Porcupine Tree on making The Incident

Porcupine Tree released The Incident in 2009 — a 70-plus-minute, Roman-numeral–sequenced concept album that treats the LP as one long statement rather than a collection of singles. Fans who care about albums as journeys should take note: this is an example of a group pushing the format back into focus.

The record crystallises what set Porcupine Tree apart by then: Steven Wilson’s insistence on the album as a cohesive medium, Richard Barbieri’s obsessive sound design, Colin Edwin’s anchoring basslines and Gavin Harrison’s inventive drumming (Harrison had taken over from Chris Maitland in 2002). The band’s dynamic is deliberately collaborative — Wilson writes within a shared space so the four personalities intersect to form the group’s signature sound.

"It's very much a band, which is sometimes a frustration – that's why I do solo projects as well." — Steven Wilson

The Incident sequences vignettes that can be heard individually but work best as a continuous experience, drawing on decades of influences. Wilson channels the Beach Boys’ structural ambition (he cites Smile) and his parents’ record shelves — from Dark Side Of The Moon to Donna Summer — to create an album that melds harmony, atmosphere and heavy rock. That heavier edge had been developing across earlier work; In Absentia (2003) already pointed the band toward denser riffs, a direction Wilson later explored further while producing and touring with Opeth.

Listeners will find the payoff in the details: Barbieri’s layered textures, Harrison’s drum parts that reframe songs, and arrangements that reward repeat plays. The Incident is both a culmination of Porcupine Tree’s evolution from ambient experiments (Voyage 34) through song-focused records like Stupid Dream, and a demonstration of why album-format thinking still matters in an era of downloads and playlists.

For anyone who values ambitious rock that demands full attention rather than radio-ready singles, The Incident remains a touchstone — a reminder that a band can use the album format to build a sustained, immersive statement.