Despite all the success Porcupine Tree has had the last few years with their more commercial and modern flavored music, they still like to throw a bone to their older fans every now and then. In the early stages of the band they were more prone to Pink Floyd inspired space rock excursions that kept prog fans howling with delight. Metanoia is made up of unreleased studio jams and improvisations recorded during the 1995-1996 sessions for the album Signify. Basically there's no catchy melodies here, just about an hour's worth of Floydian experimental rock featuring searing guitar solos and trippy keyboard washes.
Band leader Steven Wilson just might be one of the most underrated guitarists in music today. Here, his psychedelic explorations pay homage to the greats like David Gilmour and Steve Hillage. Three of the CD's eight tracks exceed thirteen minutes, so there is plenty of jamming going on, but it never sounds like endless wanking to these ears. Even when this band is going off into the unknown, there is a sense of order to the music that propels it above the normal space-rock jams that other bands have recorded.
Of course, Metanoia is not for everyone. The band has added legions of fans with its last few releases (and surely will add more now that they are signed to a major label) and this CD might be a little too "loose" and adventurous for some. If however you really are into anything by Porcupine Tree pre-Signify, than this is for you.
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
