Porcupine Tree
Nil Recurring
Peaceville
Porcupine Tree has found a way to make the marriage of progressive metal and trance/ambient electronica work in a way that few bands since Pink Floyd have.
The songs on Nil Recurring, written during the sessions for their last full-length Fear of a Blank Planet, are long (six-eight minutes) and often instrumental. When the vocals do appear, it is more as an added element of sound than as lyrics meant to be considered. Originally limited to just 5,000 copies back in the fall of 2007, the demand for this short album was high enough to garner a broader release.
Porcupine Tree has risen above the ProgRock label they so often get burdened with. The psychedelic moods that these songs live inside of get rubbed raw by the metal riffs of Steven Wilson and guest lead guitarist Robert Fripp (of King Crimson), but never go far enough to break the overall candle-lit intoxication of the album.
Four long, lush songs have this glorified EP clocking in at just 29 minutes, but anything longer would perhaps allow the mind time to wander. Instead, when it’s through, it begs to be repeated once again.
