Porcupine Tree

Porcupine Tree started in Hemel Hempstead in 1987 as Steven Wilson's private laboratory, a solo project in which he made every sound himself. By late 1993 he wanted a real band, and he got one: Richard Barbieri on keyboards, Colin Edwin on bass and Chris Maitland on drums, with Wilson singing and playing guitar. Gavin Harrison replaced Maitland in February 2002, and his muscular, precise drumming arrived just as the band was turning heavier.

The trip there was a long one. The early records drifted through psychedelic, space and experimental rock, then settled into a spacey progressive sound in the Pink Floyd mold, before a leaner alternative rock turn and, once a major label came calling, a lurch toward progressive metal. Deadwing, in 2005, is where all of it collides, and "Shallow" is its most direct hit: a grinding riff with Wilson's cool, detached vocal floating on top.

Critics and fellow musicians sang their praises, the band built a devoted cult and went on to influence younger acts, all while staying well out of the mainstream spotlight. After touring The Incident in 2010, they went quiet, but Wilson, Barbieri and Harrison kept working in secret and returned with Closure/Continuation on 24 June 2022.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.