Porcupine Tree - The Incident (2009)

Four years ago, right when I started highschool, I opened a blog called Popculturomania with a friend where we posted reviews. That was my first serious attempt at music journalism. Obviously, our enthusiasm faded after the first couple of posts because we were two stupid kids too busy snorting cocaine, pushing drugs and partaking in other teenage-related activities.

Why am I telling you this? Because, coincidentaly, that's when I also wrote my first album review, which was about Porcupine Tree's then latest album The Incident. It blew my mind so hard that I suddenly felt and urge to open a blog just to tell people how much I like it and why. The review  had about 3 paragraphs and a dozen of half-assed opinions that could be described as making exactly the opposite of sense but still, I consider it one of my best articles yet. It wasn't well written, it wasn't funny, and it didn't even respect the most basic article structure and grammar rules. The sense of accomplishment and fulfiment that I felt as I clicked the post button stuck to me and I never did and never will feel such a strong attachment to any of my articles.

Fitzie has done SHIT compared to what I did.

Today, I'm gonna do justice to it and give it the form that it deserves. You'd better fasten your seatbelts, because it's going to be one hell of a ride.

Porcupine Tree has a long history of being awesome without trying too hard. The band was formed back in the 90's as a joke by Steven Wilson, who was taking a break from being a living god. After sending a few demos to the local studios and recieving mostly positive responses, he realised the potential it had and decided to give it a try. And by giving it a try I mean realising a whooping number of 10 consistently good albums, touring all around the globe and going through a wide variety of styles ranging from acid jazz, space rock, alternative rock to progressive metal. I can't even imagine what would've happened if he took the whole Porcupine Tree thingie seriously.

While not being their best work, The Incident exceeds their previous projects from a lyrical standpoint  by being more personal. Basically,  it talks about how lightly people take shocking, outraging and terryfing events like wars, car accidents, diseases and how cold, introverted, sneaky, cynical and ruthless people have become after centuries of being exposed to violence and abuse. To make it even more marking, Steven Wilson took those powerful, cataclysmic life-changing events and transformed them into some sort of lifeless press coverage to further demonstrate how fragile the human life can be and that just because people have become accustomed to the horrors of this world doesn't mean that they're okay. I can't think of any artist that took song-writing to such a high level of quality and subtlety -  it's really hard to send a message and express so many emotions through songs that are, at a first glance, emotionless. They are so intuitive and accessible, yet so complex and profound, that they appeal to almost everybody, be it your average music enthusiast or an aging metalhead.


Porcupine Tree has always been extremely adept at taking different, even paradoxical  changes in style. Pink Floyd, the band that seemed to be the primary influence back in the day has been all but forgotten. No more space-rock and acid jazz, too. Nowadays, their sound is a weird blend between Radiohead, electronica and industrial music. Don't get fooled by labeling it as progressive metal from the first listen, because you'd be just scratching the surface. At its core, it's anything BUT progressive metal; it's more like the bastard child of Radiohead, Soundgarden  Nirvana, and Nine Inch Nails. Even more, they're also able to veer from extreme to extreme in the course of an album, or sometimes a song. There's all sorts of songs : slow, melancholic, angry, aggressive, and passive-aggressive. Apparently, they take pleasure in bashing people's heads by any means possible. For example, check out Flicker...  Isn't that a slow, 20 minute long beautifully paced ballad ? Of course it is... until you reach the middle, where shit get serious. How about The Incident, with its obvious Nine Inch Nails roots? Or Circle of Manias, with its bombastic guitar riffs that could make even Meshuggah quit producing music? Anyway, you get my point. It's a pure clusterfuck.

 This sudden change in style (madness) gives Steven's gloomy lyrics more credibility because, oddly enough, the sound is now more down to earth and relatable. The lyrics have that beloved bittersweet quality, amplified by Steven's mellow, lifeless delivery. It's like listening to and emotionally crippled middle aged man who rambles about the misfortunes he suffered throughout his life, even though he's become accustomed to his misery and benign depression. The lyrics are both heartbreaking and life-changing. They made the 15 old Marco view life in a different light -  I realized that my fears and insecurities are not unique, but common and even natural, normal. For the first time in my life, I felt not weak, but strong and capable of getting past any obstacle that I stumbled into. But there's this one song in particular that totally changed me: I Drive The Hearse. I'm not capable of expressing in my own words what this songs means to me, so I'm going to let the lyrics speak for myself.

When this freedom stains my coat
With the winter in my throat
When I'm lost I dig the dirt
When I fall I drive the hearse

And silence is another way
Of saying what I wanna say
And lying is another way
Of hoping it will go away
And you were always my mistake...

Given time I fix the roof
Given cash I speak the truth

And silence is another way
Of saying what I wanna say
And lying is another way
Of hoping it will go away
And you were always my mistake...

When I'm down I drive the hearse

When this boredom wears me out
Then the sky begins to cloud
Sleeping with my ball and chain
When she cries I take the blame

And pride is just another way
Of trying to live with my mistakes
Denial is a better way
Of getting through another day
And silence is another way
Of saying what I wanna say
And lying is another way
Of hoping it will go away
And you we're always my mistake...

When I'm down I drive the hearse

The Incident is, without doubt, a life-changing experience. Whether you're a cynical, prematurely grumpy 19 year old like me, or a softie, this album will get under your skin. It appeals to everyone so it would really be a drag if you won't give it a try.