Closure/Continuation. Live. Amsterdam 07/11/22 documents Porcupine Tree’s triumphant return to the stage perfectly. A live recording captured on 7th November 2022 at Amsterdam’s 17,000 capacity Ziggo Dome, it places the listener/viewer right at the heart of the stage for the duration of the show as psychotropic visuals explode behind the band as they play a superlative set of songs that features - to use Steven Wilson’s words - “no hits,” where each one is received like an anthem from an alternate universe.

For The Music is Blackfield’s most ambitious and expansive album to date, melding their psychedelic sonics to a perfect pop sensibility whilst, simultaneously, carrying a serious, and at times, dark, undertone. As with previous album ‘Blackfield V’, Aviv has once again taken a central role as producer, lyricist, composer and instrumentalist, but Steven is still very much involved, playing guitar on several tracks and singing lead vocals on 3 songs. For The Music’s ten tracks move from psyche tinged melodies to exquisite balladry; a compact and fully realised expression of modern pop.

Remastered in 2015 by Steven Wilson. Porcupine Tree's debut is really one big in-joke, which actually makes for a better reason to record something that pretends to be profoundly deep through and through. As released, it doesn't make mention of the tracks' origins as the supposed product of a mysterious cult psych/prog rock band, but the packaging and artwork (even the fonts) would make the Dukes of Stratosphear proud. Steven Wilson's singing is noticeably higher at points than it would be in later years - chalk it up to his relative youth or a desire to sound appropriately wispy (or on the lovely "Nine Cats," like David Gilmour). On a sheer technical level, though, Wilson can't be beat. Recording and producing his material solo (outside of a couple of guest appearances) before the big '90s revolution in home recording quality, he easily reaches the depth and reach of bands who could spend many times more to reach the same sound…

Porcupine Tree have always been pigeonholed with the modern prog movement, but the reality is that they're both a riff-addicted metal band and a troupe obsessed with rich harmonies and memorable refrains. Take the grinding guitar work of "Shallow" which dukes it out with frontman Steve Wilson's undeniably melodic chorus before easing into the delicate, beautifully crafted "Lazarus." Few bands exhibit this kind of depth, be it the dreamy, Pink Floyd-inspired hallucination "Halo" or the Queensrÿche echoes of "Open Car." If the 12-minute sonic meander known as "Arriving Somewhere but Not Here" is as head-trippy as rock music gets anymore, it is reassuring to know that this Tree is still growing. Ideal for headphones, Deadwing - despite its title - takes flight nonetheless.

Continuing in the growing commercial vein of their previous releases, Porcupine Tree's In Absentia may be the most accessible release to ever spew forth from the group. Rolling electronic percussion blends with simple and solid live drumming to provide an understated backbeat as perennial Tree leader Steven Wilson pastes his complicated pop over the proceedings. Wilson's ability to bury his layered vocals in mountains of spacy electric guitar without drowning out his fragile lyrics is still a valued feature of the music, and the rare moments of clarity that his vocals display are breathtaking in their power. A reliance on a somewhat gothic heavy metal sound makes for some bizarre moments, especially when held up against his gentler material…

Porcupine Tree's first album for K-Scope/Snapper starts out with a definite bang - "Even Less," with some of the quartet's biggest, blasting rock epic music yet, yet also shot through with the gentler, acoustic side that makes Porcupine Tree so intimate and lovely. The net result easily calls Yes to mind, but Steven Wilson's not so high-pitched as Jon Anderson and Richard Barbieri completely avoids Rick Wakeman's extreme idiocies - prog that knows when less is more. With that as a fine signal for the album as a whole, Stupid Dream takes it from there - Wilson as a songwriter and singer both sounds recharged and more ambitious, while the group collectively pours it on. The loud passages feel truly sky-smashing, the calmer ones perfectly close, and the overall sense of build and drama - "A Smart Kid" is a fine example - spot-on…

No-Man is a British duo formed in 1987 by Tim Bowness and Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree). The name No-Man was adopted in 1990 and first used on the self-released June 1990 single release, "Colours". Originally creating a sample-based proto-trip hop / ambient styled music, No-Man’s sound has become more organic, eclectic and band-oriented in subsequent years. Drawing from a diverse mix of Singer-songwriter, Post Rock, Minimalist, Progressive rock, Jazz, and Contemporary Ambient sources for inspiration, No-Man's sound is distinctive, yet difficult to categorise. On labels such as One Little Indian, Sony, Adasam and Kscope, the band has so far produced six studio albums and a number of singles / outtakes collections, most notably, 2006's career retrospective, "All The Blue Changes"…

"Drive Home" is one of the notable cuts on Steven Wilson's (Porcupine Tree) brilliant The Raven That Refused to Sing and Other Stories, an album that redefined prog for the 21st century. The song's gorgeous meld of Pink Floyd's nocturnal atmospherics, the Moody Blues' melodic majesty, sprawling guitar solos, and Alan Parsons' crystalline production made it a standout track. This audio collection uses the single edit as its title track and leadoff. The set also includes an orchestral version of "The Raven That Refused to Sing" and the song "The Birthday Party" (which was previously only featured on the deluxe book edition of the Raven album). "The Holy Drinker," "Insurgentes," "The Watchmaker," and a live "The Raven That Refused To Sing" are all killer readings taken from a concert in Frankfurt.

It caused a stir when it was announced: Steven Wilson (of Porcupine Tree and No-Man fame) was to release his first-ever full-length solo album. The first question to pop up was: why? After a couple decades of activity under his belt, and two handfuls of bands and projects past and present (including several solo outfits, like Bass Communion), why would he release an album under his own name, and what would that album be like? Well, as it turned out, Insurgentes is basically a Porcupine Tree album in which Wilson wrote all the songs and made all the decisions, including the one to not include all current members of Porcupine Tree in the project. Is that a problem, fans might ask? Not at all. In fact, Insurgentes is an excellent slab of progressive-tinged alternative rock, and a logical next step from Fear of a Blank Planet, PT's last album at this point…

Most Porcupine Tree fans already know this, but lead guitarist Steven Wilson is also a keen experimental artist, although he keeps that facet of his activities well separated from his progressive rock career. Starting in 1994, Steven Wilson began solo recordings described as "experiments in texture," resulting in his work under the name Bass Communion.
How does an invitation to create a one minute long piece of music based on a single instrument source become a two and a half hour 3CD epic? Towards the end of 2018 Frans de Waard of Freiband was invited by a Japanese label to create an album of one-minute pieces using only the Casio VL-Tone 1. The VL-Tone is perhaps best known as being the first commercially marketed digital synthesiser, a cheap plastic instrument barely a foot in length…

Voyage 34, originally a two-volume EP series from 1992-1993, was expanded into "The Complete Trip" after Steven Wilson remixed and added production for its eventual re-release seven years later. Album story is based on a LSD-trip experienced by a guy named Bryan. There are several parts on the album which are familiar with some classic prog material out of the 70's. Once you have a effect of the epic piece A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers by Van Der Graaf Generator and for most part from Pink Floyd a famous guitar rhythm from The Wall, which continues throughout "Voyage 34 - The Complete Trip". These ideas may be stolen from these legendary bands, but they fit incredibly well to the trippy atmosphere of this psychedelic rock concept…