Porcupine Tree

The brainchild of British multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson, Porcupine Tree, was formed in 1987 as a joke, with fictional band members like Sir Tarquin Underspoon and Timothy Tadpole Jones masquerading as Wilson who played every instrument with the aid of a drum machine. Early on, the band was drawing on influences such as Can and Pink Floyd to create a unique brand of psychedelia, which includes elements of trance, ambience and space rock, transforming into a style that is often hard to describe. Many of the early songs exceed more than 10 minutes in length, again drawing on psychedelic influences. As the joke band gained real credibility and after attracting a fanbase with early cassettes such as Tarquin’s Seaweed Farm, Wilson signed with local label Delerium, on which he later released Porcupine Tree’s debut album On the Sunday of Life as well as subsequent albums Up the Downstair and The Sky Moves Sideways. Once these albums were released, Wilson recruited a full band to help make the music in his head a reality. Although touring and playing live with a full band as early as 1993 Starting in 1996 with the release of Signify a full band lineup had taken shape with Wilson on Guitar and vocals, Colin Edwin on Bass, Chris Maitland on Drums and former member of art-rock band Japan Richard Barbieri. Later in 1999 and 2000 with the releases of Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun respectively, the band moved toward a more pop-oriented slant of their unique brand of psychedelic rock music. On Stupid Dream, softer songs like “Stop Swimming” and “Don’t Hate Me” accompany rockers with a psychedelic tinge like “Piano Lessons”. 
 Expanding on the psychedelic rock of the band’s early albums and then adding more of a pop structure, the band expanded further incorporating metallic elements. This inspiration came from Wilson’s rediscovery of metal, specifically extreme metal, with bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan, Neurosis and Opeth, with whom he produced their albums Blackwater Park (2001), Deliverance (2002) and the softer, progressive rock-oriented Damnation (2003). Now with this metal influence, their 2002 album In Absentia (their first on a major label, signing with Lava/Atlantic) greatly improved their profile, especially in America, with the downright brutal riffage of “Blackest Eyes” and the instrumental “Wedding Nails” as well as the drone-influenced “Heartattack in a Layby” alongside the piano ballad “Collapse the Light into the Earth”. In 2005 the band released Deadwing, based on a film script Wilson and a filmmaker friend had written. It was an expansion of the metal influence, especially on songs like “Arriving Somewhere but Not Here and “Halo” but also incorporating piano ballads such as “Lazarus”. In 2007, the band released Fear of a Blank Planet, Wilson’s critique of the current generation, distracted by 500 TV channels, MTV, and the Internet. The metal influence has taken center stage in the band’s song writing especially in the title track and the 17 minute “Anesthetize”. The band will release a new album in fall 2009 called The Incident , which will contain 2 discs with the first disc occupying  the 55 minute title track. The 2nd disc will contain 4 standalone tracks. It is schuled to be released  on September 14th.
 The band’s popularity is ever-increasing and with each album sales increase, in an era where filesharing is the prominent mode of getting music these days. With the release of a new album on the way and styles ranging from metal to pop in their repertoire, their future can only get brighter as the years go by. 

*Recommended Albums: Stupid Dream, In Absentia, Fear of a Blank Planet

*Visit porcupinetree.com for all of the band's latest new