boxes. Personally, though, I found it rather uninspired. After Forever recorded one more album before they disbanded in 2009, while Floor Jensen has found a home for her considerable vocal talents with the champions of symphonic metal, Finland's Nightwish. For those wondering how she's doing with replacing the ever-popular Tarja Turunen here's a link to a fan-made video mixing their performances on the same song. Meanwhile, you can see After Forever in a clip from Remagine...

*** for Come, Boundaries Are Open, Living Shields, Being Everyone, Free of Doubt, Strong, Face Your Demons, Forever

** for Enter, Attendance, Only Everything, No Control

Opeth "Pale Communion" 2014****

Yesterday I sat through 3 hours of an Opeth concert and got this nice souvenir on the way out. I actually hovered by the T-shirt stand for a few minutes trying to answer the eternal question: T-shirt or CD? They had some pretty nice T's, sorta gothic and dark designs with the elaborate Opeth logo, but in the end the music usually wins out. Not to mention I didn't take any Opeth albums with me when I moved to Brussels and I was itching to write about them. All CD's on sale were either autographed by the band members or vandalized by a kid with a permanent marker. I'd like to think the former is true. I chose their latest "Pale Communion" as it has the reputation of their proggiest, most melodic outing - to the disappointment of their metalhead fans. IMO this description is better suited to their Steven Wilson-curated "Damnation" album. "Pale Communion" is more like Dream Theater i.e. heavy metal with progressive rock influences. But it's (thankfully, for me) free of Åkerfeldt's death metal growls that plagued their earlier albums. There were enough of them in the concert to satisfy old fans, as it was of retrospective nature: The first 80something minutes consisted of the onstage recreation of their "Ghost Reveries" album, marking its 10th anniversary. It's a highly rated record that I hadn't heard before. Judging from yesterday's concert it must be a dark, brutally atmospheric affair characterized by Opeth's trademark gentle/aggressive duality: beautiful introspective moments alternating with death metal attack. The musicianship throughout the first part of the concert was excellent and Åkerfeldt's ability to sing in two contrasting styles was most impressive. But it didn't convince me to buy the record; I own "Blackwater Park" and that's enough of that particular Opeth facet for me. The second, equally long, part of the concert was a greatest hits selection to commemorate the band's 25th anniversary. During this part, the band seemed less concentrated and looser, with lots of between-song banter and tantalising snippets of songs abandoned after a few seconds. It featured both melodic and heavy music and at least a couple of songs from "Pale Communion".

Opener "Eternal Rains Will Come" was one of them, hard to miss with its complicated drum patterns and imposing organ. The vocal harmonies here are as different from their previous demonic growls as possible. "Cusp of Eternity" was the album's lead single, a straight-ahead hard rocker with Åkerfeldt's best-ever vocals reminding of Led Zeppelin, an Eastern melody a la "Gates Of Babylon" and an old school metal guitar solo. If I'm not mistaken it's very uncharacteristic for Opeth, but very well executed. 11-minute "Moon Above, Sun Below" is a prog metal epic which goes through many changes including some grandiose heavy riffing and a acoustic section of delicate beauty. Speaking of delicate, "Elysian Woes" is a majestic ballad that will puzzle old fans with its melancholic Olde-English folk sound. "Goblin" is an even more unexpected move, an electronic jazz-fusion instrumental with Joakim Svalberg's Hammond to the fore. "River" is yet another surprise, with its country-tinged first half dominated by acoustic guitars and CSN&Y harmonies. After the 4-minute mark it turns into a hard rock jam with guitar/organ duels reminiscent of the heroic days of Deep Purple. "Voice of Treason" is a complex heavy prog composition underscored by dramatic organ and strings. "Faith in Others" also has strings, but of a mellower variety. Together with piano and guitar they build a very melancholic mood in line with lyrics like "The dream of our youth is up ahead/Life has become a burden/Move in circles of suppressed despair/Waiting for the sun..." Then it veers towards grandiose Muse territory for a while and returns to the swooning strings, closing the album in cinematic splendor. Now, I sympathize with fans of Opeth's previous direction: They were, indeed, unique at that light/shadow-angel/demon combination. But it seems they've outgrown their Death Metal origins and are better for it. I'm looking forward to their next move...

Opeth live at the Ancienne Belgique, Brussels 15/10/2015: More candlesticks than the average Orthodox church

**** for Eternal Rains Will Come, Cusp of Eternity, Elysian Woes, River, Faith in Others 

*** for Moon Above, Sun Below, Goblin, Voice of Treason