In Absentia by Porcupine Tree

In Absentia,  Porcupine Tree's masterpiece and an essential album for progressive rock, from 2002.

One of this band's best works, influenced by progressive metal, a melancholic, dark, and complex sound.

There are no weak points or subpar songs.

The performance is exceptional, featuring the magnificent  Gavin Harrison, one of the world's best contemporary drummers.  Steven Wilson features splendid guitar solos, and, as Wilson himself has always accustomed us to, a production that is nothing short of perfect.

- "Blackest Eyes" begins with a prog-metal attack and then flows into a more melodic section with a beautiful chorus.

- "Trains" is firmly in the progressive rock realm, with beautiful acoustic guitars and a folk-prog vibe reminiscent of Spanish music. The atmosphere is beautiful and thrilling.

- Lips of Ashes, the sweetest track on the entire album, with a guitar solo that comes into play beneath the vocals...an almost moving, beautiful piece.

- The Sound of Muzak, a rhythmic piece with a very catchy melody. At times, the chorus is almost pop, but then Gavin Harrison and Wilson remind us that we're in the world of prog, and even a simple rhyme can become very, very complex, even if it seems very simple. Beautiful!

- Gravid Eyelids, which starts with a dark, suspended, and disturbing atmosphere, with keyboards drawing the dark textures, but which explodes at the end with a splendid progressive metal guitar. Exceptional.

- Wedding Nails is an absolute masterpiece, a cavalcade of electric prog with drums and guitar driving the emotions, increasingly powerful. Exceptional guitar riffs, and Harrison's rock-jazz mix is ​​impressive. A triumph of prog! Wow!

- Prodigal is a soft, bluesy song with a beautiful melody and an electric guitar that traces the main theme in the background and gives us a beautiful solo. Beautiful!

- .3 is beautiful, almost entirely instrumental, with beautiful orchestral parts and electronic sections and a symphonic mood, with lots of acoustic guitar and beautiful backing vocals. Very atmospheric keyboards.

- The Creator Has a Mastertape opens with an almost space rock feel, pressing with the bass in an endless loop and the drums doing things I can't describe, followed by the distorted guitar while the robotic voice punctuates the lyrics. Captivating. Beautiful.

- Heartattack in a Layby is soft with a beautiful acoustic guitar, excellently sung. Nice piece.

- Folk-blues-jazz-rock arrives with Strip the Soul, with a bass that dominates the entire song, which when the drums come in grows with strange counter-tempos, a short but beautiful guitar solo, and a great keyboard with its spacey sounds. Beautiful.

- And finally, melancholy returns with Collapse the Light into Earth, melody and vocals on piano notes, a light keyboard that builds in crescendo, constantly waiting for an explosion that never arrives, almost pastoral at times, with light choirs and a piano finale, and the truly magnificent London Session Orchestra.

One of the most accomplished albums from one of the best bands of modern progressive music.
I forgot, there's a gigantic Colin Edwin here.

A masterpiece.

Tracklist
1. Blackest Eyes (4:24)
2. Trains (5:56)
3. Lips of Ashes (4:39)
4. The Sound of Muzak (4:59)
5. Gravity Eyelids (7:57)
6. Wedding Nails (6:34)
7. Prodigal (5:33)
8. .3 (5:26)
9. The Creator Has a Mastertape (5:22)
10. Heartattack in a Layby (4:16)
11. Strip the Soul (7:22)
12. Collapse the Light into Earth (5:53)
Duration 68:21

Line-Up
- Steven Wilson - vocals, acoustic and electric guitar, banjo, piano, producer
- Richard Barbieri - keyboards (analog synthesizers, Mellotron, Hammond)
- Colin Edwin - bass
- Gavin Harrison - drums and Percussion
Featuring:
- Elijah Hibit - rhythm guitar (?)
- John Wesley - backing vocals (1, 4, 7), guitar (1)
- Aviv Geffen - backing vocals (4, 7)
- Dave Gregory - string arrangements (8, 12)
- London Session Orchestra - violins, violas, cellos, and double basses (8, 12)
- Gavyn Wright - violin, conductor