Porcupine Tree
Fear of a Blank Planet

Release Date: 2007 | Tracklist

“Fear Of A Blank Planet” is the ninth studio album of Porcupine Tree and was released in 2007. The line up on the album is Steven Wilson, Richard Barbieri, Colin Edwin and Gavin Harrison. The album had also the participation of Alex Liefson, Robert Fripp, John Wesley and the London Session Orchestra.


In many ways, “Fear Of A Blank Planet” functions as a parameter to their predecessors albums. But at the same time, it’s also an excellent chronicle of Porcupine Tree’s entire body of work. Unlike many of their previous albums, “Fear Of A Blank Planet” seems rather uneventful upon the first set of spins. Only patient listens reveal the successful blend of their strongest yet somewhat less accessible parts of their earlier works. This is perhaps and easily, their most realized work. Wilson mentioned that the album’s title is a reference to the 1990 Public Enemy album with the same name. Public Enemy is an American hip hop group and is known for their politically charged lyrics and criticism of the American media, with an active interest in the frustrations and concerns of the African American community. While the Public Enemy album is about race issues, the Porcupine Tree album is about the issues of technology.

Despite it seems to me that this is a conceptual album, Porcupine Tree hasn’t stated that. However and despite that, we can say that the concept of the album was influenced by the Bret Easton Ellis’ novel, “Lunar Park”. The novel is about the perspective of a father while “Fear Of A Blank Planet” is about a son’s perspective. As Wilson explained in an interview, he described the main character of the story as: “...this kind of terminally bored kid, anywhere between 10 and 15 years old, who spends all his daylight hours in his bedroom with the curtains closed, playing on his PlayStation, listening to his iPod, texting his friends on his cell phone, looking at hardcore pornography on the Internet, downloading music, films, news, violence...”. In short, the concept of the story shows the way how many of our young people live completely alienated and isolated from their families and from the real world, in these days.

Lyrically the album reflects the concerns of Wilson about the youth. It deals with two different things that affect many of the teenagers, escapism from the reality by drugs and the social alienation caused by technology. The lyrics flow together and are very down to earth, very different from the poetic disposal of “In Absentia”. They have to be seen as a flowing story in order to be understood. We have to see them in a kid’s perspective on its own ego. They show a journey through the youth’s inescapable downward spiral, highlighting the destructive nature of the world around him. From the bleak confines of his bedroom to the emotional dysfunction caused by drugs, the band capture this powerful imagery with cleverly musical compositions, where the lyrics details quite graphically exactly what the music projects.

Musically, the album is intelligently composed around a highly original collection of sounds and coupled with eloquent song writing, the album mirrors the artistic qualities of the album’s main creator Wilson, and the genuine beauty of the progressive rock genre. The tracks are very long and each track flows together very well, something that “In Absentia” didn’t achieve. Every song runs into another, so the album really is just one big song when you think about it. “Fear Of A Blank Planet” overall is a much slower and heavier album than the previous Porcupine Tree albums. The first song, the title track, sounds very similar to past Porcupine Tree’s albums, but starting with “My Ashes”, it shows that it’s just different. My personal favourite song is “Anesthetize”. It’s the epic track of the album and despite has 17 minutes long somehow it manages to keep your interest in the entire time. There’s music on the album, music with substance, music to be loved that touches our soul. It’s difficult to find any fault in this album. It’s strong in every aspect and doesn't have a dull moment. Surely it has moments, but not dull moments. The sound goes anywhere from rock, the title, to slow ballads, the beautiful “My Ashes” and “Sentimental”, to the furious metal, “Anesthetize”. “Way Out Of Here” is probably one of the best progressive songs in a long time. For an album with so few songs, you get a wide sonic range on it.


Conclusion: In comparison to some Porcupine Tree’s previous releases, while “Fear Of A Blank Planet” is noticeably different, it isn’t really a huge departure from the band’s easily recognised sound. In fact, Porcupine Tree maintaining their traditional style but doesn’t turn their backs on new and modern sounds. The album’s clever integration of many different genres makes it a genuine recommendation for admires of the progressive rock. Every song here is great and has its own unique quality, while all the tracks still flowing together. The album is a real manifest against the emptiness that plagues the humanity and its music will relax you, but with its heavier sound, it won’t make you fall asleep. This is great progressive rock music at their best. In many ways this is one of the best Porcupine Tree’s albums, if not the best.


Music was my first love.
John Miles (Rebel)

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4.2 excellent

Rank: #44 for 2007