Porcupine Tree-Prog Anyone?

Yeah, sure, the album art is creepy. Get over it.

In Absentia is a great progressive metal album from the band Porcupine Tree. I found this band years ago when I was really into Dream Theater, so you can imagine the vein of their style. Their sound is not quite as calculated and meticulously orchestrated as DT's, but to me this is a good thing. I actually like all of the albums I have heard that they have put out, but this was my first and you know how it goes--everyone remembers their first time. This is probably their most well-known album too.

I really like this band, plus they put on a damn good concert. I even managed to get research credit for a class by going to their concert (still not sure how I pulled that one off). Please note that this group's talent is versatile, so be patient and listen to the whole album. Don't be an impatient pussy. Some songs are heavy, some are acoustic, some are long, some are short--you get the idea. For example, I put the song "Trains" on a Mother's Day mix for my mom a few years ago, and she loves it. But, if I had put "Blackest Eyes" on the other hand, she probably would have hated it.

If you like this album check out their newest "Fear of a Blank Planet." Steve Wilson also has a pretty cool (but way more depressing) side project called Blackfield with the Israeli musican Aviv Geffen that maybe I'll post later.

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