Porcupine Tree

Porcupine Tree is a progressive rock band formed by Steven Wilson in 1987 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Frequently associated with both psychedelic rock and progressive rock, their music has also been influenced by trance, krautrock and ambient due to Steven Wilson and Richard Barbieri's liking for the Kosmische Musik scene of the early '70s, led by bands such as Tangerine Dream, Neu! and Can. Since the early 2000s, their music has been leaning towards progressive metal.

The band are noted for their multimedia approach, with their live performances including screens displaying a different film projection to each song. This visual element was introduced during the tour for the In Absentia album, when the band started to work with Danish photographer and filmmaker Lasse Hoile, whose involvement has created a distinctive image for the band.

Despite being signed to both Roadrunner and Atlantic labels, the band have their own record label, Transmission, which they use to launch some independent releases and special editions of their albums. Their 2007 album Fear of a Blank Planet was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Surround Sound Album.

Influences

As a teenager, Wilson was a fan of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. From this starting point, his interest in music progressed on a cyclic path. When he discovered Seventies music and progressive rock, his interest in metal diminished in favour of experimental music. He later (in the 2000s) discovered bands like Gojira, Mastodon, Neurosis and Meshuggah, which restored his faith in metal music. "For a long time I couldn't find where all these creative musicians were going…", said Wilson, "and I found them, they were working in extreme metal." Shortly thereafter he went to produce three consecutive albums by Swedish progressive death metal band Opeth and this had a considerable influence in his further songwriting.

This shift in influence explains why the musical range of Porcupine Tree can be split into three phases, namely from long psychedelic and space rock pieces in early works, to shorter pop rock songs in late nineties, and darker more metal-oriented songs in the beginning of the 21st century. There is also some noticeable influence from krautrock and electronic music since Wilson likes bands such as Can, Neu!, Tangerine Dream, Squarepusher, Aphex Twin and artists like Klaus Schulze and Conrad Schnitzler among others. Wilson has also mentioned on multiple occasions that he also admires the work of American musician Trent Reznor.

Current Members

Steven Wilson – vocals, guitars, piano, synthesizers and many more (1987-Present)

Richard Barbieri – keyboards, synthesizers, piano and sound processing (1993-Present)

Colin Edwin – bass guitar and double bass(1993-Present)

Gavin Harrison − drums and percussion (2002-Present)

(Info from Wikipedia)