New spins…
PORCUPINE TREE
Old meets new on two updated releases that celebrate both the early years of Steven Wilson’s former band as well as their final recordings.
Words: Jerry Ewing Illustration: Russell Fairbrother
Edited by Dave Everley prog.reviews@futurenet.com
I was fortunate enough to be made aware of Porcupine Tree back in the early 90s, when Delerium label head Richard Allen contacted me when I was Deputy Editor of Metal Hammer. The band had already released their first two albums, On The Sunday Of Life… (1992) and Up The Downstair (1993) and were about to evolve their early psychedelic sound into the realms of space rock, krautrock and eventually the bold progressive rock that saw them cracking the UK Top 30 in the ensuing 13 years. It was an interesting time for music with grunge and nu metal sweeping away old perceptions, for better or worse, but Steven Wilson (for Porcupine Tree were really just him at this embryonic stage) offered a fascinating new take on more those established sounds.