"The most important band you've never heard of". That's how the press characterized Porcupine Tree in their early days, even describing them as the new Pink Floyd. A title that the band never liked, and besides, they don't want any labels. Because from psychedelic rock to metal, through almost danceable pop, they allow themselves all kinds of inspirations, all kinds of experimentations.
Led by Steven Wilson as charismatic leader, the band is always looking for new chords, new ways to occupy space and to create a sonic canvas that would extend in all musical directions at once. In this cathedral of rock, the resonances are airy, the guitars incisive, the voices high and the bass rumbling. As for the synth, it brings a touch of vintage and definitely electro, which defines the moments of calm before the resumption of this progressive storm that once again raises the adrenaline of the audience.
Because on stage, the band perfectly masters its soaring and overexcited atmosphere. It shakes up the spirits with a melodic power, brought with tact by the voice of its brilliant singer, which shatters our emotions. The whole thing is supported by a visual atmosphere that completely embeds us in their universe.
Today, after more than ten years of absence, Porcupine Tree is back as the phoenix of rock, rising from the hot ashes and the immeasurable void left by legendary artists such as Frank Zappa or the Beatles. And even if the search for the next hit was never their thing, their leader sees himself as the figurehead of symphonic pop and dreams of packed stadiums, vibrating to federative albums that would bend to no constraints.
At the end of the 80s, Steven Wilson created the Porcupine Tree concept on his own, as a joke taken from the Pink Floyd universe. But the joke quickly grew and Porcupine Tree signed a very confidential first album. It wasn't until 1993 that the band really took shape with Colin Edwin on bass guitar, Chris Maitland on drums and Richard Barbieri on keyboards. Two years later, The Sky Moves Sideways was released, the eponymous song lasting 35 minutes and firmly anchoring the band in the progressive rock scene of the time.
In the 1990s and 2000s, the band released album after album, concept after concept, drawing on pop, metal and even more electro sounds. In 2007, they released their biggest commercial success, Fear of a Blanket Planet, which sold 250,000 copies and is considered to be one of their major works, particularly thanks to its 18-minute centrepiece, Anesthetize.
With the Royal Albert Hall in London sold out, no one could have predicted that Steven Wilson and his band would be performing for the last time. In fact, the band never announced that they were breaking up, with each member content to pursue their own personal projects on parallel tracks. And as the years went by, fans began to lose hope that Porcupine Tree would once again shine their light on them with their bright rock.
However, in 2021, it was a surprise. Porcupine Tree announced their single Harridan, which was quickly followed by their eleventh album, Closure/Continuation, a real return to rock and symphonic land sprinkled with a funky bass. No one expected this rebirth, which the band prepared in the shadows. An international tour followed the release, with the band selling out each of its dates, its audience having waited far too long for the reappearance of its idols.