Here's an open discussion on Porcupine Tree's new release, their masterpiece "Deadwing", comprised 9 tracks plus a bonus song, they are pushing the boundaries of modern rock with their contrasting elements of hard rock (resembling Tool), to spacey atmospheres and distorted effects (resembling Pink Floyd and King Crimson), all focused around the main element of extremely beautiful, melodic rock (resembling bands like Coldplay and Blackfield) with moments of brutality as well as epic moments of beauty. For those who have heard this album, your reactions are very much appreciated! Great to have your opinions/debate here! For those of you who haven't heard anything about the new album or Porcupine Tree, visit the microsite dedicated to the album: www.deadwing.com, for video sneakpeaks and soundclips of the new album in an innovative multimedia format. For quick 30 second samples of each track visit the Deadwing page on CDUniverse HERE. Here's a track by track run through of the album: 1. Deadwing (9:46) - The beginning starts out with one of the heavier riffs in PT history, keeping up the pace with distorted/whispering vocals and pounding drums until about the halfway point where it comes to a spacy jam with minimal guitars and washes of synth provided by the master Richard Barbeiri. It launches into a heavier part again with a blistering solo provided by Adrian Belew of King Crimson. Overall great song! (10/10) 2. Shallow (4:17) - The single released in North America, this is a very commercial track for the band with a really catchy chorus and bridge due to have most of the hard rock world banging their heads...still it has some very creative twists to it and it pulls off as a good song! (8/10) 3. Lazarus (4:18) - This is the single released in Europe, and it is a shame it wasn't released in NA too, because its a real classic of a ballad. Lyrics like "Follow me down to the valley below, you know/Moonlight is bleeding from out of your soul" make this an extremely memorable track. The background strings/mellotron as well as the clean guitars and amazing piano lines remind me of Coldplay's "Clock's" and it is definately a song along those lines, but takes itself a step higher with an amazing ending/bridge and the guitarist/singer/songwriter Steven Wilson's vocal harmonies are the best in all of modern rock in my opinion, and they shine here. (10/10) 4. Halo (4:38) - A more upbeat track, but in a strange key and tone centring on a great bassline that drives the song...a definate satirical religious theme throughout the song, coming from the eyes of a religious fanatic I believe. Overall, a solid track with a really catchy chorus, and a great heavy section around 3 minutes in! Again a cool guest solo by King Crimson's Adrian Belew. (9/10) 5. Arriving Somewhere But Not Here (12:02) - The real 'epic' on the album, it starts off with a spacey atmospheric part, and great electronic and synth effects to start off the song. The vocal part is haunting in this mellow section, when the acoustic guitar riff kicks in. After the guitar solo around 5 minutes in, it keeps building with some amazing Wilson vocal harmonies! About 7:00, it kicks in with some heavy riffage, the most metal they've ever gotten....its really awesome! After a couple minutes, it dies down again and we are treated to an amazing mellow, jazzy solo by Mikael Akerfeldt, the frontman for the Progressive Death Metal band Opeth. Great ending to the song as well! A landmark track and one of the best songs of the year. (10/10) 6. Mellotron Scratch (6:57) - A really cool riff with an unmistakeable Les Paul clean tone. Some great keyboards and mellotron on here as you might have guessed . There is a great epic riff at about 4:45 that is really amazing, and the ending has an awesome 3-part vocal harmony that finishes the song. Just incredible. (9.5/10) 7. Open Car (3:46) - A heavier song with a really wierd off-beat verse, but featuring a riff-tastic pre-chorus and a heavy almost nu-metal chorus. Again a great bridge....overall another solid track (8/10) 8. The Start of Something Beautiful (7:39) - A spacey track with a Tool-ish bassline and atmospheric guitars to start off the track. The chorus gets heavier again, and it builds up to a fantastic solo and bridge. Porcupine Tree songs never go by a set structure, but basically the next section develops as there is a great piano solo that builds up into some really emotional distorted guitar work reminding me of some Symphony X's or Opeth's best melodies and riffs. (10/10) 9. Glass Arm Shattering (6:10) - The whole track just SCREAMS "Dark Side of the Moon"-era Pink Floyd with a whole spaced out vibe at barely 60 beats a minute, like the Floyd classics "Us and Them" or "Time". The synth work is absolutely masterful here, and Rich Barbeiri uses his Roland V-Synth to produce some powerful background atmospheres!! The vocal harmonies and melodic guitars also are standouts on the ending track! Amazing work! (10/10) 10. Shesmovedon [Bonus Track] (4:59) - The popular single off of their successful album "Lightbulb Sun" has been rerecorded to great effect here, sporting much better production and execution of tracks especially the drums, done by Gavin Harrison, a really masterful man behind the kit. The solo is also extended and the distorted wah sounds of it are much better produced and executed! (10/10) Overall, an amazing album that is in most stores, so please get it....for those of you who like progressive and melodic rock, you won't be disappointed...let it grow on you!